The success of women’s college basketball is more than just Caitlin Clark
The success of women’s college basketball is more than just Caitlin Clark
March Madness tips off this week. The highly anticipated women’s tournament is expected to draw plenty of interest, after a buzzy regular season marked by record-breaking performances by players and coaches, plus a surge in ticket sales and TV ratings for NCAA women’s basketball.
This is no fluke. It comes as fans are showing more interest and broadcasters and commercial partners are making bigger investments in women’s elite sports.
There’s one NCAA women’s player who’s getting a lot of credit for the league’s growing profile. And there’s no doubt the University of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is a phenomenon.
“But this is not the one and only talent,” said Ceyda Mumcu, a professor of sports management at the University of New Haven.
She said past greats came up when the only way to watch at home was on a handful of cable networks that weren’t giving the women’s game much airtime.
“Then you would find women’s sports on ESPN2, or 3, or God knows where,” she said.
Now, there are a lot more ways to watch and engage with sports.
People are seeking out women’s leagues on streaming platforms, social media hype is attracting new fans, and brands are taking notice, said Destiny Washington with the Wasserman Collective.
Nike, Gatorade, Molson Coors and Michelob Ultra are just some of the names you’ll see splashed across jerseys and advertising in stadiums in women’s sports these days, she said.
“When it comes to investing in teams, leagues and infrastructure, this helps the overall ecosystem,” Washington said.
With more resources, leagues grow and play gets more competitive. Fans get on board — like we’ve seen with women’s college hoops.
“It’s exciting, but it’s also a moment of uncertainty,” said Kenneth Shropshire, who studies the business of sports at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
With athletes like Caitlin Clark and Louisiana State University’s Angel Reese becoming household names, he said the women’s game needs to cultivate more superstars and superstar matchups to keep fans engaged and investors bought in.
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