On the professional level, much of the popularity of women’s sports, Ashman says, is primarily tied to whether a player or a team is successful, like Serena Williams or U.S. women’s soccer. But where and when the games or matches are televised are also important. “You’re not going to stimulate demand if you keep burying women’s sports in all your programming,” he adds. “If more pressure [were] put on networks like ESPN to give women’s sports better time slots and more coverage, you could elevate the demand, although it is unlikely that demand for women’s sports will reach comparable levels of demand for most men’s sports.”
At least for now, female professional athletes in sports other than soccer might have to look elsewhere. Of the nine players on the Eckerd Women’s Basketball team, seven are international students. While a career in the WNBA might be unlikely for most of them, they have an option in the European women’s leagues. “The players are paid better in Europe,” Ashman says, “because there’s more interest in Europe.”
And a chance to extend a basketball career. Nicole Scales, a junior international business student from Park Ridge, Illinois, and a guard on the Eckerd College Women’s Basketball team, says she is considering playing overseas. “It’s something I think about because there are a ton of leagues over there and way more opportunities,” she says. “A big part of me wants to spend some time abroad just to get that experience.”
At least part of the path to a more level playing field, Nicole says, involves perception. “I think there is a movement going on now, and a lot of people are speaking out. We’re big advocates for the men’s team here. This isn’t an Eckerd problem. This is a national and a world problem—the perception that women’s sports are less entertaining. When people come to an Eckerd women’s game, they always say how much fun it is to watch and how hard we play and how we have a lot of fun doing it.
“It’s not just who can do this or that. There’s more to it than that. It’s the camaraderie that women bring, and just the fun. Once people come to the games, they get it.”
