SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference

The seventh annual SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference was held virtually on September 19-21, 2025.

This year’s conference — co-sponsored by SABR and the International Women’s Baseball Center and hosted by Rockford University — was a virtual Zoom event.

The conference featured keynote speaker Dr. Harriet Kimbro-Hamilton, author, filmmaker, professor, and daughter of Negro Leaguer Henry Kimbro; a Baseball Operations Panel with Nicole Briscoe (ESPN), Hanna Snedecor (Rockford Rivets) and Alisha Wetzel (Savannah Bananas); a Groundskeepers Panel with Alexa Brown (Tulsa Drillers), Nicole Sherry (Baltimore Orioles), and Leah Withrow (Reno Aces); the My Baseball Story Panel with C.C. Ford and Donna Cohen; author Jane Leavy, who discussed her new book, Make Me Commissioner; research presentations; pylon unveiling; and the presentation of the Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award to Jean Hastings Ardell.

• Video highlights: Coming soon!
• Schedule: Click here for the full schedule of panels and presentations. Zoom sessions were held from 6:30-8:00 p.m. on Friday, September 19; 10:00 a.m.-8:20 p.m. on Saturday, September 20, and 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 21. (All times listed are in the Eastern Time Zone.)

All registrants are encouraged to send a children’s sports book to be donated to the local Rockford community. Examples include: Players in Pigtails; She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story; A Whole New Ball Game, etc. Books can be shipped directly to IWBC at: Rockford University, 5100 Building Room 25, 5050 E. State Street, Rockford, IL 61108. Or choose a book and donate in your local community and send us a note about where you donated.