Concord Christian girls’ basketball head coach Rebecca Carlile won two NAIA national championships when she played at Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma City in the late-1990s.
Now a high school coach, she’s seen both up close and from afar how women’s college basketball has exploded since then.
Even though the women’s basketball team at Southern Nazarene was typically more successful than the men’s program, the latter still drew larger crowds when she played. While that trend still largely holds across the country, the growth of women’s college basketball is undeniable.
Heading into this weekend’s Final Four, the average ticket price for the men’s matchups was roughly $230; the average ticket for the women’s matchups was about $330.
During a women’s tournament that’s featured incredible performances, including Iowa’s Caitlin Clark turning in a 41-point triple double against Louisville last Sunday, viewership has also skyrocketed. 2.49 million people tuned in to watch that Iowa-Louisville matchup. The average regular season NBA game drew about 1.6 million viewers last season.
It’s a far cry from when Carlile played.
“Even though (the men’s team) didn’t have a great record or they had a losing program a certain season, they would still draw bigger crowds, which is sometimes a little frustrating for the girls who are playing and working hard and actually winning,” she said. “It’s fun to see that maybe people are beginning to understand that the women’s game is just as entertaining to watch as the men’s.”
Carlile’s team at CCA is coming off of a 21-1 season that culminated with Division III championship. As she’s traveled around the country with her players who also compete separately in AAU events, she’s seen them develop a connection with the college game, in large part because of social media.
“Aliyah Boston, Hailey Van Lith, Paige Bueckers – my players have been following them since they were in high school, before they were necessarily big time,” Carlile said. “It’s a lot more fun for them to watch them now that they’re getting some national notoriety.”
At those AAU tournaments, her players have the chance to share a gym with others who might be headed to Division I college programs. That personal connection, fueled by the expansion of AAU programs for girls’ basketball, has also helped make the sport feel more interconnected.
“You can watch girls that end up playing big-time D-I,” Carlile said. “You’re in the same gym as them, and you follow them on social media. For everybody, it’s a lot more fun to watch players that you know.”
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament concludes with the national championship game on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in Dallas, Texas.