By Dr. Brittany Jacobs | 11/05/2024
The sky is the limit for women’s sports, with significant gains made in recent years. For instance, the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France, were the first Olympic Games to reach gender equality after more than 200 years of the Olympics being in existence. Similarly, Nebraska's collegiate volleyball team set a world record for attendance with 92,003 fans attending a women’s sports event.
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) also set a record. It signed a new broadcast deal that will pay $60 million a year for four years, the largest deal for any U.S. women's league so far.
But this is only the beginning. The next generation of female athletes will be able to capitalize on the current momentum and create unparalleled growth in future years.
Why Is Women's Sports Growing?
So, what is behind this growth in athletic events for women? With the passage of Title IX legislation in 1972, women were provided equal access to sports in educational settings.
Since that time, the number of women athletes participating in high school sports has gone from 300,000 participants to 3.3 million participants in 2023. This participant pool is important because it creates the foundation for developing female athletes for collegiate and professional women's sports teams.
In the same time period, women's sport participation within the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) went from 30,000 athletes to 230,951.
The Dawn of a New Era in Women's Sports
Caitlin Clark, a Women’s National Baseball Association (WNBA) player for the Indiana Fever, broke numerous records during her basketball career at the University of Iowa and became notorious for hitting the deep three pointer. But what you may not know is that in her NCAA championship game, the women's college basketball rating beat the men's rating for the first time in finals history.
This game (Iowa vs. South Carolina) drew in 18.9 million viewers, more than 4 million viewers more than the men's NCAA Championship the same year. Throughout the NCAA tournament, viewership was up over 100% from the previous year.
The Fans of Women's Sports Are Not Just Women
What may surprise you is that 43% of women's sports fans are men, which disproves the narrative that men will not watch women's sports.
According to Nielsen, about “84% of general sports fans are interested in women's sports, with younger audiences (ages 18-34) showing the highest interest levels.” This age group is incredibly important to sponsors because they strongly promote their sports interests and games on social media and have long potential tenures as fans.
Nielsen also notes that when it comes to fans of athletic events for women, 74% are the chief income earner in their household and 57% have children under that age of 18. These two demographic factors are incredibly important in directing purchase decisions and driving the next generation of fans to support women's professional sports.
The Sponsors of Women's Professional Sports
For certain brands, there is considerable value from the sponsorship of women's athletic events. One example is the sponsors of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA); some brands reported returns of up to 400%. The ability to validate return on investment is a key driver for future sponsorship deals and success.
In addition, Nielsen says that 69% of Women's World Cup fans noted that the sponsorship of sport makes a company more appealing, 15% higher than the general population. Similarly, 59% of fans said that they would choose a sponsor's product over a rival, which was found to be 14% higher than the general population.
Interestingly, fans have a more positive opinion of the sponsors who promote events for women than those brands that support men's sports. These statistics indicate that it is time for business to lean into investing in women's professional sports.
Deloitte predicts that the women's sports industry will continue to grow, topping $1 billion dollars in revenue by the end of 2024. As a result, more and more businesses may see the benefits of investing in athletic events for women.
The Expansion and Valuation of Women's Professional Sport Leagues
The sports industry is beginning to shift and to create space for both men's and women's sports.
For example, the NWSL will soon announce its 16th franchise and franchise fees are projected to reach nearly $100 million. This amount is a significant increase in franchise value from the $2 million to $5 million franchise fees paid in 2020. As the valuations of these clubs rise to new heights and investor interest reaches an all-time high, women's professional sports will become an area that is well worth watching.
Similarly, the WNBA seeks to expand to 16 teams in coming years. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has stated that she wants the WNBA to have a 16th team by 2028.
What's Next in Women’s Sports?
With strong participation numbers, more viewers, increased sponsorship spend, and the growth of franchise valuations in recent years, sports for females is just getting started. In the future, we will see women with increased media rights deals, a further movement towards pay equity, and an increased visibility through enhanced media coverage. For instance, we may see more streaming platforms promoting athletic events played by women.
In addition, we will also see the rise of new sports leagues and formats for women. For instance, there is Athletes Unlimited – where a single league operates numerous sports entities – or League One Volleyball, where the professional league was built as a part of the larger club volleyball ecosystem.
Sport managers can create a future where sport organizations for females are given the support and coverage they deserve. In this world, the quality of women's sports will be respected in its own right and its success would not be validated in comparison to men's sports. There is space in the sports landscape and society for both men and women's sport teams to win!
Sports Management Degrees at American Public University
For adult learners interested in the sports industry, sports event management, sports law, and other related topics, American Public University (APU) offers two degrees:
Courses in these degree programs include sports finance and sports marketing, promotion, and public relations. Other courses include sports entrepreneurship, leadership and management in sports, coaching leadership, ticket sales management, and sports governance.
These courses are taught by highly experienced faculty members. In addition, these degree programs have received specialty accreditation from the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA). This specialty accreditation ensures that both programs have met high academic standards for quality.
For more information about APU’s sports management degrees, visit our nursing and health sciences program page.
Dr. Brittany Jacobs is an Associate Professor and Department Chair for the Sports Management & Esports program at American Military University. She is highly involved in the Olympic & Paralympic movements and before returning to academia worked for USA Rugby. Much of her current research centers around officials and other marginalized populations providing a direct connection to her previous coaching and officiating experiences.
Brittany earned her Ph.D. from the University of Northern Colorado in Sports & Exercise Science with a Doctoral Minor in Statistics. She also holds a master’s degree in Sports Management from the University of Texas, a master’s degree in Secondary Education from the University of New Hampshire, and a B.S. in Kinesiology from the University of New Hampshire, where she also played collegiate field hockey.