MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Nicole LaVoi, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, on the women’s sports boom in Minnesota.
For the first time in history, the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament sold out, U.S. National Women’s Soccer team shared it will played a game at Allianz Field in St. Paul, and The Professional Women’s Hockey League is gaining traction. So what led to the sudden burst of interest and a passionate fanbase for the gender that’s previously lacked mainstream media coverage? Listen to the interview to find out more!
Transcripts
text | pdf |
CATHY WURZER: Today is International Women's Day. We're going to focus this next conversation on the growing popularity of women's sports. And why not? Look what's happening in Minnesota. The Big Ten women's basketball tournament continues tonight at Target Center in Minneapolis. Golf's lost to number six ranked Michigan last night, but this year's Women's Big Ten is the first to sell out in the tournament's history. We learned this week that the US national women's soccer team will play a game at Allianz June 4.
The professional women's hockey league is quickly picking up traction, and a bar of their own. That's new sports bar, dedicated solely to women's sports, opened last week in the Twin Cities. So what's led to the popularity and a rapidly growing dedicated fan base? Nicole LaVoi is the director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport. She's a former college athlete and a coach. Dr. LaVoi is on the line. Happy International Women's Day to you.
NICOLE LAVOI: And to you, Cathy. Good morning.
CATHY WURZER: Good morning. Thanks for being here. Some of us remember the derisive comments made years ago by Minnesota sports columnists and sports reporters about women's sports. Female athletes, as you know, have had a tough time getting recognition, but it appears that has changed. Why do you think that is?
NICOLE LAVOI: Oh, so many reasons, Cathy. We are at a real inflection point for women's sport, and that really the status quo has been disrupted in how we market, endorse, promote, cover, invest, and broadcast women's sport. And this is really due to a multitude of factors, which I'm happy to talk about.
CATHY WURZER: Yeah, sure. Let's start. I mean, have you noticed-- at least I have-- more sponsorships are coming up for women's sport?
NICOLE LAVOI: Yeah, sponsorships for women's professional sports is up 22% year over year. And in fact, Deloitte predicted that $1.3 billion in revenue will happen this year from women's sports, which is a 300% increase since 2021. So increasingly, people are seeing the value investment in women's sport and the great upside and potential for return on investment.
CATHY WURZER: And of course, sponsorships follow numbers. And I'm wondering about the effect of social media. You mentioned, there's been disruptions in how we cover and talk about women's sport. I wonder what social media, what the effect has been for that.
NICOLE LAVOI: Oh, social media has really created a new era for female athletes and women's sport because they have traditionally not been covered by the media. So female athletes have used social and digital media to gain agency to be more popular, amplify their voices and advocate for issues, and really engage authentically and directly with fans to create viable personal brands. And what we know from the data is that female athletes get two times the level of engagement with their followers compared to male athletes.
So we're seeing some amazing women collegiate stars. Some of them are right here in the Twin Cities playing in the Big Ten tournament. And when they go pro, they immediately give leagues a bigger aura and a greater recognition. So social media has been amazing for female athletes, as they bypass traditional channels of recognition.
CATHY WURZER: Well, look at Caitlin Clark. I mean, just in terms of her incredible popularity.
NICOLE LAVOI: Yeah, we would be remiss if we didn't mention Caitlin Clark this morning. And she has become her own brand with considerable influence and marketing power. And it's really providing a pathway for other female athletes to do the same.
CATHY WURZER: I'm wondering here about the lasting popularity. I don't want to be a rain cloud here. But do you remember? Was it, what? Late '90s, the soccer World Cup? We as women in the soccer World Cup? And it just huge and everyone was talking about it. And then it seemed like it faded. So do you worry about that?
NICOLE LAVOI: I do, because we've seen-- maybe not similar inflection points, but other like, this is going to be the year of women in sports. And then it fizzles out. But I'm cautiously optimistic this time will be different because women's sport is being given more prime time media slots. So people can actually see them in action and which drives awareness and interest.
And we're seeing much higher production value and the quality of women's sport, in general, that shows them as serious athletes. And we're also seeing rich and deep storytelling with rivalries and excitement. And I really hope that the days of underselling women's sport and overselling sex, which we've seen in the past in the Tucker Center, has data that says, you know what? Sex sells sex. Sex doesn't sell women's sport. I hope those days are gone.
So this increased sponsorship that I mentioned is being driven by increased media coverage and viewership. So if you see it, you can be interested in it. And we're increasingly seeing it more and more. And people love women's sport. That's why we're seeing unprecedented viewership and attendance and sellouts like the Big Ten tournament. And it's just a really exciting time for women's sport.
CATHY WURZER: Well, I am glad I had a chance to talk to you about this this morning. Thank you so much and enjoy the rest of the Big Ten tournament.
NICOLE LAVOI: Absolutely. Thanks, Cathy. And happy International Women's Day to you.
CATHY WURZER: Thank you. And to you, too. We've been talking to Nicole LaVoi. She's the director of the Tucker Center for Research On Girls and Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota.