The numbers do not lie. The 2023 women’s college basketball final averaged 9.92 million viewers, peaking at 12.6 million compared to the 2023 WNBA Finals averaging 728,000 viewers each game.
What’s the cause for this drastic difference? It is not replicated amongst other college-to-professional men’s leagues. The NFL and MLB are both more popular than their collegiate counterparts. But there’s something particularly unique about NCAA basketball and March Madness that draws in more eyes than the professional leagues.
College basketball and March Madness are set up in a more exciting way than the WNBA. Having hundreds of teams play across the country allows for more opportunities for different talents to be exposed and new fans to connect with athletes and teams. The changing matchups and unique cross-country rivalries keep the out-of-conference games fresh. The WNBA only has 12 teams and each team plays 40 games. Teams play each other multiple times over and the redundancy in matchups can be boring for viewers.
March Madness also provides a unique competitive advantage against the WNBA Playoffs. The format of 68 teams each competing in a single elimination round until one team prevails is more exciting than a regular playoff series. It sets up the opportunity for Cinderella teams to go on magical runs and upsets make the tournament unpredictable and fun.
The WNBA is set up like other traditional professional sports leagues. Eight of the twelve teams make it to the playoffs. The first round is best of three and the semifinals and finals are best of five. This drawn-out competition is much less exciting than one game at a time, win or go home. The most exciting possibility for playoffs is when the series is tied and there’s one game left to decide the winner. This is replicated in March Madness in every game. People tend to tune out the playoffs until the series is almost over.
Newer women’s basketball fans who want to follow their favorite college player to the pros might be confused when they cannot find them on a roster come summer. There are only 144 roster spots available so a very select few draftees make it on opening day rosters and an even smaller amount see the court. Last year only fifteen of the thirty-six draft selections appeared on opening-day rosters.
The limited roster size turns fans away who lose interest once their favorite players are not easily watchable anymore. Many women also decide to go overseas because of the higher pay. At the end of the day, professional sports are supposed to be entertainment for fans. And with these entertaining personalities not being visible after college, it makes it harder for fans to support the league.
College teams have automatic fans from alumni, current students and local lifetime fans. Teams are guaranteed fans year in and year out. Unlike the WNBA which does not have casual fans. It is hard to be a casual fan like it is for college because people do not know anything about the teams or players in the WNBA. They do not know who to root for and the storylines are not presented as prominently in the media. College can get more casual fans who can become more loyal just from the inherent nature of the system.
Caitlin Clark is a household name for any sports fan. But what about Sue Bird? Alyssa Thomas? Women’s college basketball gets more media attention and coverage allowing more casual fans to know the biggest storylines happening. However the WNBA’s athletes and storylines are not widely known outside of WNBA fans. Media coverage plays a huge role in creating fans and educating people. The college storylines are more exciting and easier to follow up on than the WNBA.
This ties a lot of the previous themes together but with only 12 teams the WNBA limits geographical fan bases. The WNBA is missing out on major basketball cities and fan bases that would automatically become fans of the local team. With teams in only twelve cities across America that leaves more places where the WNBA is irrelevant than relevant. Compare this to the other professional leagues that have teams across America and even southern Canada.
The WNBA is adding an expansion team in the Bay Area for 2025. The league hopes the new team will draw in a new fan base and more revenue. If this team launch is successful then more teams and cities could be in the pipeline. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has talked about another expansion team in 2025 in Portland. But other options could be Charlotte, Philadelphia, Nashville, Denver or Toronto.
The WNBA needs to find a way to bring the women’s college fans over to the professional league and close the viewership gap.
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Being a new watcher of the WNBA, college ladies are MUCH more likable than the WNBA ladies. The WNBA is not ready to move up in the ranks of professional sports because their athletes are unprofessional. Their attitudes, entitlement and unpolished behaviors are a turn off. Then the play of the game. The grabbing, shoving and throwing makes the game 1990’s Pistons, not 2020’s Warriors. People prefer modern basketball. They must open the game up. I’m already checking out and we’re only 5 weeks in. Boring, bad, basketball will never be popular. College ladies are fun and they play a better brand of basketball.
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