Women’s Sports is Having A Moment. Dana Alkhouri Says It’s About Time.
Meet the co-founder of The Sidelines, a newsletter all about women’s athletics.
Story: Isabel Bekele
In 2024, women’s sports have finally taken center stage. Last year served as the perfect layup for this moment, with the Women’s World Cup and the NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament reaching a record-breaking number of views. This year’s women’s NCAA matchup between The University of South Carolina and The University of Iowa averaged about 18.7 million viewers, making it the first time in history that a women’s final drew a larger TV audience than the men’s, according to ESPN.
Though TV viewership is just catching up, Dana Alkhouri, co-founder of the weekly spo`rts newsletter The Sidelines, has had her eye on the untapped market of female sports for several years. In 2020, Alkhouri, along with co-founder Megan Schaltegger, created The Sidelines out of a desire to create a platform exclusively for women’s sports coverage. The pair met while interning together at Bustle Digital Group, and have since expanded the coverage of The Sidelines to include covering the latest news in women’s health and wellness, in addition to traditional sports.
“It’s by women, for all,” says Alkouri. “We interview women who don’t always get all the light they deserve.”
Just like the founders and athletes she spotlights, Alkouri herself has had a career characterized by carving out her own path. A Chicago native, she earned both her undergraduate and master’s degrees at DePaul University, studying political science, journalism, and public policy. She then headed East to New York City to start work at ABC News, where she spent two years as a production assistant on World News Tonight With David Muir.
Around the time she was considering pivoting from media to business, Alkouri realized she could get her MBA online from DePaul while remaining in New York. Fast-forward to today, and Alkhouri now works at Goldman Sachs in addition to running her budding media platform, blending her background in both media and business.
Since its launch, The Sidelines has doubled down on its coverage of women-led health and wellness brands. The newsletter has had partnerships with the likes of Sakara Life, the buzzy meal delivery service, and FORM, Australian influencer Sami Clarke’s popular fitness app. The newsletter’s “MVP” series, where they highlight female founders, is a hallmark of their content.
“It’s sometimes tougher for women companies to get the funding– which is crazy, but I’m happy to see [within recent years] there’s been a little bit of a change,” says Alkhouri.
Alkhouri wants The Sidelines, which currently operates as a weekly email blast, to be the all-inclusive stop for the latest in sports and wellness.
“It’s for the girl that does pilates three to four times a week, is interested in knowing what’s up in the sports world and what’s new in health and wellness, but isn’t on her phone 24/7,” says the co-founder.
“It’s like a slimmed-down version of your ESPN 24/7 notification and a slimmed-down version of news in wellness.”
Though TV viewership is just catching up, Dana Alkhouri, co-founder of the weekly spo`rts newsletter The Sidelines, has had her eye on the untapped market of female sports for several years. In 2020, Alkhouri, along with co-founder Megan Schaltegger, created The Sidelines out of a desire to create a platform exclusively for women’s sports coverage. The pair met while interning together at Bustle Digital Group, and have since expanded the coverage of The Sidelines to include covering the latest news in women’s health and wellness, in addition to traditional sports.
“It’s by women, for all,” says Alkouri. “We interview women who don’t always get all the light they deserve.”
Just like the founders and athletes she spotlights, Alkouri herself has had a career characterized by carving out her own path. A Chicago native, she earned both her undergraduate and master’s degrees at DePaul University, studying political science, journalism, and public policy. She then headed East to New York City to start work at ABC News, where she spent two years as a production assistant on World News Tonight With David Muir.
Around the time she was considering pivoting from media to business, Alkouri realized she could get her MBA online from DePaul while remaining in New York. Fast-forward to today, and Alkhouri now works at Goldman Sachs in addition to running her budding media platform, blending her background in both media and business.
Since its launch, The Sidelines has doubled down on its coverage of women-led health and wellness brands. The newsletter has had partnerships with the likes of Sakara Life, the buzzy meal delivery service, and FORM, Australian influencer Sami Clarke’s popular fitness app. The newsletter’s “MVP” series, where they highlight female founders, is a hallmark of their content.
“It’s sometimes tougher for women companies to get the funding– which is crazy, but I’m happy to see [within recent years] there’s been a little bit of a change,” says Alkhouri.
Alkhouri wants The Sidelines, which currently operates as a weekly email blast, to be the all-inclusive stop for the latest in sports and wellness.
“It’s for the girl that does pilates three to four times a week, is interested in knowing what’s up in the sports world and what’s new in health and wellness, but isn’t on her phone 24/7,” says the co-founder.
“It’s like a slimmed-down version of your ESPN 24/7 notification and a slimmed-down version of news in wellness.”