I have been deeply embedded in the women’s basketball world for more than four decades — as a player, coach, administrator, broadcaster and marketing executive. It has allowed me to see the product from all angles, to celebrate it and to feel incredibly rewarded by all the things that are happening right now. Our sport has never been in a better place. I never thought in my lifetime I would see the women’s championship game out-rate the men’s, as it did last year.
Caitlin Clark sparked a major economic change to the entire ecosystem that I call Clarkonomics. Clark, however, has moved on to the WNBA. The women’s college game is in great position to capitalize on her popularity, but only if the game’s stakeholders are willing to be proactive to move things into the Clarkless future.
We don’t want this recent disruption to the ecosystem to be just a spike or a moment; it has to be a movement. Below are four ideas for not just continuing the momentum, but building on it. These are not right or wrong—they’re only meant to get people thinking and to start conversations about these topics and others.
1. Sweet Sixteen in Las Vegas
The Sweet Sixteen is currently broken into two regionals (in 2024, games were played in Albany and Portland). I believe we should have one and that it should be a destination city with warm weather that people want to visit. How about Las Vegas?
Think about it. We can turn it into a major event, one that we can activate around in all kinds of ways. On Christmas morning, fans can receive tickets and accommodations for a few days in Vegas to watch Sweet Sixteen action. What could be better than that? I was pushing for Vegas 15 years ago — before the Raiders got there, before the Aces got there, before NASCAR, baseball, all of it.
We know this works great because of the experience the College World Series has had in Omaha, Nebraska. To be honest, some of the women’s NCAA regionals haven’t been fair — they’ve been in the backyard of certain programs. If we move to one destination city, then everybody is pretty much equal. We don’t have to keep going to these smaller markets. We could be in a bigger city, make the experience better for the student athlete and drive economic growth.
2. Funding media networks to promote the game
Stories in the women’s game aren’t being told enough throughout the season. We hear them in March, but sometimes they have a shelf life of only one or two weeks. That’s not a good use of our platforms and our storytelling methods. I want to start telling all these stories in January so we can advance the product leading up to the NCAA Tournament.
This is a far-out idea, but I’m just going to say it. I don’t mind if we equally distribute it or if we give the money to one specific company like ESPN, the NCAA partner for the NCAA Tournament, but I would like to see the NCAA put money back into the media platforms that actually tell stories, so that in January we can tell this great story about Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd or about Audi Crooks at Iowa State — and we have the money to use the best producers, directors, storytellers and talent. The NCAA could outsource to those that work every day to advance women’s basketball storytelling and create sellable inventory.
Let’s say NBC or ESPN or FOX is given a quarter of a million dollars and charged with telling 15 women’s basketball stories. Let’s be strategic about who receives the money and invest in those who are dedicated to our sport and that have our games on television. The NCAA and the media companies would then be working mutually together to promote stories that drive people to the NCAA tournament. Ultimately, it will help the tournament make money and the TV networks —a s partners — make money, and then the media rights will go up.
3. More made-for-TV events and creative inventory
Speaking of all those fascinating storylines, we should have more made-for-TV events that feature our biggest stars. We need to put players such as Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins in the spotlight, because they’re tremendous ambassadors for our game.
One of the top players in women’s college basketball this season will be Watkins at USC. But because she plays in the Big Ten, which is not a partner of ESPN’s, she will only appear on ESPN’s air one time before the NCAA Tournament. I think it could be a wise investment on ESPN’s part to create a special competition or event that will get her on the network’s air and then continue to push her story through March.
Going forward, women’s basketball needs to be thinking about how we can put Watkins and other stars across women’s college basketball in a better position to help sell the game, just like the WNBA did with Clark at the beginning of the season when they put her in all those ABC windows against tough competition. That ended up driving ratings in a media rights year. I would like to see how we could do that in college, which leads me to my next idea…
4. We need collaboration
On the men’s side, there has been talk about having a czar or commissioner ruling over the sport. We have an even greater need for collaboration on the women’s side.
The NCAA women’s staff works hard all year to promote the tournament and should be given more authority to build out creative inventory in and around the event. I’m talking about an external arm to help generate revenue, so that we can do all the other things previously mentioned. We have star power in the women’s game and shareable platforms. This model would help bring together all the parties that are most invested in the game.
ESPN has the rights to the NCAA Tournament. FOX has the Big East and is making a greater push every year. And now we’ve got NBC entering the picture in a big way. Some are new to the game; some have been invested for a long time. I don’t care that some are “late to the party.” There is investment and money in the sport now, so everyone jump in! We need you!
The unprecedented interest in women’s college basketball calls for creative leadership and collaboration. Let’s make sure all the stakeholders are aligned on the same goal: to push this great sport forward. We have a great opportunity here, but if we don’t move strategically and together, we risk letting it pass us by.
It might be some time before another player has the power to disrupt the economic marketplace like Clarkonomics, but I believe someone will come along and be next.
More women's hoops
Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Storylines Right Now
Who to watch and what to expect ahead of the upcoming season
