Like I hear more about college players than actual professionals… seats are always sold out too
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I would also add, IMO. 1) March Madness is a fun tournament. its win or go home. Thats what you’re currently hearing about. 2) The disparity between college men and college women is way smaller than NBA and WNBA. The men are just SO damn good, it makes the womens game less impressive/entertaining.
Answer:People tend to have loyalty to the university/college they attended, especially ones that have established alumni bases spanning decades. For many, NCAAW is an extension of that support. On the complete opposite end, the WNBA is just over 2 decades old and doesn’t have the many years of support that NBA franchises (some of which began as ABA franchises) have.
Story line. LSU vs Iowa. Angel vs Caitlin. Then they lowkey made it racial white vs black. But they also have a lot of young stars emerging. WNBA is cool but there are only 12 teams. Not as competitive imo.
Their tournament is the same timeframe as the men’s tournament which is immensely popular.
People like to look for other bets when they’re already gambling. Those are the reasons I’ve seen.
Folks have a ton of loyalty to their community universities or their own alma mater. It’s like a bigger version of HS sports, and the energy is similar. So it’s current/former students and townies propping up women’s NCAA basketball
Not many people care in the first place. However. Think about this. How many WNBA teams can you name? Now, how many college teams do you know?
1. There has been a push to spotlight Women’s sports in recent years. 2. College sports to have a built in loyal fanbase who love to see their school win regardless of specific sport. 3. Sports betting is at an all time high leading to more people invested in sport in general, but more specifically high stakes games. 4. There is a current NCAAW major record breaker in Caitlin Clark, which is naturally gunna generate headlines. 5. There is not really a major mens star in NCAA to garner spotlight like in previous years 6. The tournament is well timed to avoid most other major US sports events (playoffs for major leagues) 7. WNBA teams have not done a good job in connecting with the local communities in the same way colleges have done.
So Caitlin Clark is big. She’s an Iowa local. She was also proceeded by one of the most unique high school basketball programs that ended 30 years ago. What I mean by that is 6 on 6 women’s basketball. There’s a 99% invisible on it, look it up. Men’s basketball during the 6 on 6 era was second to women’s.
Add on to that the huge passion for the hawks here. ISU was my alma mater, but that college is for people that actually go to college. The Hawkeyes are the team that the majority of the state actually roots for.
If you aren’t from Iowa, Caitlin Clark is just entertaining to watch. She sinks 3 pointers like a fucking boss. The women fight hard. It’s awesome, and generally there is enough unpredictability in college ball with enough talent that you can’t just write off an underdog.
My grandpa, a women’s basketball coach, was watching Caitlin the day he died. He probably saw his three daughters in her, my mom being able to also sink shots like a fucking boss. It’s just relatable and competitive. It’s good shit.
Professional ball kinda sucks. It looks like wind sprints up and down the court. They clear shots so quick there’s not a fight. I don’t really care for it.
A short 1 month tournament winner take all with plenty of college rivalries live on national tv vs a 40 game season over 5 months that is rarely on tv (at least for me).
Just because the players are “worse” than wnba doesn’t mean the entertainment is worse.
WNBA doesn’t have much of a fan legacy to pull people in, but every college team has a bunch of alumni wandering around.
People follow things they have some kind of connection to, for the most part.
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