The rising tide of women's college basketball lifts all boats
If you're not a fan yet, why the heck not?
Much has been made about the skyrocketing following of women’s college basketball this season, especially during the NCAA Tournament. The Iowa-South Carolina national title game had 18.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched women’s college basketball in history. There were more eyeballs on that event than for many big games in college football, Major League Baseball, the NBA, and other more high-profile (read: played by men) sports. Women’s basketball fans have tracked compelling storylines throughout this season, like Caitlin Clark becoming the most prolific scorer ever in college basketball - women’s or men’s - and Coach Dawn Staley building a dynasty at South Carolina.
If you’re new to women’s college basketball, welcome! Just letting you know that there has been excellence in the women’s game for a long time, though. I grew up in Tennessee during the Coach Pat Summit era, where women’s basketball was queen. I went to several women’s SEC basketball tournaments because they were hosted in my hometown and many Lady Vols games when I was a student at UT. Those experiences were electric. And it wasn’t just Tennessee teams generating excitement. Virginia (where Dawn Staley was a standout player), Texas Tech, Stanford, Baylor, and UConn were just a few of the many schools that were really fun to watch.
I hope this expanding audience is here to stay, both because the women’s game deserves a devoted fanbase and because the appreciation of women’s abilities in a sphere where they have traditionally been overlooked bodes well for those of us in other male-dominated areas like ministry. As it turns out, women can’t just shoot a basketball from deep or drive to the basket. We can also preach and teach and lead in faithful, effective, and compelling ways. We can be role models for all people, just as powerhouse basketball players and teams have followers from all genders and generations. We all win - not just women - when recognition of and support for women’s talents have depth and breadth.
Get your school sweatshirts and foam #1 fingers ready for fall 2024, then, when the women will rise again and show us all what it looks like to play basketball and support teammates and make us feel the highs and lows of a great game. And let your viewership of women’s college basketball remind you that clergywomen bring so many gifts to ministry, a lot of which go untapped when females are incorrectly dismissed as not as experienced (expressed as “athletic” in the sports world) or as charismatic (expressed as “exciting to watch” in the sports world) as the men are.