The Unrivaled Summit has gathered 14 of the biggest college women’s basketball stars in the country, with the event happening in Miami last Thursday. As the collegiate stars participated in the celebrations, the organizers glammed all of them up ahead of the big event.
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All 14 college stars have signed NIL deals with the event, and they include Lauren Betts (UCLA), Sienna Betts (UCLA), Madison Booker (Texas), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Azzi Fudd (UConn), MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Flau’jae Johnson (LSU), Ta’Niya Latson (South Carolina), Olivia Miles (TCU), Kiki Rice (UCLA), Sarah Strong (UConn), Syla Swords (Michigan), and JuJu Watkins (USC).
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The event featured various activities, from training sessions to group bonding activities. As for why they were all glammed up, all 14 women were part of various merchandise shoots.
During the training sessions, they all showed off their skills, from shooting and passing to ball handling. It was a multi-day event which was officially called “The Future is Unrivaled Summit Presented by Samsung Galaxy.” Its president of basketball operations, Luke Cooper, released a statement regarding the event.
“Investing in elite women’s basketball talent is central to Unrivaled’s mission,” he said. “This transformational, first-of-its-kind initiative brings together the best of the best and reflects our deep commitment to elevating the women’s game and holistically supporting athletes.”
WNBA May be Planning to Push Out Competing Leagues Like Unrivaled
Unrivaled is considered by many as a different league from the WNBA, and therefore it may be considered a competitor. With the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) issue going on within the WNBA and the players’ union, reports indicate that the WNBA is trying to push out all other leagues, a move that a lot of players are opposing.
Seattle Storm’s Gabby Williams voiced this concern while speaking with reporters on July 18, right after the CBA negotiation meeting between league officials and the WNBPA.
“Especially being in that CBA meeting yesterday, it’s very clear that the league wants to push away all other leagues, without still paying us more than those other leagues,” she said.
There are a lot of current WNBA players playing with Unrivaled during the offseason, and this may be the reason why the league is now looking to collegiate stars and signing them to NIL deals as the CBA talks continue with WNBA players.
WNBA stars like Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers have played in the Unrivaled League.
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