Surprise! Marketing Women's Sports Works | Sabina Pedido
Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Lebron James are three of the most repeated names in the G.O.A.T. conversation. These three men have sparked debates for years regarding the greatest basketball player. In spite of that, the past 2023-24 basketball season has led to the entrance of another name on the ballot—at least in the NCAA women’s league.
Caitlin Clark has always held the attention of women’s basketball fans. However, her popularity has skyrocketed to unfathomable heights this past year. Nevertheless, while her skills draw attention from every direction, the marketing behemoth behind her is what commands it.
As part of the Name, Image, and Likeness, or NIL era, Clark, along with other college athletes, have utilized social media to earn money. NIL refers to student athlete compensation. For years, NCAA rules have prevented college athletes from monetizing their identity while heavily profiting from their abilities. Fortunately, after decades of protests, NCAA rescinded their rules in 2021 and have since allowed students to publicize their talents.
However, it seems that a larger side effect of marketable athletes is increased familiarity. As college athletes appear more frequently in advertisements or news and therefore popular culture, they become more recognizable, encouraging interest in said athlete’s sport. Thus, Clark’s involvement in NIL endorsement deals helped stoke the fires for the popularization of women’s basketball.
However, while NIL set the stage, ESPN and the WNBA recognized that people don’t just want to watch sports; they want to watch stories. The audience needed a hero to root for and a villain to root against.
Therefore, it is impossible to speak about Caitlin Clark without recognizing her rivalry with Angel Reese. Born from mocking Clark’s hand wave and intensified by Reese’s win with LSU in last year’s championship, the competition between the two young women was milked by sports news reporters. Thus, when the Iowa-LSU rematch occurred, an unprecedented 12 million viewers tuned in to watch and support their favorites.
This event qualified a theory floating around the web: if women’s sports were marketed properly, more people would be interested in them. Essentially, the creation of stories through marketing strategies has exponentially increased women’s basketball viewership. As such, female athletes receive better pay.
Through this culmination of increased wages and viewership, female athletes gain greater recognition for their hard work and skills. In turn, this positions female athletes such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese as role models for young girls. They inspire the next generation to be confident and competitive, and to be unrelenting and fearless, unafraid of competition.
Thus, as young girls look for a hero on their television, athletes such as Clark and Reese won’t be too far to help save the day.