WOMEN'S SPORTS
FACTS
(Compiled by the Women's Sports Foundation, Updated
1/15/02)
This compilation of facts is a representative sample
of the data that exists in women’s sports as of the publication date. If a
reference appears old (i.e. 1975, 1985), it generally means that either there
has been so much research on the topic that researchers see no need to
replicate the studies or that the Foundation has found no more recent credible
studies on the topic. Acronyms for sport organizations are used only following
an initial full reference, so if an unfamiliar acronym is encountered, look for
an earlier reference. Facts in bold have been updated or are new
since the last version.
Table of
Contents
I.
Benefits & Barriers 2
II.
Fitness 4
III.
Leadership/Employment 5
A.
High School/ College 4
B.
Open/Amateur 7
C.
Professional Sports 7
D.
Business 7
IV.
Underrepresented
Populations 8
V.
Sports for Disabled 9
VI.
Media Coverage 9
VII.
Participation 10
A.
Pre-Adolescent 10
B.
High School 11
C.
College 12
D.
Adult 13
E.
Senior 14
F.
Olympics 14
G.
Professional 14
VIII.
Sports Business 16
IX.
Viewership/Attendance 16
X.
Consumer Behavior 18
XI.
Internet.. 18
XII.
Cause Branding 19
I. BENEFITS & BARRIERS
·
Of the female student-athletes that entered on
scholarship in 1994, 72% of women graduated within 6 years of enrollment at the
same school they entered as freshmen.
This is 11 percentage points higher than overall rate for women and 21
points higher than that of male student-athletes. (Division I NCAA Study on Graduation Rates as reported in USA
Today, September 27, 2001)
·
According to an Oxygen/Markle Pulse poll, 56% of women
agree with the statement that seeing successful female athletes makes them feel
proud to be a woman. (Marketing to
Women, March 2001)
·
According to a Harvard study that followed 72,488
nurses for eight years concluded that the more a woman exercises, the lower
odds she will suffer a stroke. (Journal of the American Medical Association,
June 2000)
·
Teenage female athletes
are less likely to use marijuana, cocaine, or “other” illicit drugs (such as
LSD, PCP, speed, or heroin), less likely to be suicidal, less likely to smoke,
and more likely to have positive body images than female nonathletes. (The Women’s Sports Foundation Report:
Health Risks and the Teen Athlete, March 2001)
·
One in ten female
varsity athletes have some kind of season ending knee injury. (NY Times, March 29, 2001)
·
Women student-athletes
graduate at a significantly higher rate (68%) than women students in general
(59%). (Division I NCAA Study on
Graduation Rates, 2000)
·
Researchers from Penn
State say exercise may be more important than calcium consumption for young
women to ensure proper bone health as they get older. They studied 81 young
women, aged 12 to 16, beginning in 1990. When the girls reached 18, the
researchers found no relationship between calcium consumption and bone mineral
density. However, there was a strong link between physical activity and bone
mineral density (BMD). The researchers found that consistent activity, rather
than fitness or exercise intensity, was the best predictor of healthy levels of
BMD. (Pediatrics Fitness Bulletin 23(8): 2, Aug. 2000)
·
Daily physical education
in primary school appears to have a significant long-term positive effect on
exercise habits in women. They are more
active as they age. (Medicine &
Science in Sports & Exercise, Jan 1999, 31, #1, pp. 105-110)
·
Women who exercise
vigorously while trying to quit smoking are twice as likely to kick the habit
than wannabe ex-smokers who don't work out regularly. Researchers also found that women who worked out as they tried to
quit gained only about half the weight of those who did not exercise. (Archives of Internal Medicine, June
14, 1999)
·
Teenage female athletes
are less than half as likely to get pregnant as female nonathletes (5% and 11%,
respectively), more likely to report that they had never had sexual intercourse
than female nonathletes (54% and 41%, respectively), and are more likely to
experience their first sexual intercourse later in adolescence than female
nonathletes. (The Women’s Sports
Foundation Report: Sport and Teen Pregnancy, May 1998)
·
Women who practice the
same well-designed strength training programs as men benefit from bone and
soft-tissue modeling, increased lean body mass, decreased fat, and enhanced
self-confidence. (Physician and Sportsmedicine,
May 1998; 26: #5; 86-97)
·
High school girls who
play sports are more likely to do well in science. (Hanson, S.L. and Kraus, R.S., 1998; Sociology of Education,
71, 93-110)
·
A 10-year follow-up
study of 96 post menopausal women who had started a walking-for-exercise
program in an earlier study and 100 post menopausal women who hadn’t started an
exercise walking program suggest that making walking part of your exercise plan
may increase your overall activity level, which in turn may increase health
benefits you reap. Women who walked for
exercise were more likely to report participating in other sports and types of
exercise, rated their health better, and had lower rates of chronic disease
than women who had not started a regular routine. (Archives of Internal Medicine, Aug 10-24, 1998, 158, #15,
pp. 1695-1701)
·
In a study of 1,224
Finnish men and women over the age of 65, the most frequently cited motives for
participating in exercise activities were health promotion (80%), social
reasons (40-50%), psychological reasons (30%), personal satisfaction (15-40%),
and referral by health care provider (5-19%).
