For years, collegiate sports have focused on male student athletes. Within the last few years, however, women’s college sports have begun to emerge into a pool of record-breaking and head-turning statistical headlines.
With the exposure of the WNBA and the rivalries between collegiate regions, women’s sports have seen one of the most drastic expansions in years. Following the 2024 NCAA tournament against LSU and Iowa, matchups between athletes drew in new viewers.
In particular, Texas women’s programs have seen various amounts of growth over the last three years. Over those three years, Texas has won the Learfield Director’s Cup annually, honoring Texas’ athletics department as the nation’s top program in the country across both men’s and women’s sports. Capturing the cup in 2026 was not only the third consecutive year for Texas, but also its fifth in only six years.
In the 2025-26 women’s basketball season, the Texas Longhorns set a season ticket-sale record, with over 6,000 tickets. After last season, Texas women’s basketball began its 2026-27 season by selling out its season tickets for the very first time in program history. While the Southeastern Conference’s attendance continues to rise slightly in women’s basketball, Texas’ attendance increases by thousands each season.
Accolades for Texas women’s sports don’t end at basketball. Every Longhorn women’s team, excluding soccer, is ranked in the top 15 nationally. Basketball currently sits at No. 6 in the AP preseason poll, golf is ranked No. 11, swimming and diving is ranked No. 3, volleyball No. 14 and softball and women’s rowing both sit at No. 1 as returning champions.
Just as importantly, women’s sports fans are not only showing up in person, but online as well. As fans engage through a variety of ticket marketplaces, colleges are not only selling out venues, but also building huge, valuable fanbases. It may seem that women’s sports mainly captivate the attention of women and younger girls, but in reality, the growth in women’s athletics is attributed to all genders alike.
What began as a surge of viewership in 2024 has led to a growing market that can influence any generation, including all genders, as Texas women’s athletics continue to break barriers within historically male-dominated college sports.
