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Walk into any college store in the country and you’ll be quickly overwhelmed by bright pops of school colors, logos and mascots printed on an array of products, and designs celebrating that school’s most popular sports.
But who decides what is popular and which teams are celebrated? The spheres of media and sports marketing and sponsorship play a role, as does our own industry of licensed merchandise.
We’re exploring this topic as it relates to visibility for women’s sports. The first part of A Conversation on Visibility for Women’s Sports features Whitney Wagoner, director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, and Lori Shontz, Professor of Practice at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication.
The Duck Store: At Oregon we have seen increased fan interest and media attention for sports like women’s basketball and softball. How does this compare to national trends, coverage or licensed product demand for women’s sports?
Whitney Wagoner: The national data does support strong growth, particularly for women’s basketball. The WNBA orange hoodie was the product of the summer and most other WNBA metrics are all trending up. The new set of broadcast deals for the NWSL is also a huge step forward for that league, as USWNT ratings for recent World Cup appearances have led the way.
TDS: While fan interest is increasing, we also know that women’s sports have long had a loyal following. Do you think visibility through media coverage, sponsorship and/or licensed product offerings has lagged behind demand from fans? If so, can you speak to the role sexism has played in this failure to meet demand?
WW: There is a challenging chicken and egg construct that has affected women’s sports for a long time. In order to gain more momentum and fan following, viewers need access to more content. But without a demonstrated history of viewers, content isn’t made available. This is all about the business side and commercial viability of these efforts. Perhaps the roots are institutional and cultural sexism, but this is a business question. This has been manifested by smaller audiences, lower merch sales and fewer tickets sold for women’s sports… but the long-standing lack of media exposure and lack of availability of licensed product have contributed to being stuck in this vicious cycle.
TDS: From your perspective, what is needed to increase visibility even more?
WW: While true that this is question about a viable business model, we need leaders with courage to break us from the vicious cycle mentioned above. We need more access to more women’s sports content across all touch points in order to grow the pipeline. Perhaps in the short term that isn’t profitable. We need investments with a long-term vision that allow an increase in access + visibility to turn into an increase in demand.
TDS: What would the impact be for increased visibility for women’s sports and what does our society lose by not taking an equitable approach?
WW: The data worldwide is incontrovertible that when girls and women participate in sport, they lead healthier, safer, more educated and more economically secure lives. Sport participation is an absolutely critical component in the future for girls and women. And the global data also shows that as go girls and women, so goes society at large. Communities and economies thrive when women flourish. A commitment to equitable access and economic opportunities (equal pay, for example) is the key to overall maximization for us all. And if we can’t see it, we can’t be it. And it we don’t see it, we don’t value it. Visibility of women’s sports showcase what is possible for the next generation and are tangible, inspiring manifestations of the power of equity.
TDS: At The Duck Store we have seen first-hand the excitement of kids when they find a shirt or hat that represents their favorite sport. Too many times we have also seen the disappointment when their sport is not represented. Can you speak to the role that licensed apparel and memorabilia businesses play in increasing visibility for women’s sports?
WW: The power of repping one’s passion through licensed apparel cannot be overstated. There is immense brand development when thousands of people become walking billboards for teams and athletes. There is a social currency that builds on itself when licensed apparel spikes in popularity; a natural movement that grows in intensity as others see it and want to be a part of it. Conversely, there is damage done when product isn’t represented. It solidifies the idea that a sport or an athlete is less important, less valuable, less cool. Licensed product is a proxy for what we are culturally told to believe matters. If that product is missing, that reinforces a false sense that women’s sport isn’t worthwhile.
The Duck Store: At Oregon we have seen increased fan interest and media attention for sports like women’s basketball and softball. How does this compare to national trends, coverage or licensed product demand for women’s sports?
Lori Shontz: I graduated from college in 1991, and I’ve been writing “women’s basketball is finally here” stories since I was a student. I covered the Women’s Final Four every year from 1995 to 2001, and I swear I wrote that story annually: Finally, this is IT. It never quite was. But now it’s starting to feel like women’s sports are beginning to get the attention they have always deserved – something that’s both a thrill and a relief. What’s happening at Oregon is part of that: Sports fans in general pay attention to excellence, which is why the women’s basketball programs at places like Tennessee and UConn have had such large crowds and large followings. (UConn being located so close to the ESPN studios in Bristol didn’t hurt, either.)
The UO softball and women’s basketball teams have become excellent, so sports fans who are connected to the university in some way pay attention. Excellence comes when resources are invested. That matters. It’s been amazing to watch Pac-12 women’s basketball the past few years. I feel like I’m living in the women’s hoops capital of the country. It’s fantastic.
Social media has helped a lot. Female athletes and the journalists/broadcasters who cover them can build a following there and reach fans. You can put your story out there, and fans will find it, and they can amplify the content and the storylines. That takes work and commitment, but it’s easier than trying to get your sport and your athletes onto, say SportsCenter. Nationally, the latest research shows that while 40 percent of athletes are female, they get only 4 percent of sports coverage. That’s from a 2014 study and documentary, and I hope very much that the next such study will show an increase.
