Over the past year, women’s college basketball has grown exponentially in popularity as many women have made history in the 2023-2024 season. While most fans usually just keep an eye on their own teams, many have been following the rise of popular players like Paige Beuckers, UConn’s shooting guard; Angel Reese, LSU’s forward; and college basketball’s number-one player, Caitlin Clark, who is Iowa’s famed shooting guard. Clark has broken many records and is most well-known for becoming the first (male or female) Division I college basketball player to have over 3,000 points, 900+ assists, and 800+ rebounds. Paige Bueckers is ranked #3 in women’s basketball and fell short of breaking Maya Moore’s, a former UConn player, team record of 868 points. South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso averaged 14.4 points per game and was a key player as South Carolina claimed the Championship title. 

Testifying to these young women’s popularity, the women’s Final Four tickets were 15% more expensive than the men’s, and when UConn (Beucker’s team) and Iowa (Clark’s team) played each other, the women’s ticket average resale value was $2,323, while men’s was only $1,000. Even more impressive, when Iowa and South Carolina played in the championship on Monday, April 8, they set a record with over 18 million views, becoming the most-watched basketball game (for men or women) since 2019. (By comparison, 14.82 million watched the men’s game.)

In addition to the gains in viewership due to this season’s amazing players, women’s college basketball has also received more attention because the NCAA is finally making the tournament more equal. In 2021, the NCAA allowed the women’s tournament to include 68 teams and have the right to use “March Madness” for branding. This not only expanded the tournament with more teams but also allowed a greater number of viewers because it brought each of the 68 teams’ fans to the table. With the influx of revenue produced by the women’s tournament, the NCAA plans to form units (in the NCAA Tournament, a unit is a portion of revenue that goes to a team when they win a game, and for every win, they receive another unit) that will be a payment to 32 NCAA Division I conferences that play in the tournament. The men’s units average is $220 million, while the women’s has been $0 up until now. However, that may soon change because in January 2025, the NCAA Division I members will vote and hopefully approve the plan. It would be a great step forward, though the new contract will average just $115 million, which is still significantly lower than the men’s $220 M. 

With women’s college basketball gaining more popularity, many young women have surely been inspired to start or continue playing the game, but–more importantly–this popularity has led to the call for more equality and respect for women’s basketball. With these gains, the future looks bright for basketball, and we can only hope that other women’s sports also benefit in the same way.