Editorial
Editorial: Women’s sports on the rise both locally and nationally
April 22, 2024
It’s no secret that women’s sports have been receiving a lot of national attention recently. In the wake of the NCAAW college basketball tournament, names such as Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers are rife in American media and can be seen all over different social platforms. The NCAAW national championship game broke records with an average viewership of 18.7 million viewers. This was more than any basketball game, of both pro and college games, and men’s and women’s games, since 2019. It was the most watched sporting event outside of the Olympics or NFL since 2019, according to Reuters.
These statistics are an example of a greater national trend. According to Forbes, women’s sports coverage has tripled in the last five years and made up an average of 15% of total sports media coverage in 2022. These national trends show that there is greater interest in women’s sports than ever before in American culture, and that there is an opportunity for women’s sports to bridge the gap with their male counterparts. Some of these larger national trends have also trickled down to UW-River Falls women's sports as well. For example, UWRF women’s hockey recently won the NCAA Division III national title, and UWRF women’s basketball has been seeing an average attendance of 302 for each game.
The university has done an admirable job in the promotion and coverage of all of its sports, regardless of gender. This equality in funding, advertising, and more highlights the strides that UWRF takes towards equality between women’s and men’s sports and how it falls into the greater national trend. Historically, women’s sports have not seen the same popularity as men's, and issues such as pay, primetime spots on television networks, and overall coverage have been prevalent.
Greater interest from the public ushers these issues into the spotlight and encourages conversations and resolutions to address them. In an industry where popularity equals coverage and coverage equals dollars, these trends, both national and local, are a good sign that women’s sports are in a good place for the future. Equality does not happen overnight, but with the popularity of women’s sports on the rise, and with top-notch talent entering women’s leagues in all of America’s major sports, a resolution towards these long-standing issues is that much closer to realization.