Data & Narrative — Background
The history of women’s basketball in the US, from the WBL to WNBA
The creation of the WNBA was the culmination of a long and storied history of women’s basketball in the United States. The sport dates back to its inception alongside men’s basketball in 1891-1892, with early contests like the first inter-institutional game between the University of California, Berkeley, and Miss Head’s School [1]. Over the decades, women’s basketball gained momentum, with significant milestones such as the U.S. women’s team winning gold at the 1953 World Championships [1]. The passage of Title IX in 1972 marked a turning point for women’s sports in the U.S., as it mandated gender equality in educational programs, including athletics [2]. This legislation laid the groundwork for the inclusion of women’s basketball in the Olympic Games for the first time in 1976 [3]. The inclusion of women’s basketball in the 1976 Olympics had a significant impact on the sport and its viewership. This event marked the first time women competed in Olympic basketball, taking place from July 19 to July 27 in Montreal, Canada [4]. The Soviet Union team, led by the standout player Uljana Semjonova, dominated the tournament, winning the gold medal. The United States secured the silver medal, and Bulgaria took bronze [4]. The 1976 Olympics also highlighted key players like Pat Summitt and Lusia Harris from the U.S. team, who became influential figures in promoting women’s basketball in the years that followed [1]. The increased media coverage and viewership of these games helped to showcase the talent and athleticism of female basketball players, paving the way for greater opportunities and recognition in the sport [5].
Despite this progress, early attempts to establish professional women’s basketball leagues faced significant challenges. In 1978, Bill Byrne launched the Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL), aiming to capitalize on growing interest in the sport [5]. However, the WBL struggled with financial issues, low attendance, and inadequate public relations, leading to its dissolution after just three seasons [5]. A subsequent effort to create a women’s professional league, the Women’s American Basketball Association, also failed in 1984-85 [5]. The U.S. women’s basketball team continued to achieve success on the international stage, winning its second Olympic gold medal in 1988 [7]. This success, combined with rising interest in women’s sports, set the stage for the establishment of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) [5]. On April 24, 1996, the NBA approved the WNBA, just months before the U.S. team won its third Olympic gold medal [8]. However, the American Basketball League (ABL) began play first, leading to a brief period where two women’s professional leagues coexisted [5]. While the ABL initially attracted top talent with higher salaries and stock options, the WNBA quickly gained an edge through popular sponsors and a television package with NBC, ESPN, and Lifetime [5].
The WNBA continued its growth throughout the years, gaining supporters and strengthening its legacy with each new storyline and exhilarating tournament. Today, it stands as the most prominent women’s basketball league in America; in June of 2024, the league recorded the best television ratings in its history, with an average of 1.32 million viewers across its networks [9].
Citations
[1] Grundy, Pamela; Shackelford, Susan. Shattering the Glass: The Remarkable History of Women’s Basketball.
[2] (OCR), Office for Civil Rights. “Title IX Education Amendments | HHS.Gov.” HHS.gov, October 20, 2022. https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/sex-discrimination/title-ix-education-amendments/index.html.
[3] Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (NBHF). “1976 US Women’s Olympic Team.” The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Accessed August 4, 2024. https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/1976-us-womens-olympic-team/.
[4] Olympics. “Montreal 1976 Basketball Women Results.” Olympics – Olympic Games Montreal 1976. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/montreal-1976/results/basketball/basketball-women.
[5] Staffo, Donald F. “THE HISTORY OF WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL IN THE UNITED STATES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE OLD WBL AND THE NEW ABL AND WNBA.” Physical Educator 55, no. 4 (Winter, 1998): 187. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/history-womens-professional-basketball-united/docview/1437911016/se-2.
[6] WNBA Press. “Women’s History Month: The WBL (1978-81).” Las Vegas Aces, March 11, 2018. https://aces.wnba.com/news/womens-history-month-the-wbl-1978-81/.
[7] Olympics. “Seoul 1988 Basketball Women Results.” Olympics – Seoul 1988. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/seoul-1988/results/basketball/basketball-women.
