For the second consecutive year, the Bears hosted Celebrating Women and Girls in Sports Day at training camp — a themed day designed to empower female fans, athletes, coaches, leaders and changemakers.
Saturday's celebration continued the work the Bears began last year with the inaugural Celebrating Women and Girls in Sports Day at training camp, and continued with the Celebrating Women and Girls in Sports game, which also returns in 2026 for the Bears' Nov. 22 matchup with the Saints at Soldier Field.
From the moment fans entered the event lot at Halas Hall, the festivities were curated to put women and girls in sports front and center. Many of the popular activities returned from last year's celebration, whether it was a high school girls flag football photo op featuring every program from around the state, the women-owned Lovely Lemon stand, DJ Francesca Eva blasting the music, face painting or the permanent jewelry booth.
As fans made their way from the event lot to the practice fields, they were given the opportunity to shout out a woman or girl in sports who inspires them — a video the Bears' content team put together and shared on social media to help all female fans feel connected to the celebration.
From young girls enjoying practice with their mothers to the next generation of female athletes building a passion for football to fan groups like "The Lady Bears," the day's theme came out in full force, showcasing why football is for everyone.
"Women have always been able to nurture everyone else," Lady Bears founder Donna Cole-Scott said. "But being part of the Lady Bears is for us. I mean, it is truly for us to come together as a group, laugh, joke, enjoy the game and not even worry about what the kids are going to eat or who's doing this or who's doing that. That time is really for us."
Staley Da Bear alongside Bears staff members also joined in the day's festivities, donning navy "Celebrating Women and Girls in Sports" t-shirts, which were available to be pressed and purchased at a t-shirt station.
The Bears also took the opportunity Saturday to host and recognize 50 former Illinois high school girls flag football players who are set to begin playing at the collegiate level.
"It was special having the future collegiate women's flag players at training camp on Celebrating Women and Girls in Sports Day," director of football development Gustavo Silva said. "It is important to celebrate and amplify these pioneers of the game to inspire and motivate the young girls that will follow in their footsteps. We are grateful and proud to have played a significant role in their journeys and will continue to help pave the path for them to take their place in the football ecosystem."
With women's collegiate flag football starting to take off around the country, many of the student-athletes will be playing in their respective program's first or second season this spring. While that could be seen as a daunting task, it's familiar territory for the girls, given they were once at the forefront of their high school programs.
Kayla Green and Kayla Hearn, best friends from Homewood-Flossmoor who attended last year's training camp with their high school team, are both committed to play at Bridgewater College in Virginia for the program's inaugural flag football season in 2027.
"It feels amazing that we get to set the image of how the team should be," Green said. "We did it for our high school and we did great there, so I'm expecting us to excel in college."
Having played their first girls flag football season in 2025, neither Green nor Hearn ever imagined the sport would provide them so many opportunities, including the chance to play at the collegiate level.
"It honestly feels amazing because for a while, as a girl, you always want to play football and you're always told, 'no, you can't play,' or if you do play, you have to play certain positions," Hearn said. "You could never play what you wanted to play. So it feels good to be able to [play at a high level] and actually do what you love."
After watching practice and exploring camp, the group of girls stood on the sideline and first met chairman George H. McCaskey and President/CEO Kevin Warren.
As players exited practice, many stopped to meet with the girls, many of whom now look up to the athletes professionally. Between getting autographs from running backs D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, taking pictures with Colston Loveland and Rome Odunze and talking ball with cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, the girls once again felt welcomed and supported by their hometown NFL team.
"It makes us feel seen," Green said. "Because it's an up-and-coming sport, a lot of people are going to overlook it, so for such a big organization to want to help and extend the extra hand to get us exposure is meaningful."
Bears reporter Jasmine Baker also partook a special conversation with one of the student-athletes in attendance — Aribella Spandiary, the Bears' 2025 Player of the Year, state champion quarterback at Maine South High School and incoming freshman at Mercyhurst University — to discuss her flag football journey and her excitement to continue playing in college.
