Michael Newmann’s Post

As Women’s History Month draws to a close, I find myself immersed in the excitement of March Madness, thanks to Cheick Thiero. As a lifelong gender champion, I am compelled to highlight the groundbreaking achievements in NCAA women’s college basketball. From the coaches to the players, they are continuously shattering barriers. Two names take center stage: Hall of Famer Coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks and Caitlin Clark, the superstar of the Iowa Hawkeyes projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming WNBA draft on April 15. Key facts to note: 🔥 The first two rounds of the women’s NCAA tournament broke attendance and viewership records set just last year – and it wasn’t even close. 🏀 This past Monday's matchup between Iowa and West Virginia drew 4.9 million viewers, setting a record for a women’s D-I tournament game before the Final Four. 📺👀 Before even stepping into the WNBA, Caitlin Clark just received an offer of $5 million to join the Big3, a 3-on-3 professional basketball league founded by Ice Cube, a legendary Generation X rapper, hip-hop icon, and actor who has employed several former NBA players. 💰💥 Dawn Staley is the 2nd highest-paid coach and deserves all her flowers as the shining example of exemplary leadership, which is why her women’s team has again earned the #1 overall seed. Tune in for this Friday’s first game, which promises to be historic. 🌟🏆 In this video, Coach Staley drops some gems of teachable moments in the depths of adversity that build character and show that even in loss, there are ways to win. In the words of Coach Dawn Staley, there is a demand for new storylines for women’s basketball! #Marchmadness #ncaatournament #leadership #womenofimpact #basketball #education #sports #storytelling

🚨 ICYMI 🚨 🏀 According to Nielsen, the University of South Carolina -University of Iowa clash made headlines with a massive 18.9M viewers, marking the most-watched basketball game since 2019! Interested in more Nielsen insights => see here: https://bit.ly/3TR0B85 #womenssports #basketball #finalfour #linkedinsports #insights #data

The South Carolina-Iowa game was a huge hit, with a staggering 18.9 million viewers tuning in to watch the game. This makes it the most-watched basketball game since 2019! Stay up-to-date with the latest insights from @Nielsen and learn more about what's trending in the world of sports. Check out the link below! https://bit.ly/3TR0B85

Happy March Madness Day! Today is the official launch of the annual NCAA March Madness tournament! And things are about to get exciting. In the spirit of Sports as a key driver of audiences, connected experiences and monetization in our business, we wanted to make sure you have all your trivia ready to go. Here's what you might have never known, but will make a fun fact on your Zooms and in your brackets and at the dinner table. FIRST: The original phrase is believed to date back to the 1800s and is through to be connected Rabbits - aka a March hare. For the excited behavior of rabbits in March. NOW, onto Basketball. According to NCAA.com, Deadspin and Sportspro.com - The first NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was played in 1939.  It had eight teams.  - Oregon is the first NCAA tournament champion, beating Ohio State for the title. (our CMO Shannon Pruitt is a proud Duck so GO DUCKS!) - The NCAA tournament field grew to 16 teams in 1951, doubled to 32 in 1975 and expanded to its current size of 64 teams in 1985.  - The term 'March Madness' was first used in reference to basketball by an Illinois high school official, Henry V. Porter, in 1939.  - March Madness wouldn't become associated with the NCAA tournament until Brent Musberger used it during coverage of the 1982 tournament. (The Power of Influence) - North Carolina leads with the most wins ever with 131, followed by Kentucky with 130, and Duke with 118 - Although the NCAA Division I basketball tournament has been around since 1939, the women were not included until 1982. Women had a long fight with the NCAA before that, even after Title IX was passed in 1972, to realize this big change. - In 2023, the Women's Final beat the men's for viewship and set a record with 9.9 million views. This far surpassed 2022s average of 4.9 million viewers and and the previous record of 5.2 million set for the 2002 title game. T The 2023 Women’s March Madness shattered numerous viewership records, with the ‘Elite Eight’ games averaging 2.2 million viewers, up 43% YoY. #sports #womenssports #ncaa #Marchmadness #media #livesports #liveevents #eyeballs #ratings #basketball

🏀 She Shoots - She Scores! 🏀 NCAA basketball tournaments are underway, and Numerator surveyed nearly 500 consumers to find out their tournament-watching plans. Here’s what we found: ⛹️♀️ 30% of consumers plan to tune in to the 2024 NCAA women’s basketball tournament. The top reasons for watching the women’s tournament include: 🎉 They like the social aspect (32%) 🏀 They generally enjoy watching women’s college basketball games (31%) ⛹️♀️ They like watching specific players (23%). ⛹️♀️ Among those consumers who like watching specific players, the favorites were Caitlin Clark (79%), JuJu Watkins (26%), Angel Reese (23%), Paige Bueckers (21%), and Aaliyah Edwards (17%). ⛹️♀️ When asked how much they agreed/disagreed with the statement "Caitlin Clark has had / is having a positive impact on women’s sports," 59% of all NCAA tournament viewers somewhat or strongly agreed, 19% neither agree nor disagreed, 3% somewhat or strongly disagreed, and 19% did not know of Caitlin Clark. #Numerator #MarchMadness #NCAAbasketball #basketball #MarchMadness2024 #survey

Here is my newest article published by SWVA SUN. The story of, Reed Kirtner, a junior shooting guard, on the George Wythe Varsity basketball team. Read more here!

Week 12 - Men's Basketball Top 25 rankings: Associated Press and Attendance 🏀 UNC remains #1 in attendance, tops 20K average. 9️⃣ Nine teams ranked in AP but not Top 25 attendance: Houston Auburn Oklahoma Duke Baylor Utah St Texas Tech Florida Atlantic Colorado State We help collegiate athletic departments build insight-driven growth strategies to grow fan bases. Ring us when you're ready to accelerate your efforts. We meet you where you are...accelerating growing efforts, fan base renovation, or starting from scratch. #sports #sportsbiz #sportsmarketing #innovation

Check out this article from AZCentral: GCU alone at No. 1 with best college basketball record, but no promise of NCAA tourney bid https://lnkd.in/gi94fuj8

Iowa/LSU Elite Eight game was the most-watched college basketball game EVER on ESPN! 12.3 million viewers. Until, Iowa/UCONN Final Four game, which is now the most-watched college basketball game EVER on ESPN! 14.2 million viewers. Iowa/South Carolina Championship game today will have even more viewers and become the most EVER watched college basketball game, especially since it will air on ABC 🤗 It’s good business to invest in women’s sports, the fabric is different. 😍 How many viewers do you think will watch today??? #WomenInSports #WomensSports #LinkedinSports #Sports