[8] WNBA Press. “History of the WNBA.” WNBA. Accessed August 3, 2024. https://www.wnba.com/news/history-of-the-wnba-2002.
[9] Associated Press. “WNBA Earns Record TV Ratings for 1st Month, near-Record Attendance.” ESPN. Accessed August 4, 2024. https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/40326422/wnba-earns-record-tv-ratings-1st-month-record-attendance.
“I’ve always told my players that there may be someone in the stands who is watching women’s basketball for the first time, and we want them to come back. The biggest difference is that this isn’t just about women’s basketball, but a whole women’s movement.”
Tara VanDeever
Basketball Coach, Stanford
A changing league
How has the WNBA changed with the world around it?
Inclusivity
The changing cultural landscape in America has also significantly impacted the WNBA’s viewership and its evolving values. As the country has become more inclusive and supportive of diverse voices, the WNBA has embraced its role as a platform for social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and racial equality. This alignment with progressive values has resonated with a younger, more socially conscious audience, contributing to a resurgence in viewership and fan engagement in recent years. The league’s push for inclusivity also informs some of our visualizations as we examine its presence across states based on political leanings.
Image: Michelle Smith, WNBA
Interest in women’s sports
Interest for women’s sports has been steadily increasing in recent years. Previously, women’s sports received little airtime from major networks. With each year that passes, however, more people are tuning into publicized games and events, such as the 2023 NCAA Finals or the 2023 Women’s World Cup. As more people pay attention in women’s sports, more networks and corporations begin to invest in and prioritize women’s sports. Subsequently, as more matches are broadcasted and streamed, viewership increases. The WNBA reflects this growth, being the leading league for women’s professional basketball in the US.
Image: Justin Setterfield, Getty
In comparison to the NBA
The WNBA has always been closely tied to the NBA during its growth as a league. Players from one league are compared and scrutinized against players from the other, with factors like race, biological sex, and income being main talking points. Relevant societal issues such as gendered pay gaps exist between the two leagues, but context exists that give further complexity to such issues. In addition, the audience sizes and attention given to the NBA versus the WNBA is of importance within this project, as we examine how this factor, along with salary differences, affects the perspective of those within the field of women’s basketball.
Image: Stacy Revere, Getty
Data & Narrative — Visualization
Taking a closer look at context & history
Since its beginning in 1997, the WNBA has grown in popularity and success, though its development has been notably different from other major leagues like the NBA. While the NBA quickly became a global powerhouse, the WNBA’s growth has been more gradual, reflecting broader societal and cultural dynamics. The league’s success has been driven by increasing visibility for women’s sports, growing advocacy for gender equality, and a rising demand for representation in athletics. [1] However, the WNBA has faced challenges, including disparities in media coverage, general attention, and salaries compared to the NBA, which has led to a contrast in attitudes and philosophies between the two. [2] To see how the WNBA is affected by external societal influences, made efforts for inclusion and LBGTQ+ acceptance, and developed compared to the NBA, we created several data visualizations, including bar graphs, line charts, timelines, and maps.
Citations
[1] Smith, Michelle. “Inside the W with Michelle Smith: The W and Pride through the Years.” WNBA. Accessed August 3, 2024. https://www.wnba.com/news/inside-the-w-with-michelle-smith-the-w-and-pride-through-the-years.
[2] Staffo, Donald F. “THE HISTORY OF WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL IN THE UNITED STATES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE OLD WBL AND THE NEW ABL AND WNBA.” Physical Educator 55, no. 4 (Winter, 1998): 187. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/history-womens-professional-basketball-united/docview/1437911016/se-2.
In recent years, how has the popularity and success of the WNBA developed versus other sports or leagues, like the NBA? What societal or cultural reasons can its accomplishments or shortcomings be attributed to, if any?
To address our first question, we looked at viewership and salary data.
The line graph compares the minimum salary for players in the WNBA vs. the NBA. Salaries are determined by each league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, or CBA. The first bar chart compares the NBA & WNBA in terms of Finals game viewership, year-by-year, while the second shows a steady rise in WNBA viewership among popular networks. Data viz was created in Tableau.
