The rise in women’s basketball platforms is inevitable, as an incredible level of talent has transcended the court. The growth and popularity the women’s game is achieving are unprecedented, and there are many collegiate stars who are touted as phenomenal players who are changing the women’s game.
Many superstar college players have signed Name, Image, Likeness, NIL deals with brands, and according to the Boardroom, the Iowa Hawkeyes NCAA Division I all-time scoring leader, Caitlin Clark, has signed with Nike, Paige Bueckers of UConn and Juju Watkins of USC are with Nike too.
LSU Tigers star, Angel Reese has inked a deal with Reebok. Kiki Rice of UCLA and Mikaylah Williams of LSU have signed deals with Jordan Brand. With Adidas, there are three players assigned, they are Hailey Van Lith of LSU, Janiah Barker of Texas A&M, and Aaliyah Edwards of UConn.
Curry Brand has signed Azzi Fudd of UConn and MiLaysia Fulwiley of South Carolina and Caroline Ducharme of UConn is with Moolah Kicks. Crossover Culture has inked a deal with Ohio State’s Jacy Sheldon. The NCAA champion of 2021, forward of Stanford Cardinal, Cameron Brink, has become the face of New Balance with her NIL deal.
Over the last few years, the demand for tickets, television viewership ratings, and media coverage of the women"s basketball games has gone up, and it is being pushed even more by the rising stars of collegiate basketball.
According to the Associated Press, the South Carolina Gamecocks, the 2024 NCAA champions, head coach Dawn Staley shared, "I’ve said it before that it’s been intentional to hold women’s basketball back. It’s no longer intentional anymore because they see we’re bursting at the seams. We just want to be treated as a sport. We just want an opportunity to be seen, and I do feel like there has been — it’s been very intentional to put us on TV."
The NBA icon, Lakers superstar, LeBron James, also shared how impactful the women"s college basketball platform has been and mentioned via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, "You’re able to build, like a real iconic legacy at a program. That’s what we all love about it."
The star also shared, "I think the popularity comes in with the icons that they have in the women"s game. You look at Angel Reese, you look at JuJu [Watkins], you look at Caitlin Clark, you look at Paige [Bueckers]. You look at the young girl that"s at Iowa State, the freshman there [Audi Crooks]. You look at [Cameron] Brink … at Stanford. And that"s just to name a few. And the freshman that"s at Notre Dame [Hannah Hidalgo]. Because they"re not allowed to go to the NBA [after their freshman year]."
The 6’4’’ Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, forward, Brink, on the rising popularity of women’s basketball shared her opinions and mentioned, "I keep seeing videos of people saying, ‘I can name five women’s basketball players in college, but not men.’ That’s so funny and such a crazy shift."
She further stated, "I think that really shows that in college women’s basketball, we have personalities and people are invested in us."
Breaking: Cameron Brink announced she will be entering the 2024 WNBA draft following her season at Stanford. pic.twitter.com/xyfd2zuaGY
— ESPN (@espn) March 12, 2024
Brink will be entering the WNBA Draft after establishing an incredible legacy with the Stanford women’s basketball team.
