Famous and dangerous
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
Hello there!
Another week, another slate of March Madness upsets. And while LSU avoided a loss against No. 11 Middle Tennessee, there’s another potential upset on the horizon: the school’s women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey is prepared to sue the Washington Post if the publication issues what she considers a “hit piece” critical of her career.
- Until it’s hot off the presses, here’s the latest in the world of women’s sports business.
NWSL
📚 The Angel City edit
The GIST: Last Saturday, Angel City FC, the Los Angeles Public Library, and Wikipedians in the LA area hosted a one-day Wikipedia edit-a-thon in celebration of Women’s History Month. The at-capacity event allowed local residents to contribute their Angel City knowledge to the world’s largest, community-driven encyclopedia. Very on-brand.
The details: The edit-a-thon focused on creating new Wikipedia entries and improving existing ones on women and nonbinary soccer athletes, teams, and coaches. Wiki articles on these topics suffer serious editorial shortcomings and are often sparse, inaccurate, or outdated — if they even exist at all. According to the club, only 19.77% of Wiki biographies are of women.
- Participants spent the time devoting their expertise to filling particular knowledge gaps on the platform, such as information on Angel City defender Croix Soto and drafts for pages on defenders Madelyn Desiano and Jyllissa Harris.
The precedent: In 2017, the group Feminism in India hosted an edit-a-thon called Indian Women in Sport, where articles were created and edited on Indian women athletes with no or very little representation. Event organizers referenced a 2011 study that found only 9% of Wikipedia editors were women, a percentage that drops to just 3% in India. Had it up to here.
The tech trend: The NWSL keeps leveraging tech to improve the fan experience, but Angel FC is going above and beyond. The club boasts partnerships with Justworks and Mindera, and Alyssa and Gisele Thompson represent tech-powered soccer brand Toca. By working with Wikipedia, Angel City gives knowledgeable fans the tools to inform online audiences.
Zooming out: In the artificial intelligence era, this edit-a-thon further proved a need for community knowledge especially as historical accounts and sports biographies still skew heavily male. Before AI can mine online data, content needs to be there in the first place — including increased, career-long coverage of women athletes.
NCAA women’s basketball
🏀 Watch the throne
The GIST: While official data points from women's March Madness have yet to drop, there’s a general consensus building that the women’s tournament is more compelling than the men’s. A recent Seton Hall Sports Poll (the first and only university-based poll on the sports industry) reflects the rising popularity of women’s college basketball. Let’s dive into the numbers.
47%: The percentage of the general population that can correctly identify Caitlin Clark, with 60% of self-described sports fans aware she’s an NCAA athlete. On a list of 10 NCAA basketball athletes — five women and five men — Clark was the most recognized. Famous and dangerous.
- The identification level for Clark was over 2x greater than any other athlete on the list, with 4x as many people recognizing her than the most-identified male player, Kansas Jayhawk Hunter Dickinson.
4: The number of women among the top six most-recognizable March Madness athletes in either bracket this year. After Clark, LSU’s Angel Reese was the next most identifiable athlete on Seton Hall’s list with 18% recognition by the general population, followed by 25% from sports fans.
48%: The proportion of the general population that plans on watching the NCAA women’s tournament, up 8% YoY. Among sports fans, 67% plan to watch the women’s tournament, which is a 10% boost from last year.
- Although a higher percentage plan to watch the men’s tourney, the YoY increase is relatively flat. Across the general population, 53% plan on watching (up 2% YoY), while 75% of sports fans hope to tune in, which is the same as last year. However, the high growth rate on the women’s side means advertisers and networks have a lot more real estate to work with.
Zooming out: Caitlin Clark may be carrying the March Madness brand this year, but there are other key factors at play, like improved media rights deals and exposure. And once Clark leaves for the WNBA, there’s still an exciting generation of players following in her footsteps. They’ve got next.
Together With The GIST
🤓 Ready for a reset?
Looking for a career change? The GIST’s job board has your back. If you’ve ever dreamed of working in sports, this is the resource for you.
- The job board features roles in every area across the industry: Marketing? Check. Finance? Check. There’s truly something for everyone.
Slay your career by checking out our job board today. Happy applying!
📈 Reddit — which has never turned an annual profit — maxed out its IPO opening day expectations. Snoo knew?
🇬🇧 England women’s national team players Mary Earps, Alex Greenwood, and Ella Toone will lead a new spot by UK mobile network operator EE to engage with the British sign language community.
👟 Jordan Brand signed an NIL deal with LSU guard Mikaylah Williams, who becomes the second women’s college basketball player to partner with the shoe company.
🎮 EA Sports FC struck a deal with long-standing sponsor UEFA to become the title partner of its Women In Football Leadership Programme, an annual event intended to advance the careers of influential women in the industry. A new kind of girlboss.
⚽ Soccer media company Footballco will be an official NWSL media and content partner for three seasons, with content available on the brand’s global soccer platform and its dedicated women’s soccer platform, Indivisa.
🇫🇷 IMAX and NBCUniversal made a deal to bring live coverage of this summer’s Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony to more than 150 U.S. IMAX theaters.
📱Renowned American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson starred in new Google campaign spotlighting the Android phones’ “Circle To Search” feature.
Giveaway Alert
The NCAA women's basketball tournament is truly living up to its hype so far, and with only two weeks left until the final, we’re giving away two tickets to the April 7th championship game in Cleveland, Ohio.
- And it’s not just tickets on the line — the winner will also receive $1,000 cash for travel and accommodation, plus Moolah Kicks Gear. Sound like a slam dunk? You know what to do — enter this contest today.
Peep our squad’s MVPs (Most Valuable Picks):
⭐ Who’s getting recognized
Women college athletes. After decades of inequality, women are gaining more popularity, interest, and financial potential than their male counterparts. The Caitlin Clark effect is just the beginning.
🏳️⚧️ What to support
This short film. Pink Light is a project by Harrison Browne, an LGBTQ+ advocate and the first transgender professional hockey player.
⚽ What’s changing
Uniforms in the NWSL. After the Orlando Pride led the way last season, the NWSL introduced new kits for all 14 teams without white shorts. This change reflects the growing trend in sports to consider women’s bodies and menstrual cycles.
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