Growth in Women’s Sports

By Lilja Purs

Little me always wanted to know why sports weren’t treated the same between men and women. It just didn’t make sense. Growing up watching football and going to Seattle Reign matches I found no difference between the two. Both were equally amazing to me. Summer 2023 was one of Barbie, Taylor Swift, and Beyonce but also the start of something else- an increased recognition in women’s sports. 

The desire for equality in both being paid equally to their counterparts, and having media deals that allow viewership from across the country isn’t new. However, this past year, women’s sports have begun to grow to a new level. There has been increased growth across women’s sports leagues at both the professional and collegiate levels. 

Women’s college basketball has been in the media's lens this past year. The NCAA March Madness tournament where records have been broken, upsets happening and competition shows the depth of the women’s college game. All eyes were on Iowa’s Caitlin who broke the all-time D1 scorer across both men’s and women’s basketball. The superstar, though falling short of winning the NCAA tournament, was selected in the first round of the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever.  Her impact isn’t lessened by the lack of winning the championship. Little girls and boys across the country became inspired. They were wearing shirts with the number 22 on their backs, and signs with inspirational words lit up our screens during the tournament. Looking more at college athletics the University of Nebraska's women’s volleyball team broke attendance records for women’s sports entirely drawing 92,000 fans against Omaha at Memorial Stadium.

Before January 1, 2024, there wasn’t a professional women’s hockey league in the USA and Canada. On January 1st the PWHL made history with Toronto hosting New York to kick off an inaugural season, with Ella Shelton scoring the first-ever goal for New York. 

The NWSL saw record-breaking attendance all across the 2023 season with teams like the San Diego Wave continuing to sell out Snapdragon Stadium. Early in the 2024 season we are already seeing records being made. The Houston Dash had their largest-ever home opening crowd with 8,600, and the Utah Royals created a record for the state attendance at a women’s sporting event with 20,370 people at their home opener. 

When looking at the progress of women’s sports, my inner little girl lights up and gets excited by what is coming up in the future of women’s sports.