It is no secret that historically, men’s sports have been in the spotlight of society and entertainment since they were first introduced. Women’s sports on the other hand, have not seen the same level of engagement and funding that men’s sports are used to seeing, at any level. With the passage of Title IX in 1972, women’s sports have begun to close the gap, faster now in the last few years than ever before.
On April 7, women’s sports reached yet another high, with a face-off between the University of Iowa and the University of South Carolina in the women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball championship. The game’s ESPN broadcast smashed the previous women’s basketball television record for views, with 24 million viewers at its peak and an average of 18.7 million viewers. In comparison, the 2023 men’s National Basketball Association finals had an average of 11.6 million viewers, falling just over seven million viewers short of the women’s matchup.
“I think that a lot of times, [women] don’t get enough attention because they are overshadowed by boys’ sports,” senior Analysa Ossio said.
I think that record-breaking seasons, like the one that Iowa had, are really important to start getting women the recognition that they deserve.
Analysa Ossio
Basketball, however, is not the only sport in which women have seen immense growth in support. With the popularity and support of women’s sports on the rise, this record-setting viewing seems to be just another landmark on the path to increasing equal representation. Women’s soccer, volleyball, and tennis all seem to be on the rise as well: the 2023 Women’s World Cup pulled over 46.7 million viewers, and the NCAA Volleyball match-up between Nebraska and Omaha set a new world record for attendance, with a crowd of over 92,000.
This summer, the Olympics will host, for the first time, the same number of male and female athletes. While there is very little research on the change in popularity of women’s sports, numbers like these demonstrate increasing public interest.
There are several reasons for the recent change. One of these is the rise in participation of girls in youth and high school sports. With more girls than ever participating in youth sports across the country, people are becoming more involved in women’s sports, knowing that it’s possible they may make up the next generation of professional female athletes.
“More girls have started playing,” said sophomore Madison Ketcham. “So they are more interested in watching [too] because they can look up to the older girls and be inspired.”
Furthermore, major media outlets, like ESPN and NBC Sports, have started to showcase women’s games on their main channels, something which just a few years ago was unheard of.
“I feel like there are a lot more channels that put on women’s sports now,” said sophomore Leah Chinn. “When I go into restaurants now it’s on the TVs, and it never used to be like that.”
Despite the fact that women are making strides towards equal recognition, many believe that society still has a long way to go in terms of female athletic representation, as male sports still tend to overshadow female athletics, in both funding and coverage.
Men’s sports are more popular because they get more media and so they are more in the public eye. People don’t need to go searching to find the games, whereas for women’s sports they do.
Rae D’Amato
While change will not happen overnight, over the last years, women’s sports have had a speedy rise in popularity. With more achievements still on the horizon, it is no doubt that women will continue to gain attention and coverage from the media and viewers. As women continue to set records and bring excitement to sports, they have begun to finally garner the respect and popularity that many believe they deserve.
