Apparently, it took pink feathers, ruffled feathers, trash talking, controversy, TikTok dances, and, by the way, some absolutely riveting games for much of the sports world to realize what diehard fans had known for years: Women’s college basketball can be a whole lot of fun and is deserving of more attention than it had been getting.
A record audience of 9.9 million tuned into ABC and ESPN2 for Louisiana State’s NCAA Championship win over Iowa, a 103 percent jump from last season, when South Carolina beat UConn in front of 4.85 million viewers. The final audience peaked at 12.6 million.
Heck, even Saturday Night Live got in on the fun.
There were critics who lamented that so much attention was paid to LSU coach Kim Mulkey’s flamboyant feathered and sequined outfits, and to the trash-talking drama between Iowa star Caitlin Clark and LSU star Angel Reese.
There are those who had a hard time taking University of Miami twin guards Haley and Hanna Cavinder seriously because they also happen to be TikTok sensations who have 4.4 million followers and sometimes dance in bikinis. The Cavinder twins announced on Tuesday that they are foregoing their final year of college eligibility to pursue “a new chapter”.
Certainly, with more than $1.5 million in Name, Image, Likeness deals as college students, they will have plenty of options in the business world. One of their deals is with WWE, so pro wrestling is not out of the question. Fashion, beauty and health products are also in their wheelhouse.
As someone who has been championing women’s sports for 35 years, I say Mulkey, Clark, Reese and the Cavinder twins were just what women’s basketball needed.
Big-time sports need big-time personalities. They need drama. They need rivalries and bitter feuds. They need villains.
Of course, fans tune in to see world-class athletes perform feats mere humans can only dream of, but so much of what fans obsess about has nothing to do with the games.
It’s about Kyrie Irving’s controversial tweets and Tom Brady’s marriage/divorce/retirement/un-retirement. It’s about everything LeBron James says. It’s about Aaron Rodgers’ endless trade talks. It’s about rivalries such as Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali, Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe vs Jimmy Connors, Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal.
And, yes, it’s about fashion. From Pat Riley’s suits to NBA players’ sneakers to Serena’s tennis dresses to James Harden’s beard to David Beckham’s tattoos to Odell Beckham’s hairstyles. Fans eagerly await and then debate every new uniform reveal. NBA arena walk-ins have become as highly anticipated as the Academy Awards red carpet.
Mulkey is certainly a controversial figure after her unfathomable silence during her former player Brittney Griner’s imprisonment in Russia; but she is a Hall of Fame coach with four national titles (and another as a player) and she has earned the right to wear feathers and sequins. Plus, she gave fans another reason to tune in.
Women’s basketball has had extraordinary talent for decades. Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Sheryl Swoopes, Griner, Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore, Lisa Leslie, Sylvia Fowles, Dawn Staley, Tamika Catchings, the list goes on.
Sadly, they never got the media or fan attention they deserved. But with the explosion of social media and NIL, female college basketball players today have become masters at marketing themselves. As a result, they are finding ways to shrink the giant gender pay gap that still exists.
The Cavinders signed their first deal the moment NIL legislation went into effect on July 1, 2021, and are now the two highest-earning female college athletes, representing more than 30 brands.
Reese set the Division 1 record with 34 double-doubles in a single season, but she would not be a household name were it not for her fiery personality, 1.5 million Instagram followers, and NIL deals closing in on $1 million. Her portfolio includes McDonald’s, Amazon, Bose and TurboTax.
Clark has set countless records with her sharpshooting. She had 40 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists against Louisville in the Elite Eight, the first player, man or woman, to record a 40-point triple double in an NCAA Division 1 tournament game. She was the first player in tournament history with back-to-back 40-point games and scored 191 total points, most in history.
She became more and more well-known as the season went on and has amassed 660,000 Instagram followers and NIL deals with Nike, Bose, Goldman Sachs, Buick, Topps, H&R Block, and Hy-Vee supermarkets.
It’s about time corporate America paid attention to women’s basketball. For too long, it was primarily female tennis players, Olympians, and in recent years, soccer players, who had opportunities to cash in on their talent and personalities. Slowly, but surely, something has changed.
The story lines, big personalities – and yes, controversies – in women’s basketball have captured the attention of fans, media and corporate executives who never paid attention before. That exposure will benefit every woman who plays the sport. Here’s hoping it carries over to the WNBA, which just held its draft last night.
It may have taken feathers, sequins, trash-talking, and TikTok-ing, but it was worth it.