Data sourced from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (open analysis for citations)
Interpreting viewership & salary between leagues
Our data analysis
The line graph depicting the minimum salary for WNBA versus NBA players reveals a stark disparity. While both leagues show an upward trend in salaries, the minimum salary for WNBA players remains significantly less compared to their NBA counterparts. NBA players earn over ten times more than WNBA players, highlighting a profound imbalance. This discrepancy is particularly striking given the growing popularity and success of women’s basketball. In recent news, Caitlin Clark, the most recent number one draft pick in the WNBA, received a base salary of $76,535 [1]. The NBA’s most recent no. 1 draft pick, Victor Wembanyama, meanwhile, made nearly $12.2 million in his first year [2]. However, considering the difference in viewership and overall popularity of the NBA versus the WNBA, one can reason that more money exists in the NBA sphere, and therefore salaries can be capped much higher in their CBA’s (Collective Bargaining Agreement) [1]. Alongside the line graph, a bar chart can be seen that compares viewership between the two leagues, displaying their differences in popularity. The NBA’s revenue was around $10 billion in 2022 while the WNBA had a revenue of around $200 million in 2023 [1]. The WNBA’s smaller viewership and subsequently smaller perceived value makes growth difficult in a space long-dominated by male-led leagues like the NBA. According to Nielsen, nearly a quarter of the US population (22%) say that there is not enough information in the media to keep up with women’s sports [3]. Supporting this information, Nielsen analytics found that ESPN SportsCenter provided 91 seconds of coverage for the average WNBA game and 266 seconds of coverage for the average NBA game [3]. Another Nielsen report stated that almost a fifth of US fans (18%) said live airings of women’s sports aren’t easily accessible to them, and that when both the conditions of access and coverage are met, fans tune in [3]. In recent years, however, interest in women’s sports has grown. The 2023 NCAA tournament drew nearly 10 million players for the final game between Iowa and LSU, a 103% increase from last year. Popular networks are also broadcasting more women’s sports events, such as the BBC, which showed nearly triple the number of matches of the Women’s World Cup in 2019 and onward [3]. A clear rise in viewership for the WNBA among popular networks like ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC can be seen in the third bar graph. As more people show interest in women’s sports, brands, sponsors and broadcasters start to invest in and prioritize leagues like the WNBA.
The WNBA is now set to receive $2.2 billion over 11 years as part of the NBA’s recent deals with Disney, NBC, and Amazon. For coaches and players, however, the success of the WNBA means more than just numbers. According to Donald Staffo, author of “The History of Women’s Professional Basketball in the United States with an Emphasis on the Old WBL and the New ABL and WNBA,” the WBL, a women’s basketball league that existed before the WNBA, dissolved because it faced obstacles related to a lack of funds and a lack of audiences actually interested in the games [4]. A difference between the development of men’s and women’s sports in the US is that women’s sports “are an outgrowth of the women’s physical education program,” and are in the pursuit of sports “for sports sake” [4]. The lack of money in women-led leagues like the WBL and later, WNBA, results in smaller salaries, but also fosters a different attitude among its players and officials. The WNBA tries to maintain a different, cleaner image from the NBA by focusing on its sports-first philosophy, supporting charities and organizations and pursuing cause-related initiatives. Other programs include open practices, summer programs, autograph signings, public player appearances, etc. Overall, these insights address our first question by detailing the journey and complications of the WNBA in a historically male-dominated space. The increasing attendance at WNBA games reflects a rising interest in women’s sports, indicating that the league is gaining visibility and success. However, the minimal growth in salary for WNBA players, especially when contrasted with the substantial earnings of NBA players, underscores a deeper issue of unequal opportunities while also touching on the differences in philosophies between the two leagues. This discrepancy points to a financial imbalance and relates the history of the women’s basketball and its relevancy on the WNBA today.
