Alicia Tillman Is On A Mission To Elevate Women's Sports

At WNBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, Alicia Tillman, Delta’s chief marketing officer, had one word for the league’s momentum: electric. She would know — Delta is not only the official airline of the WNBA, but also its exclusive charter partner, flying all 13 teams to games and playoffs. Until the partnership was announced last year — just one year into Tillman’s role at Delta (talk about getting right to work!) — WNBA players were flying commercial, unlike NBA players. This change marked a major step forward for equity in the league.

“The fact that the WNBA made that choice and they selected Delta to provide that exceptional service and unique service — that's what we pride ourselves on,” Tillman says. “We also focus on welcoming, elevated, and caring service every single time for every single passenger. To be able to extend that now to the WNBA in the charter environment is pretty special for us.”

But Tillman didn’t stop there. She saw an opportunity to spotlight the athletes’ stories, too. In May, Delta launched Power Forward — a behind-the-scenes video series following the journeys of Cameron Brink, Breanna “Stewie” Stewart, and Nneka Ogwumike.

“What I've been inspired by is really that they're just human beings that have very similar stories,” Tillman says. “We were all kids. We all had dreams. There are similarities in how we went about working to achieve them, and there are great differences.”

Below, Tillman shares more about the partnership, Power Forward, and how the airline is elevating women’s sports.

The WNBA is having a big moment, to say the least. As a WNBA partner, what does being here at All-Star Weekend mean to you?

It is all the things. It's energizing, it's inspiring, it's hopeful for women's sports. There has been such a focus for quite a long time to bring the same levels of visibility to women's sports as we already have with men's sports. It's taken a collective effort. And I think we can all agree that the visibility the WNBA has today is leaps and bounds greater than what it was last year or even the year before that.

There's so much that we put our brand behind. And it matters for our customers who want to be with brands that give back and help lift others. Everybody believes the WNBA deserves to be where it’s at today and where it'll be next year and the year after. We're just proud to be part of it.

There's no reason why they shouldn't have the same offering as their male counterparts do in the NBA.

What have you heard from WNBA athletes about how flying charter has affected them in the last year?

They want to be comfortable, right? Especially when you're flying coast to coast and you're doing that multiple times a week, there's a level of intensity and wear and tear that an athlete endures on their body. They need to make sure their bodies are healthy.

Being on a plane with just the team helps them feel comfortable, and all of their needs are met. Since it's a dedicated structure for them, it's a game-changer. They're thankful, they're humble. I think they also feel that it's about time, too. There's no reason why they shouldn't have the same offering as their male counterparts do in the NBA.

What were some of your priorities going into this partnership with the W?

We wanted to show up authentically — there's no meaning in hanging our logo in a stadium. When you step back and think about the role that Delta plays in people's lives, sure, you can think about it as purely operational — we get people from one point to another. But so much of it is about a journey. We’re transporting people to something, to go somewhere, to meet someone, to be something. There's something so purposeful in that.

The WNBA is on a journey, too. Every week, the sport continues to grow in popularity, and that's a great thing for these unbelievable athletes who’ve worked their whole lives and have sacrificed so much to get to the stage that they are at today.

What are some ways Delta showed up authentically?

We really honed in on this idea of journeys. That was the thought process behind the Power Forward series, which is that people relate to athletes mostly around what it took to get them there. We see you now on the court, but we haven't seen you when you were 5 years old. Tell us that story of how that 5-year-old got to where you are today.

I will tell you, since it's been released, so much of what we hear is, "Oh my goodness. Didn't know that about you." Or, "I had a similar challenge during my childhood." Or, "I had to overcome bullying or being accepted."

All of these things are relatable to everybody in some form or another. And that's what we decided that we wanted to do — tell the stories. We actually surprised them by having their families be part of it as well.

I loved how you involved their families in this. I feel like you got to see a whole new layer to these players. How did you choose the athletes for the series?

We spent a lot of time thinking about who we wanted to tell the stories. We focused on someone who was brand new to the league, Cameron Brink. You've got Nneka, who leads the Players Association; she's a veteran. And then you have Breanna Stewart, who’s similar — legacy, won a championship. They are so representative of the league as a whole.

You realize how much more in common you have with someone when you're not seeing them as only a professional athlete.

I’ve really been loving how many young fans I’m seeing here at All-Star Weekend. What message do you want to send to them?

We want to be able to tell the story of how these women got here to inspire the future generation of professional athletes and any little boy or girl who doesn't think something's achievable because maybe they don't think they're big enough or fast enough or smart enough or not just simply good enough.

All of these athletes, in some form or another, also had the same thoughts at their age. Whether it was a coach they leaned into, a family member, or a team environment, there were a lot of people who helped them overcome whatever was holding them back. Our ability to showcase those stories is what will inspire someone. It's building not only the fans of tomorrow, but it's also building the players of tomorrow.

How has working with WNBA athletes on this partnership inspired you?

They're so multi-dimensional, and that in itself is inspiring. So many times when we were filming the Power Forward series, I would say, "Oh my gosh, I did not know that about you." Now today, when I see them, that's what we connect on.

You realize how much more in common you have with someone when you're not seeing them as only a professional athlete. Stewie, Cam, or Nneka, they're just awesome. They're human, they're authentic. They have so much grit, so much determination. They're part fierce athletes on the court and stylistas off the court.

Speaking of, I’m loving the tunnel-walks lately.

They’re amazing. Someone might not be inspired if they're not an athlete, but you've got them out there representing so many other things that are equally as meaningful to them. You’re able to see these dimensions to them.

What are some other ways Delta is elevating women’s sports?

Team USA is a huge focus for us, so to be the official airline of Team USA is very special. Olympians, Paralympians, and the ambassadors that we have on board with us, they equally have unbelievable stories to share, and so we've been really proud to capture those stories.

We're a founding partner of LA28, so we'll take our brand's penetration to an even deeper level. And Delta's the leader in the Los Angeles market, so it’s even more special.

We're also the official airline of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), which we’re equally proud of. We're in a new season now where we're going to have a very similar strategy in terms of storytelling, and so that's in the works right now.

Men's sports have been on a journey for much longer than women's sports have at the professional level, so we’re taking learnings from there in terms of how they built their fan base and attachment to both players and the leagues. When you’re trying to catch up and build at the same time, it creates this unique level of inspiration and excitement that allows us to try new things and propel the women’s sports we support. I think it's going really well with great success.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.