There’s no question that women’s basketball has grown in popularity, and that the growth is no fluke or one-hit wonder. The sport is ripe with narratives and skilled players, and it’s only going to keep growing over time.
However, before the 2025-26 season, has the sport already achieved mainstream status?
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We asked our Trojans Wire and UCLA Wire writers what they think.
Matt Zemek, Editor
Let’s put it this way. Women’s basketball is moving from niche to the mainstream. Has that process fully run its course? No, but it’s moving in the right direction. One big offseason story deserves more attention: The 2028 Women’s Final Four will be played in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, a football venue. The Women’s Final Four moving to football domes follows the path of the men’s tournament. In 1979, the Magic-Bird national championship game catapulted the popularity of the sport to a higher level. In 1982, Michael Jordan and North Carolina beat Patrick Ewing and Georgetown in the Superdome before more than 61,000 fans. The move to domes was underway and continued to make the Final Four a big-stadium event. Women’s basketball is beginning to follow that trajectory.
Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire
While I wouldn’t say that women’s basketball is niche by any means, it is definitely not as popular as college football, men’s basketball, or the major American pro sports. I hate to come across as negative, but I am not sure that it is ever capable of reaching that level of popularity in this country. I think that having more parity at the college level would certainly help, though. One of the great things about the NCAA Men’s Tournament is how crazy and unpredictable it can be. On the women’s side, it feels like there are a lot fewer upsets, giving people less reason to tune in before the Final Four.
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Micah Huff, Trojans Wire
It is getting there. Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and now Juju Watkins have helped grow the game tremendously and bring more and more attention to it year after year. More investment and better marketing would help it get further. Also, making sure these games are on channels that are easy to access, not buried on lesser sports channels.
Ethan Inman, Trojans Wire
I think NCAA women’s basketball is a mainstream sport but the WNBA is still slightly niche. Collegiate women’s basketball has had surges of popularity over the years, and I think it is so star-studded and ripe with intrigue and narratives that return year over year. Compared to NCAA men’s basketball, it honestly is a more interesting sport than its male alternative right now. I think the WNBA’s issue, aside from bad past PR, is commissioner Cathy Engelbert. That Cailtin Clark/Napheesa Collier story that came out was really troubling and tone deaf. How are the players supposed to grow if they are led by such a self-righteous commissioner? With a new commissioner whose mission is truly being a humble servant of the players, the WNBA can thrive just as much as NCAA women’s basketball.
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Ryan Lorenz, UCLA Wire
Women’s basketball has definitely begun to become a mainstream sport, although it has not risen to the popularity of the NBA. Superstars work wonders because it gives people someone to root for and now people have started following the careers of players like Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, JuJu Watkins and Angel Reese. As long as the stars keep performing, people will continue watching and it will continue to grow.
Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire
It’s not on the same level as the NBA, MLB or NFL but it’s certainly growing. It’s mainstream in the area where there’s elite programs. It’s more mainstream in South Carolina and Connecticut than it is in most other parts of the country but stars like Caitlin Clark, JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers have helped elevate the top programs to, at least, the same level of men’s college basketball. I think women’s college basketball is in a great place and a potential JuJu Watkins Final Four run once she returns would help push it even farther.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Women’s college basketball status report for 2025-26 season