[1] Davidson, Kavitha A. “Caitlin Clark WNBA vs. NBA Salary Outrage Is Missing the Point.” MSNBC, April 17, 2024. https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/salary-caitlin-clark-pay-wnba-nba-revenue-rcna148245.
[2] Spotrac. “NBA Minimum Salaries.” spotrac.com. Accessed August 3, 2024. https://www.spotrac.com/nba/cba/minimum/.
[3] “Women’s Sports Viewership on the Rise.” Nielsen, August 2, 2023. https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2023/womens-sports-viewership-on-the-rise/.
[4] Staffo, Donald F. “THE HISTORY OF WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL IN THE UNITED STATES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE OLD WBL AND THE NEW ABL AND WNBA.” Physical Educator 55, no. 4 (Winter, 1998): 187. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/history-womens-professional-basketball-united/docview/1437911016/se-2.
[5] Spotrac. “WNBA Minimum Salaries.” spotrac.com. Accessed August 3, 2024. https://www.spotrac.com/wnba/cba/minimum/.
How did the changing cultural landscape in America affect the viewership of the WNBA? What did the league initially look like, and how has its values changed over time?
To address our second question, we relied on historical data and information, using timelines and maps to find connections between the history of women’s sports and the WNBA today.
Our timeline chronicles the unique history of the WNBA against the backdrop of a historically male-dominated field and milestones within the league that push for inclusivity. Our maps seek to establish a connection between WNBA and the NBA, respectively, with state political leanings. The timelines were created with TimelineJS. The maps were made in Tableau.
Data, historical info for timeline 1 sourced from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Analyzing the history of women’s sports, the WNBA’s presence across America, and pushes for inclusion
Our data analysis
The first timeline analyzes historical events that occurred in the WNBA, from its inception to today. It explains the important events in WNBA history that led to its formation and popularity among viewers today. It describes how the marketing, financial organization and broadcasting of the WNBA changed overtime and how it redefined the WNBA’s image. Additionally, the timeline highlights significant milestones in player advocacy, such as the establishment of the first collective bargaining agreement, which improved player rights and working conditions [1]. The timeline traces the popularity of the WNBA by marking milestones in viewership or attendance; for example, one event mentions the WNBA’s recent 2024 season, which saw record-breaking attendance and viewership numbers [2]. By combining these segments of the league’s storied history, the timeline offers a thorough analysis of the WNBA’s journey, reflecting its achievements and ongoing efforts to promote women’s professional basketball on a global stage.
The second timeline chronicles milestones in WNBA for inclusivity, particularly with respect to LGBTQ+ visibility and acceptance. Historic events, such as the LA Sparks celebrating Pride in 2001, or the WNBA becoming the first professional sports league to celebrate Pride month, are memorialized in the timeline. [3] These events tell a story of how the WNBA has become more inclusive over time, which address our question about how its values have changed over time. Furthermore, this timeline informs our maps, in which we examine the perceived progressiveness of states and how they influence the popularity of the league and reflect its values.
[1] WNBA Press. “History of the WNBA.” WNBA. Accessed August 3, 2024. https://www.wnba.com/news/history-of-the-wnba-2002.
[2] WNBA Press. “WNBA Opens 2024 Season with Highest Attendance in 26 Years and Most-Watched Games Ever on National TV.” WNBA. Accessed August 3, 2024. https://www.wnba.com/news/tip-off-2024-success-breakdown.
[3] Smith, Michelle. “Inside the W with Michelle Smith: The W and Pride through the Years.” WNBA. Accessed August 3, 2024. https://www.wnba.com/news/inside-the-w-with-michelle-smith-the-w-and-pride-through-the-years.
