Women’s Sports on the Rise

During a time when live television is losing viewership, there is one area that is on the rise: women’s sports. 

Women’s sports have grown tremendously in the last few years, and their viewership is at an all-time high. Although women’s sports often don’t receive the same amount of attention as the men’s that might change.

With Caitlin Clark becoming the newest household name, the world’s attention has fallen on women’s basketball. The University of Iowa women’s basketball team has sold out all their home games and has made countless headlines on ESPN. The team was a big part of the NCAA tournament that drew over 10 million views in the championship game vs LSU. 

“The recent growth of women’s sports makes me feel appreciated along with other women because it’s allowing women to be recognized by so many people,” stated sophomore Shay Davis. 

On October 15, 2023, the Iowa women’s basketball team broke the NCAA women’s basketball attendance record in the “crossover at Kinnick.” The Hawkeye fans filled Kinnick Stadium with 55,646 fans. 

The basketball game followed just a month and a half after the Nebraska Volleyball team broke the Volleyball attendance record and the women’s attendance record on August 30, 2023. The volleyball match was against in-state rival, Omaha at Lincoln Memorial Stadium, where the football team plays. The match drew over 92,000 fans, surpassing the former record of 91,648 at a soccer game in Barcelona. 

“The Nebraska Volleyball match was really wild and it is awesome that people are watching more and paying attention more,” stated senior athlete Katrina Pelds. 

2023 brought many other record-breaking games, including the University of Oklahoma softball team breaking the single-game softball regular-season attendance record earlier this year. Also, the Iowa women broke the women’s wrestling record with an attendance of 8,207. 

With the growth of women’s sports, many young girls will have new role models to look up to. Caitlin Clark, Simone Biles, Serena Willams, and so many more female athletes have taken over the sports world. Caitlin Clark is already the all-time leading scorer for Iowa and is chasing the NCAA record. Simone Biles has the most World gold medals and is tied for the most gymnastic Olympic medals. Serena Willams holds the record for Grand Slam titles and holds an overall record of 858-156. These few women have given young girls a new dream and someone to look up to. 

“Women’s sports will definitely allow future generations to have role models in such advanced sports,” stated junior Vye Nayaka.