The Rise of Women’s Sports

Three, two, one . . . As the final buzzer sounded, the University of Connecticut (UConn) women’s basketball team rushed onto the court. They had just won the 2025 national championship. Led by star guards Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, UConn had overpowered the University of South Carolina, winning 82-59 in front of a crowd of nearly 20,000 people.

It was one of the most-watched games of last year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I tournaments, commonly known as March Madness. More than 8 million viewers tuned in to see who would win. But a few decades earlier, having that many people watch a women’s basketball game was unheard of. In fact, the women’s tournament wasn’t even allowed to use the term March Madness until 2022—it was reserved for the men’s tournament. 

Now buzz around women’s basketball is soaring again as this year’s tournament nears. Viewership is expected to be among the highest in the sport’s history, and players like Fudd and Flau’jae Johnson of Louisiana State University are stars in their own right. Johnson has more than 10 times as many social media followers as most of the top players in the men’s game.

College basketball isn’t the only women’s sport that is surging in momentum these days. There are new professional leagues for softball, volleyball, and baseball. Existing pro leagues, like the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), are seeing attendance and revenue soar. And millions of new fans—many of them kids and teens—are finding inspiration on the court and field.

“This moment feels like we’ve crossed a threshold where there is no going back,” says Victoria Jackson. She is a sports historian at Arizona State University.

Three, two, one . . . The final buzzer sounded. The University of Connecticut (UConn) women’s basketball team rushed onto the court. They had just won the 2025 national championship. They were led by star guards Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd. They had overpowered the University of South Carolina. UConn won 82-59 in front of a crowd of nearly 20,000 people. 

It was one of the most-watched games of last year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I tournaments. The tournaments are commonly known as March Madness. More than 8 million viewers tuned in to see who would win. But a few decades earlier, having that many people watch a women’s basketball game was unheard of. In fact, the women’s tournament was not even allowed to use the term March Madness until 2022. It was reserved for the men’s tournament. 

Now this year’s tournament is approaching. And buzz around women’s basketball is soaring again. Viewership is expected to be among the highest in the sport’s history. And players like Fudd and Flau’jae Johnson of Louisiana State University are stars in their own right. Johnson has more than 10 times as many social media followers as most of the top players in the men’s game. 

College basketball is not the only women’s sport that is surging in momentum these days. There are new professional leagues for softball, volleyball, and baseball. Existing pro leagues are seeing attendance and revenue soar. That includes the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). And there are millions of new fans, many of them kids and teens. These fans are finding inspiration on the court and field. 

“This moment feels like we’ve crossed a threshold where there is no going back,” says Victoria Jackson. She is a sports historian at Arizona State University.

Four sports leagues have dominated American pop culture for decades: the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL). Those men’s pro sports consistently pull in the most money, get the best TV airtime, and attract the most fans.

Meanwhile, for much of the 20th century, girls and women had relatively few opportunities to play team sports. In the 1971-72 school year, for instance, girls made up just 8 percent of all high school athletes, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.

The passage of Title IX in 1972 started to change that. This federal law requires schools receiving government funding to provide boys and girls with equal access to educational programs and activities, including sports. Schools began creating and funding programs for girls’ soccer, softball, and more, and female students started signing up. Today roughly 43 percent of high school athletes are girls.

Four sports leagues have dominated American pop culture for decades. They are the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL). Those men’s pro sports consistently pull in the most money. They get the best TV airtime. And they attract the most fans. 

Meanwhile, for much of the 20th century, girls and women had relatively few opportunities to play team sports. In the 1971-72 school year, for instance, girls made up just 8 percent of all high school athletes. That is according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.

The passage of Title IX in 1972 started to change that. This federal law requires schools receiving government funding to provide boys and girls with equal access to educational programs and activities, including sports. Schools began creating and funding programs for girls’ soccer, softball, and more. And female students started signing up. Today roughly 43 percent of high school athletes are girls.

Professional soccer also helped pave the way for female athletes. In 1991, the U.S. women’s soccer team, created only six years earlier, won the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The team took the title again eight years later, this time in front of nearly 100,000 fans. The athletes, including Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain, became overnight sensations.

The team’s continued success had an impact on future generations, says Alice Merryweather, who was born in 1996 and grew up to become a U.S. Olympic alpine skier. “They normalized the idea that women could be . . . athletes,” she told reporters. “They were my idols.”

Professional soccer also helped pave the way for female athletes. In 1985, the U.S. women’s soccer team was created. Just six years later, the team won the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The team took the title again eight years later. This time they won in front of nearly 100,000 fans. The athletes became overnight sensations. They included Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain.

The team’s continued success had an impact on future generations, says Alice Merryweather. She was born in 1996. She grew up to become a U.S. Olympic alpine skier. “They normalized the idea that women could be . . . athletes,” she told reporters. “They were my idols.” 

Female athletes began getting more opportunities to play in the pros, including with the launch of the WNBA in 1997. Still, women’s sports remained largely sidelined.

Television networks did not air them regularly and rarely put them in prime-time slots, which tend to be seen by the most people. That made businesses less willing to invest in female leagues, says Kim Adams. She is a sports broadcaster. “The lack of games on television is what was always kind of holding back the growth that we’re seeing now.”

Then NCAA basketball player Caitlin Clark broke into the spotlight in 2023. The University of Iowa guard wowed fans by sinking three-pointers from near mid-court, something previously done only by NBA players like Steph Curry. Her record-breaking scoring drew unprecedented numbers of fans to her team’s games.