Our data analysis
These are two map visualizations paired with bar charts. Each map displays attendance for the WNBA / NBA for each state and categorizes states according to their political leaning. States can lean Democrat, Republican, or Swing State. In consideration of our second timeline of inclusivity in the WNBA, the league stands as a clear leader for queer visibility and acceptance within the professional sports world. The WNBA is viewed as “one of the most — if not the most — progressive and diverse professional leagues in the world.” [1] When viewing our previous data viz about the league’s growth in viewership in recent years and the general rise in interest for women’s sports, we thought about cultural or political influence and how the league would be affected by it. In the United States, anti-LBGTQ resentment “is a large social force […] that animates conservative politics.” [2] To compare how the political landscape of of states, which reflects general attitudes towards progressive values that the league has, as seen in the inclusivity timeline, we measured attendance data against political leanings. We gathered average attendance data from Across the Timeline and the NBA website from 2023 and used Tableau to visualize and compare the two leagues. We found that political leanings did not affect the popularity of the NBA, as each category (Democrat, Republican, Swing State) were mostly similar in attendance count. However, we saw a clear difference in political leanings for our WNBA map, with Democrat states taking a clear lead in popularity versus Swing States or Republican-leaning states. In the WNBA map, Democrat states lead in double the average attendance count than the next category, Swing States, and stands at more than triple the count for Republican states. This was an interesting finding and partly addressed our question about external influences. However, there are gaps as one needs to consider additional context when viewing the maps. Primarily, the NBA has a much larger and more diverse audience than the WNBA, which likely reflects its mostly even viewing crowd among the three political categories. Due to the NBA having more fans and having more network options, being available on national broadcast channels like ABC, TNT, and NBA TV, the male-led league is exposed to a wider array of people across states. [3] However, the difference between the two maps can also signal a connection between a state’s values and its reception towards a women-led league that prides itself on LGBTQ+ acceptance and inclusivity. These maps, together with our timelines, address our question about the cultural landscape in America’s effect on the WNBA and the growth of its inclusive values.
[1] D’Arcangelo, Lyndsey. “After Years of Snubbing LGBTQ+ Fans, WNBA Is Sports’ Most Welcoming League.” The New York Times. Accessed August 3, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3333605/2022/06/15/wnba-lgbtq-fans/.
[2] Boso, Luke A. “Rural Resentment and LGBTQ Equality.” 71 Fla. L. Rev. 919 (). https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/flr/vol71/iss4/1.
[3] Jope, Christian. “NBA VS WNBA: Revenue, Salaries, Attendance, Ratings.” World Sports Network, June 27, 2024. https://www.wsn.com/nba/nba-vs-wnba/.
Data & Narrative — Importance
Why?
The WNBA has become more popular and successful in recent years despite being a female-led league in a male-dominated field. To understand why, we used data and primary and secondary sources to visualize the societal and cultural factors that have contributed to the WNBA’s achievements and challenges. Our analysis gives insight into the unique position of the WNBA as a female-led league and how it has established its position in the historically male-dominated world of professional sports. While it has received less attention and money than its male counterpart in the NBA, the WNBA has fostered a different perspective in its pursuit of sports [1]. This unique perspective, which is purpose-focused and centered on the advancement of women’s sports in America, sets a league like the WNBA apart from the NBA [1]. These values have been instilled in the league since its early years and have affected its growth over time. The WNBA has gone through significant transformations, adapting to cultural and social changes over time. Studying the league’s history, from its early days to its current values and initiatives, allows us to trace the evolution of its identity. We examined how the WNBA’s commitment to gender equality, inclusivity, and community engagement has helped it grow in its unique position, and noticed how the shifting political landscape in America affected its growth. By examining the league’s evolution, its history, and how the outside world affects its values and growth, we have gained a better understanding of the WNBA’s place as a female-led professional basketball league not only in America, but in the history of sports altogether.
Citations
[1] Staffo, Donald F. “THE HISTORY OF WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL IN THE UNITED STATES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE OLD WBL AND THE NEW ABL AND WNBA.” Physical Educator 55, no. 4 (Winter, 1998): 187. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/history-womens-professional-basketball-united/docview/1437911016/se-2.
Through the visualization of data and events, we addressed topics of historical relevancy, the growth of women’s basketball leagues, and inclusive milestones in the WNBA.
To find out more about our data, take a look at our Data Critique.