After practice. ESPN Chicago hosts and longtime sports media personalities Dionne Miller and Peggy Kusinski interviewed Bears player personnel coordinator Ashton Washington on the Peggy & Dionne Show.
Washington talked with Miller and Kusinski about her journey to becoming the Bears' first female scout, how leaders like general manager Ryan Poles have championed her growth in the organization, what it's like being in the Bears draft room and much more. Their full conversation can be seen here.
To round out the day, the Bears hosted the second annual Women in Sports Media Career Expo at Halas Hall following practice. Nearly 40 young women from local universities attended the event and engaged in panel discussions, networking opportunities and hands-on workshops with women that work inside or closely with the organization.
"Celebrating the second year of this program was a meaningful reminder of the impact we can have when we intentionally create opportunities for women and girls in sports," executive vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion & chief impact officer Tanesha Wade said. "The collective commitment of our organization to ensure the next generation can see themselves reflected in leadership roles on and off the field makes this initiative truly special.
"Connecting with the students and seeing them embrace their potential and recognize that they belong in these spaces reinforces the importance of this work. I look forward to building on this momentum and continuing to create pathways for young women to shape the future of sports."
To kick off the expo, McCaskey and Warren spoke to the attendees to provide inspiration and words of encouragement for their career journeys.
McCaskey gave a short, sweet message to the young women, urging them to "be courageous" and take advantage of the opportunities they would receive that afternoon. Warren echoed those sentiments and encouraged the group to "be fearless, be yourself, never, ever, ever give up and strive to help someone each and every day."
The group of students then had the opportunity to engage in informative roundtable discussions with many female Bears staff members, including Wade, executive vice president of legal and business affairs & chief legal officer Krista Whitaker, director of fan development & brand marketing Claire Miller and others.
Next came a round of workshops led by Bears employees that highlighted the different forms of storytelling within an NFL organization. The students learned about storytelling through digital and social media, branding and marketing, as well as podcasting and broadcasting.
Each station allowed the students to hear real examples of how the Bears are being creative in those spaces. One example is the Bears' upcoming collaboration with Peanuts for Saturday's preseason game at Soldier Field, which has been led by Miller and the marketing team.
"As a journalism major, I haven't learned a lot about marketing or branding, so it was just so interesting to hear a different side of storytelling," University of Illinois junior Evy York said. "They told us about the Peanuts partnership, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever and something I never would have thought about. But the way they were talking about the thought process of, 'Let's pair the Bears with Peanuts because they both have this sense of nostalgia and align with multiple generations,' it makes so much sense. It just sparked my interest in that area of storytelling."
The first panel featured coordinating producer Katie Fox, director of social media Nicole Zimmer and writer Gabby Hajduk, all of whom shared their journeys into the sports industry and the Bears, as well as pieces of advice they would tell their college selves.
ESPN reporter Courtney Cronin and FOX32 Chicago lead sports anchor Cassie Carlson, both of whom cover the Bears year-round, sat down with Baker for a fireside chat to discuss how they broke into the sports broadcasting industry and how they have navigated being women in a male-dominated field.
Miller and Kusinski concluded the expo by providing incredible advice about sustaining a career in the sports media industry, with their recurring message being "find your voice."
The young women who attended the career expo not only left with a plethora of advice and learnings from the day, but also a sense of belonging in the industry and at the Chicago Bears. For students like York, who attended last year's expo as well, the consistency in which the Bears have shown their support for young women and girls who aspire to have a career in sports has been impactful beyond belief.
"I think to see such a big organization, especially being from Illinois, care about something so important as females in the sports industry and put so much effort into putting something like this is huge," York said. "To be able to come here and hear from so many different people is so special and gives me hope for my future that I'm like, 'Okay, I can do this too. There are opportunities for me.' And there are people who want to celebrate that."