Female athletes began getting more opportunities to play in the pros, such as when the WNBA was launched in 1997. Still, women’s sports remained largely sidelined. 

Television networks did not air them regularly. And they rarely put them in prime-time slots, which tend to be seen by the most people. That made businesses less willing to invest in female leagues, says Kim Adams. She is a sports broadcaster. “The lack of games on television is what was always kind of holding back the growth that we’re seeing now.”

Then NCAA basketball player Caitlin Clark broke into the spotlight in 2023. She was a University of Iowa guard. She wowed fans by sinking three-pointers from near mid-court. That was previously done only by NBA players like Steph Curry. Her record-breaking scoring drew unprecedented numbers of fans to her team’s games.

Television network executives took notice and gave women’s college basketball a bigger platform. The NCAA championship in 2023 was shown on the ABC network for the first time, giving it more reach than ever before. And in 2024, a record 24 million viewers watched all or part of the women’s title game—topping the men’s championship for the first time. 

Television network executives took notice. They gave women’s college basketball a bigger platform. The NCAA championship in 2023 was shown on the ABC network for the first time. That gave it more reach than ever before. And in 2024, a record 24 million viewers watched all or part of the women’s title game. It topped those watching the men’s championship for the first time.

That boost in viewers helped persuade broadcasters to air more women’s sports on major networks and at times when more people would watch. And the leagues’ continued progress has made those deals even better. The WNBA recently signed a $2.2 billion deal giving networks the right to air its games over 11 years. That price is six times higher than the WNBA’s previous contracts.

However, many players and fans argue that female athletes are not benefiting enough from those deals. In the WNBA, for example, the average salary was about $127,000 in the 2024 season. The NBA’s average salary is roughly $10 million—about 80 times higher.

The WNBA athletes are drawing inspiration from the U.S. women’s soccer team. That team fought for the same pay as the U.S. men’s soccer team and won in 2022. The players are now paid the same rate for game appearances, prize money, and bonuses as their male counterparts.

When this issue went to press, WNBA players were negotiating with the league for higher salaries. However, the NBA, which is a majority owner of the WNBA, has argued that the difference in pay is justified by the men’s league’s much higher revenue. The NBA’s recent TV deal, also for 11 years, is valued at $76 billion.

That boost in viewers helped persuade broadcasters to air more women’s sports on major networks and at times when more people would watch. And the leagues’ continued progress has made those deals even better. The WNBA recently signed a $2.2 billion deal giving networks the right to air its games over 11 years. That price is six times higher than the WNBA’s previous contracts. 

But many players and fans argue that female athletes are not benefiting enough from those deals. For example, the WNBA’s average salary was about $127,000 in the 2024 season. The NBA’s average salary is roughly $10 million. That is about 80 times higher.

The WNBA athletes are drawing inspiration from the U.S. women’s national soccer team. That team fought for the same pay as the men’s national soccer team. They won in 2022. The players are now paid the same rate for game appearances, prize money, and bonuses as their male counterparts. 

When this issue of JS went to press, WNBA players were negotiating with the league for higher salaries. The NBA is a majority owner of the WNBA. The NBA has argued that the difference in pay is justified by the men’s league’s much higher revenue. The NBA’s recent TV deal is valued at $76 billion. It is also for 11 years. 

Undeterred, many female athletes are marketing themselves directly to fans on social media. National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) stars Rose Lavelle and Trinity Rodman, for example, engage hundreds of thousands of followers with content chronicling their lives on and off the field.

Those views translate into sponsorships—agreements companies make to pay people like athletes or celebrities to promote a product or brand. Sponsorships can supplement athletes’ regular salaries, boosting their overall earnings. Rodman, for one, has major sponsorships with Ford Motor Company, Home Depot, and Google Pixel, among others. She also has her own custom line of Adidas gear, including a pair of cleats she helped design.

Undeterred, many female athletes are marketing themselves directly to fans on social media. For example, National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) stars Rose Lavelle and Trinity Rodman engage hundreds of thousands of followers. They post content chronicling their lives on and off the field. 

Those views translate into sponsorships. Those are agreements companies make to pay people like athletes or celebrities to promote a product or brand. Sponsorships can supplement athletes’ regular salaries. They boost their overall earnings. Rodman, for one, has major sponsorships with Ford Motor Company, Home Depot, and Google Pixel, among others. She also has her own custom line of Adidas gear. That includes a pair of cleats she helped design.

The athletes’ social media posts are also drawing in a new generation of fans—and future professional athletes. Zuri Evans-Hendricks is an eighth-grade volleyball player from New York. Following her favorite athletes on TikTok has shown her that sports don’t have to be just a hobby. “It’s good to have someone to look up to,” she explains.

Top WNBA player A’ja Wilson says inspiring young athletes to dream big is even better than scoring on the court. “It’s the reason why I do what I do and why I love what I do,” she told TIME. “If a young girl can look at the WNBA or me and say, ‘I just want to do that’ . . . that’s the real trophy.”

The athletes’ social media posts are also drawing in a new generation of fans and future professional athletes. Zuri Evans-Hendricks is an eighth-grade volleyball player from New York. Following her favorite athletes on TikTok has shown her that sports don’t have to be just a hobby. “It’s good to have someone to look up to,” she explains.

Top WNBA player A’ja Wilson says inspiring young athletes to dream big is even better than scoring on the court. “It’s the reason why I do what I do and why I love what I do,” she told TIME. “If a young girl can look at the WNBA or me and say, ‘I just want to do that’ . . . that’s the real trophy.”