Women’s basketball has increased in popularity in recent years. A big contributor to the rise has been the emergence of Caitlin Clark as a superstar. She first burst onto the national scene as a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes during her college days and has become arguably the biggest star in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever.
With women’s basketball rising in popularity, it has led to a debate about which version of the game is better for new fans to watch. Is it better to watch NCAA women’s basketball or the WNBA? This question was brought up in a Reddit thread on Wednesday, with fans sharing their opinions. However, most favored NCAA basketball because it was posted on the NCAAW subreddit.
What makes NCAA Women’s College Basketball more appealing than the WNBA or vice versa?
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“College sports are inherently more magical, plus many people already have attachments to the team brands (university),” one fan wrote.
“You get 4-5 years to know the players. There’s so much turnover on a WNBA roster even with the transfer portal in NCAA. WNBA’s tv schedule is all over the place there’s games on ION, Prime, ESPN, League Pass, sometimes on local channels,” one fan commented.
“The fan base and overall enthusiasm is better for college basketball, imo. And I love how the big dance is one and done rather than a series. Raises the stakes by a lot,” one fan added.
Fans continued to share their opinions in the comments.
“I like both. The WNBA is talented from top to bottom and very physical which I enjoy. NCAAW, prior to the last year or two I could tell who was going to be on a team and got to know those players so the continuity was fun,” one fan wrote.
“The most popular events in the W are usually drama related. NCAA sticks more to basketball imo. Sure there’s drama bs, but nothing like the W. Look at the W sub right now haha,” one fan commented
“i like that college has more space for lots of players to be great. it bums me out how many great ncaa players are but there’s not space for them all in the w,” one fan added.
NCAA women’s basketball and the WNBA do not run concurrently
Fortunately for women’s basketball fans, they do not need to worry about choosing between women’s college basketball and the WNBA. The NCAA season typically runs from early November to early April. Conversely, the WNBA season typically begins in May and runs through October.
As a result, fans do not need to choose between which version of women’s basketball they want to watch. They can watch the NCAA during the fall and winter, followed by the WNBA in the spring and summer.
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