Sports is an emotion. You can be a soccer, football, tennis, or basketball lover, but the one thing that is common ground amongst all will be passion. And right now, women’s basketball perhaps ranks at the top. With players like Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, and more taking the court by storm, the popularity of a branch that was not too popular has become mainstream. The number of people who tune in to see these ladies has also risen substantially. For the icing on the cake, the NCAA Championship ticket prices have pretty much beat almost every NBA team.

The latest update on the price shows that the cheapest ticket costs $555, and the highest ticket goes up to $3000+. The only NBA team that has a ticket that costs more is the Golden State Warriors, with the cheapest ticket costing $611.

The fact that the Celtics ($303), Lakers ($518), or Knicks ($346) pale in comparison speaks volumes about how far women’s basketball has come. Undoubtedly, the major driving force behind this is none other than Clark. The Iowa superstar has been nothing short of phenomenal. From breaking the record of the most three-point shots in a season, being the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer to her famed long distance three-point shots, people travel thousands of miles to watch the Hawkeye guard.

So much so that her influence has earned the nickname the Caitlin Clark effect. People are ready to pay whatever the price to see the “women’s Steph Curry” dominate the court and crush her opponents. But it’s not just the prices that have seen a major change. The Iowa-LSU Elite Eight matchup was the most-watched college basketball ever on ESPN. The viewers reached a record 12 million!

Clearly, the gap between men and women in basketball is lessening day after day. But it wasn’t so always.

How the women’s basketball came to the forefront

The first occasion happened in the 1970s. The federal law, known as Title IX, forced the NCAA to provide equal opportunities to women. Fast forward to the ’90s, and we see the creation of the Women’s National Basketball League in 1996. This allowed women to pursue their passion at a professional level. But it was only a crack in the hard shell that was gender disparity. By the time social media gained major attention, the third and perhaps the most important event took place.

In 2021, an athlete from Oregon University women’s basketball team posted a video on TikTok. The video showed the facilities provided by a NCAA tournament for women as opposed to men. The men’s facility had everything – workout platforms, dumbbells, barbells with weights that went up to hundreds. In contrast, all the women had was a single tower of dumbbells that went to just 30 pounds and a few yoga mats.

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Needless to say, the video went viral. Immediate investigations by an outside law firm were conducted. And the necessary changes were made. Even with all these changes, the women’s tournament wasn’t allowed to use the March Madness trademarked logo until the 2022 season. Of course, the changes are happening faster and more favorably now, but we still have a long way to go.

For now, let’s tune in for the South Carolina Gamecocks vs Iowa Hawkeyes to take place on April 7 at 3:00 PM ET.

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