NCAA Women's Basketball has undergone a meteoric rise in recent years. It has emerged as a premier product of the NCAA, especially in the age of NIL. Players like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark are now national celebrities. Viewing figures on ESPN for the Final Four and National Championship Game surpassed those of every NBA game on the network this season. Women's basketball is what's hot right now.
So how do you capitalize on it? With the world watching, what steps do you take to avoid a dip or plateau in interest? Players are staying in college longer thanks to the money, visibility, and networking they can achieve via NIL. That is something the NCAA, an organization that has often been slow to capitalize on trends in the past, cannot afford to pass them by. However, an announcement Wednesday indicates that the NCAA is taking proactive steps.
South Carolina To Face Notre Dame in France
In announcements made by the two schools, it was revealed that the 2023-24 women's basketball season would open on November 6 with a showdown between South Carolina and Notre Dame. However, this matchup between two powerhouse programs will not take place in Columbia or South Bend. Instead, the two teams will face in Paris, France. It will be the first-ever NCAA basketball to be played in Paris. Previously, the NCAA has found modest success in staging its college football opener in Dublin, Ireland.
While it's not an LSU-Iowa rematch, it does feature two exciting women's basketball programs. 2021 National Champions South Carolina are in something of a transitionary period after the graduation of their vaunted 2019 recruiting class. 5 of those players were drafted into the WNBA earlier this week. Meanwhile, Notre Dame is discovering its new identity under fourth-year head coach Niele Ivey. A three-seed in last month's March Madness, they fell in the Sweet Sixteen to two-seed Maryland. Both sides are likely to be preseason top-10 squads and strong seasons could see both emerge as title contenders. South Carolina has never beaten Notre Dame, currently sitting at an 0-3 record against the Irish. However, the event should be taken as a sign of things to come for collegiate women's basketball.
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