The Women’s March Madness championship game drew an average of 18.9 million viewers per game. That was 4.1 million more views than the men’s average during their championship games. This statistic is one of many that proves women’s sports are growing more than ever before.
Women’s college basketball has become a very impactful and influential part of all of women’s sports. Athletes like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers are drawing more and more eyes to the game every day.
“I had never sat through a whole game of basketball but I was into that LSU vs. Iowa game,” sophomore Mariposa Montes said. “I think women’s sports growing on the college side might get more people to show up to women’s sports on the high school side.”
The growth in viewership not only benefits women’s collegiate basketball but also benefits women’s sports all around the world.
“I think the growth of women’s sports is great,” Baseball coach Will Morgan said. “Right now, I think it’s mainly because of women’s college basketball and when you have stars like Caitlin Clark, it really helps the growth of women’s sports in general.”
While more eyes are on women’s sports than ever before, there is still a big disparity in salary between men’s leagues and women’s leagues. As a result, female athletes must turn to brand endorsements to make enough money to live a comfortable life.
“Endorsements are where it’s at for female athletes, but you have to be the best and that’s the unfortunate part,” Spanish teacher Tera Bradshaw said. “There are men that aren’t significant players that are making more money than women that are significant players. To me, that’s a little problematic because it does show the inequality in viewership for men’s vs. women’s sports.”
The collegiate growth the world has seen in women’s sports has already impacted professional teams. The WNBA team, the Indiana Fever, has already reported selling more tickets than ever before just because they secured Caitlin Clark as the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2024 Draft.
“I think women’s college basketball really started growing during Paige Bueckers’ freshmen year,” senior Vielka Gonzalez said. “Hopefully this growth will lead to growth in the WNBA now that players like Caitlin Clark and Kamilla Cardoso are there.”
Girls all around the world are inspired by what they have seen female athletes do which only makes the future of women’s sports brighter.
“I think it’s exciting,” soccer coach Kim Little said. “Girls now probably play with a little more purpose because they’ve seen what they can do. Female athletes just keep raising the bar and the level of play.”