The other trend is that female sports stars are becoming increasingly recognized in popular culture, not just in athletics. This piece by Carly Ebisuya in the Daily Emerald has one of my favorite pieces of evidence: One of the female sports journalists she interviewed said her daughter isn’t a sports fan but knows Megan Rapinoe and why she matters. That’s how you get to the point that you’re selling merchandise and getting people to tune in for broadcasts.
Case in point: My Twitter feed has been rhapsodizing about the WNBA’s 25th anniversary gear. Yes, I chose those followers, and so of course we share common interests. But I couldn’t have connected at all that way a decade ago. And the gear wouldn’t have existed. I don’t think I could have bought 10th anniversary gear.
TDS: While fan interest is increasing, we also know that women’s sports have long had a loyal following. Do you think visibility through media coverage, sponsorship and/or licensed product offerings has lagged behind demand from fans? If so, can you speak to the role sexism has played in this failure to meet demand?
LS: I’ve never, ever understood this. Women buy consumer goods; as this Harvard Business Review piece puts it, “women drive the economy.” But somehow, in the world of sports, women’s purchasing power hasn’t seemed to count as much. I remember writing a story for which experts told me that women didn’t buy gear the same way men did; they were less swayed by celebrity endorsements, for instance. But as a journalist, I always noticed that the storylines for women’s sports weren’t everywhere. So maybe women – or any sports fans – just didn’t know enough about the teams and the players to want to buy the gear?
I appreciate that the men’s professional leagues have gear for women fans, now – cut and shaped and fit to us. I don’t get why so much of it is pink, though; as a fan, I’d want to wear the team colors.
We’re seeing more marketing targeted to women. Oiselle, a company founded by UO alum Sally Bergesen, is an excellent example of that. Their Instagram, in particular, highlights women with all kinds of bodies—including professional athletes, whom they sponsor, but not solely professional athletes. That appeals to me, and I bet to a lot of other women, too. They’re also doing a terrific job highlighting women’s sports history. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that a company founded by a woman that makes gear specifically for women’s bodies is doing this kind of work. It matters.
TDS: From your perspective, what is needed to increase visibility even more?
LS: I’m a season ticket holder for UO women’s basketball, and one of the most moving things I’ve seen recently has been the proliferation of Sabrina Ionsecu jerseys and T-shirts in the Pit Crew at women’s basketball games—worn not just by female students, but by male students. Seeing little girls and boys in those jerseys can literally make me tear up. That visibility matters. It’s not just visibility. It’s representation.
Media coverage matters, too. Women’s games need to be on TV in prime time. They need to be treated not as one-offs, but as part of a narrative. The industry needs to do much, much better in hiring, as well; about 85 percent of sports journalists are white men. Richard Lapchick has been issuing “racial and gender report cards” for the major professional leagues and for the sports media industry based on his research for quite a while, and progress is slow. Too slow.
Women need to be decision makers. Most visible women in sports broadcasting, for instance, are sideline reporters. That’s why so many of my female students who want to work in sports want to be sideline reporters. That’s what they see. Getting behind the scenes to where there is more power, in directing and producing in broadcast companies, in editing in news organizations, is the next really big step.
TDS: What would the impact be for increased visibility for women’s sports and what does our society lose by not taking an equitable approach?
LS: I go back to the classic Nike ad—If You Let Me Play, in which little girls give all of the statistics about how playing sports makes girls and women healthier, physically and mentally. That was made in 1995, and it’s still relevant today. The late Jennifer Frey wrote about how that commercial pulled her in two directions -- she loved the message, but she was also concerned that the advertisement showed how closely female self-esteem was tied to body image, and how companies and advertisers should think more about that.
Men’s and women’s intercollegiate sports have different roots. Men’s was largely commercial—the first intercollegiate athletic competition was a crew race between Harvard and Yale at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire in 1852—and it was sponsored by a railroad to promote its travel packages. Women’s intercollegiate sport came from the physical education department, more with a sound mind in a sound body philosophy. That caused problems, early on, for women who wanted to compete; there were female physical educators who didn’t want women to behave like men, and they either watered down or even tried to block competition. I’m glad we’re past that.
But I think it’s important to have a broader view of sports. If success always looks like following the men’s model – which certainly has flaws – that isn’t enough. I’d love to see a more female-centric way of looking at athletics and competition. A truly equitable sports universe would look different, I think. And be better.
TDS: At The Duck Store we have seen first-hand the excitement of kids when they find a shirt or hat that represents their favorite sport. Too many times we have also seen the disappointment when their sport is not represented. Can you speak to the role that licensed apparel and memorabilia businesses play in increasing visibility for women’s sports?
LS: As someone who grew up as a (mediocre) swimmer and runner who could never find gear for my favorite teams, I feel this at a deep level. I wanted to show my pride in my sport and my love for my original sports heroes, and that was hard. The gear just didn’t exist. Would I have loved a T-shirt with a picture of my first athletic hero, swimmer Tracy Caulkins , on it? Or a running singlet like the one Joan Benoit wore to win the first Olympic marathon for women? YES. It would have made me feel powerful. It would have made me feel important, too, that I could buy gear related to the sports I loved. I’m so happy that more kids have that opportunity today, and I hope that number keeps growing.