[4] Her 1466 points set the school's varsity basketball career record for points scored by any basketball player, male or female,[5] and she set the school's career scoring record as a halfback in field hockey, topped off by graduating second in her class.

degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),[4][11] and worked for two years as a corporate and banking associate at the New York City law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

[3][13] In 1988, she was hired as a staff attorney for the National Basketball Association[9] and later served as special assistant to NBA Commissioner David Stern, before being promoted to vice-president of business affairs,[8] prior to her appointment to head the WNBA in 1996.

[4][5] In 1989, she was one of the NBA's first appointees to the board of directors of USA Basketball — the organization responsible for the selection and training of the teams that represent the United States in international tournaments, including both the World Cup and the Olympics.

[3] From 1995 to 1996, she was a driving force behind the creation of the USA Basketball Women's National Team program[13][14] that culminated with a 60–0 record and the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Over the course of her historic eight-year term, she would become the first woman ever to successfully launch and operate a women's team sports league.

[24] She has also been inducted into the International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame, and received the National Women of Distinction Award from Girl Scouts of the USA.

[8] In 2008, she received the IOC's Women of Distinction diploma,[25] and the John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

[28] In November 2012, Ackerman was hired by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to study the women's game and come up with recommendations for improvement.

[17] She conveyed preliminary conclusions in a presentation at a Women's Basketball Coaches Association convention, and followed up with a formal written report in June 2013.