“Drive for five,” is how Carley Knox, president of business operations, described the Minnesota Lynx’s ambition in the WNBA playoffs. Already leading the first semifinal round against the Phoenix Mercury in a five-game series, the team seems determined to bounce back from last year’s finals upset against the New York Liberty. Minnesota is one of only three WNBA franchises with four titles, and no team has ever won five, making this quest for a fifth championship even more compelling. But even as Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve focuses on guiding her team on the court, that hasn’t stopped her from plotting moves off it.

Stepping beyond her familiar horizons, the 59-year-old has made a significant investment in the National Women’s Soccer League. Well, technically, it’s more of a future kind of investment, but the talking point is that Cheryl Reeve, alongside Carley Knox, has joined Minnesota Aurora FC as their latest investors. The community-owned amateur women’s soccer team currently competes in the USL-W League but is keen to join the NWSL.

“Our partnership was a no-brainer to help fuel this pathway to professional soccer,” Reeve began during a conversation with ESPN. “The Twin Cities will be an incredible market.” We bet they would be. Talking more about Aurora FC, consider it one of the most remarkable success stories in the American soccer landscape. Since its launch in 2022 with the help of 5,337 investors, thanks to its community ownership model, it has witnessed a significant boom in terms of overall response and popularity.

After all, playing near- or at-capacity crowds at their 6,000-seat venue allows them to average higher attendance than many struggling NWSL teams have seen in recent years. Though this might ignite a question of why exactly the Minnesota Aurora isn’t playing in the American women’s premier league, the reason is that they’re trying their all to make it possible.

Last year, Aurora’s ownership group was one of the few cities to make a serious bid for a 2026 NWSL expansion team. But sadly, it was won by Denver, forcing Minnesota to withdraw from the process last summer—after also missing out in 2022—citing financial challenges as NWSL team valuations continued to rise. Not surprising at all, to be fair, as Denver paid a $110 million expansion fee, a number that has significantly increased from roughly $2 million just a few years ago.

Then again, that’s exactly why Cheryl Reeve and Carley Knox are joining hands with Aurora FC to rally cry for their deserved NWSL spot. Of course, it won’t be simple, with capital being one of their limitations. But word around the town, via an Aurora spokesperson, is that the team has attracted several private investors, including Reeve and Knox, in addition to its community shares, to help reach professional status. The team, however, did not disclose the total investment or the exact share contributed by these investors.

“For us, the No. 1 [goal] is getting us an NWSL team,” Knox told ESPN. “We want to dive in full force and really help grow this thing to get us an NWSL team, because it will be an incredible market. There will be unbelievable support, and the community will absolutely get behind them in a way that we haven’t seen before.”

Be that as it may, this is quite a remarkable update for Minnesota Aurora, as having experts like Cheryl Reeve and Carley Knox strengthens their chances of securing an NWSL spot. After all, who knows the in and out of the city better than they do!

Cheryl Reeve and Carley Knox are the best thing that happened to Minnesota Aurora FC!

You would be surprised to know that Cheryl Reeve, Carley Knox, and their 10-year-old son, Oliver, have been season-ticket holders for Minnesota Aurora since the team’s debut in the USL W League in 2022. This only means they are familiar with the overall dynamics of the team, and more importantly, what they are capable of. That explains why in a similar interview with ESPN, Reeve noted that the energy from Aurora fans “oozes” throughout the stadium—something she doesn’t experience in basketball, as she is always coaching during games.

As for Knox, the beautiful game has always been a passion of hers quite surprisingly. A former Division I player and coach herself, she remembers tracking down VHS tapes of USWNT games because there was no other way to watch her heroes. Rest assured, Reeve and Knox are no strangers to success in professional sports: Reeve is a three-time Olympic gold-medal-winning coach (twice as an assistant before becoming head coach in 2024) and, together, they have six WNBA titles in various roles, including two with the former Detroit Shock.

Having lived in the Twin Cities for 16 years, Reeve and Knox say the local community is highly supportive of women’s sports. Knox highlighted the strong network among teams, pointing to the Minnesota Frost—winners of the first two Professional Women’s Hockey League championships—and the Minnesota Vixen women’s football team as examples.

“You can do both,” Reeve said of local women’s teams supporting each other. “It’s not or, it’s and. You work together as leaders to make that happen,” added the president of basketball operations for the Lynx. This was something that even Knox was confident about, noting that given how Aurora has gained recognition both on and off the field, that too comprises a team of college players competing mostly in the summer, she envisions a team that could excel at the professional level.

“I see the vision for the future, and we are 100 percent bought in,” concluded Carley Knox. Talk about Minnesota Aurora hitting a jackpot.