Each bounce, pass, and buzzer-beating shot in NCAA women’s basketball is a tale unto itself. However, it’s the awards that seal the legacies. It went from all-time greats such as Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu to upstart stars such as Caitlin Clark rewriting the record books.
The college basketball world holds its collective breath every year to find out who will take home the ultimate accolades. So, what are the most highly regarded individual honors in women’s college basketball?
Title IX: A Game-Changing Law
Thirty-seven words were introduced in 1972 when Title IX was signed into law. However, what difference did those 37 words make? Before Title IX came on the scene, women’s sports on college campuses were under-supported and, at times, essentially invisible.
Flash forward to the present: the national television games all over the country and multimillion-dollar NIL contracts for women’s college basketball are a testament to where the game has arrived. But which short sentence started a women’s hoops revolution?
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal civil rights statute enacted by the national government that bans sex discrimination in every education program or institution that receives federal funding. The key section states:
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
It didn’t have sports in it, but its reach extended to athletic programs nationally. The United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare later gave an interpretation that Title IX applied to athletics. And with that, the regulations were promulgated in 1975 demanding equal opportunity for male and female athletes.
Prior to Title IX: There were less than 30,000 women playing on college athletic teams in 1971, and the women’s teams received only 1% of the athletic budgets. Women’s basketball was a club sport or intramurals with minimal press attention and de facto zero scholarships.
After Title IX: In the 1980s, women’s basketball exploded. The NCAA first awarded a women’s basketball championship in 1982, and now it is among America’s most-watched collegiate sports. More than 200,000 women participate in college athletics, and women’s basketball dominates visibility, revenue growth, and media coverage.
Legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, as well as trailblazers such as Cheryl Miller, Nancy Lieberman, and Lynette Woodard, contributed to the sport’s growth. Summitt’s record eight NCAA championships and vocal advocacy of women’s sports also contributed to forcing Title IX, especially into a mandate-becomes-movement phenomenon.
Title IX mandated that schools provide athletic scholarships according to their enrollment. This opened the door to opportunities for hundreds of women athletes who became All-Americans, Olympians, and WNBA stars.
With women’s basketball becoming increasingly competitive and more fun to watch, it began to receive media attention. ESPN started to cover the NCAA Women’s Tournament in the 1990s, and in the 2020s, TV viewership reached all-time highs. In 2023, the NCAA championship game between Iowa and LSU drew a record 9.9 million viewers, indicating how mainstream women’s basketball has become.
The NIL generation has ushered in unparalleled financial success for women basketball players. Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers, to name a few, have received endorsement contracts worth hundreds of thousands—and even millions—of dollars. That visibility and empowerment would have been unthinkable under Title IX.
Title IX has also influenced women’s participation in coaching and athletic administration. Although the number of women coaching women’s teams has decreased since the 1970s, paradoxically, it is because there is more competition and male interest in coaching women’s teams.
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However, numerous women have achieved top leadership positions because of the overall effect of the law on gender equity.
“Title IX allowed us to play, but better, it gave us the heart to lead,” said South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley.
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