NCAA Women’s Basketball: What’s driving growth in the women’s game?

Social Media Engagement

Women’s basketball may never post better ratings than the men’s game. In terms of social media engagement, however, it can be very competitive — something that should continue to drive growth in the sport moving forward.

Among the 2021 men’s and women’s Elite Eight squads, eight of the top-ten (and 10 of the top-20) players with the largest social media presence were women. UConn’s Paige Bueckers led the way with roughly 730,000 combined Twitter and Instagram followers.

Given the UConn guard’s popularity — even relative to her male counterparts — there should be significant opportunities for players like her to make money off their name, image, and likeness. If some were to appear in national commercials for example, it could provide a valuable boost to the women’s game.

It’s not just the players that have generated buzz, however. The Elite 8 showdown between UCONN and Baylor had engagement that doubled that of each men’s game the same evening.

Clearly, something about women’s college basketball is “clicking” on social media. Moving forward, there’s plenty of reason to believe this engagement will — if the sport is provided ample broadcast opportunities — translate to further growth in ratings.

One reason the sport has likely thrived on social media — at least with some audiences — is that many athletes have been willing to speak out on social issues.