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Samantha Holloway attended the University of Michigan for one reason and one reason only: The Fab Five.

Holloway, co-chair and co-owner of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, also told hosts Mike Gastineau and Chris Daniels on the Iconic Sonics podcast Feb. 27 that she views Seattle as a unique sports market where different teams support one another.

“The fans here are tremendous,” says Holloway, who joined the Kraken in March 2022. “I mean, you go to a Seahawks game and people are very positive from what I experienced. You go to a Storm game and everyone’s extremely positive. I’ve seen great support from the community and from all the leaders here.”

Those leaders in the Seattle sports community are overwhelmingly women. Catie Griggs became the only active woman president in a Major League Baseball front office when she was hired as president of the Seattle Mariners two summers ago. The WNBA’s Seattle Storm is women-owned. The NFL’s Seahawks are owned by Jody Allen, sister of the late Paul Allen. And Jen Cohen serves as athletic director at the University of Washington.

“I think it’s one of the reasons why Seattle’s so special and why the community here is so supportive of sports and diversity and change in area that is not historically as diverse,” she said at a private event at the Edgewater Hotel. “I don’t feel at all like stepping into the boys’ club here. The city’s done a tremendous job lifting up women.”

Holloway says she cried when the Fab Five — the 1991 basketball recruiting class at the University of Michigan often considered as one of the best of all time ­— lost consecutive NCAA championship games in 1992 and 1993.

“I remember being by myself, cheering on the couch,” she recalls with a laugh. “I had all the emotions.”

Holloway, who moved to Seattle from Denver eight months ago, admits she’s still learning about the city. She calls herself and the Kraken “customer-obsessed,” with a keen focus on the community.

Holloway is the daughter of franchise founder and majority owner David Bonderman. She co-founded Hat Labs, a startup studio based in Denver that builds software products. She is cofounder at private investment company 2nd & Fillmore, also in Denver.