The most commonly cited barriers to participation were lack of interest
(26-28%), poor health (19-38%), feeling no need to participate (4-9%) and
distance to exercise facilities (5%).
There were no gender differences in either motives or barriers
cited. (Hirvensalo, M., Lampinen, P.,
& Rantanen, T., 1998, Physical exercise in old age: An eight-year follow-up study on
involvement, motives, and obstacles among persons age 65-84. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity,
6, 157-168)
·
The top five reasons why
girls play school sports are to have fun, to stay in shape, to get exercise, to
improve skills, and do something they are good at. (SGMA, American Youth and Sports Participation Study,
1998)
·
According to one study,
elderly women recovering from heart attacks derive many benefits from exercise
training, including decreased obesity, better quality of life and lower
anxiety. (Lavie & Milani, American
Journal of Cardiology, vol 79, pp 664-666, 1997)
·
The potential for some
girls to derive positive experiences from physical activity and sport is marred
by lack of opportunity, gender stereotyping and homophobia. (Physical Activity & Sport in the Lives
of Girls, PCPFS, 1997)
·
In a 1997 study of
collegiate women athletes and non-athletes, athletes reported having more
physically active parents than non-athletes.
(Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, December 1997, 19,
#4, pp. 435-436)
·
Exercise and sport
participation can be used as a therapeutic and preventive intervention for
enhancing the physical and mental health of adolescent females. It also can enhance mental health by
offering them positive feelings about body image, improved self-esteem,
tangible experiences of competency and success and increased
self-confidence. (Physical Activity
& Sport in the Lives of Girls, PCPFS, 1997)
·
With enough strength
training, women can lift, carry and march as well as men, according to Army
researchers. They say 78% of female
volunteers they tested could qualify for Army jobs considered very heavy,
involving the occasional lifting of 100 pounds after six months of training 90
minutes, five days a week. (Morning
Call, 1996 Jan. 30: A1, A5)
·
Physical activity
appears to decrease the initiation of high-risk health behavior in adolescent
girls. According to a 1995 survey of
boys and girls ages 12-16, female adolescents high in leisure time physical
activity are significantly less likely to initiate cigarette smoking than those
in moderate and low leisure time activity groups. (Aaron, et al., Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,
1996; 27, 1639-1645)
·
Women who exercise weigh
less, have lower levels of blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides and have
lower blood pressure than non-exercising women. They also report being happier, believe they have more energy and
felt they were in excellent health more often than non-exercising women. Exercisers also miss fewer days of
work. (American Journal of Health
Promotion, 1996: 10:171-174)
·
High school sports
participation may help prevent osteoporosis (loss of bone mass). Bone density has been shown to be an
important factor in preventing osteoporosis from occurring in the first place. Purdue University researchers found that of
minimally-active women aged 18-31, those who had participated in high school
sports had a significantly greater bone density than those who had not. (Teegarden, Proulx, et al. (1996), Medicine
and Science in Sports and Exercise, 1996; vol. 28, pp 105-113)
·
A 15-year follow-up of close to 4,000
female athletes and nonathletes revealed that the less active women had
significantly more breast cancer than the more active women. (British
Journal of Cancer, 2000, 82(3):725-730)
·
Although the
relationship between breast cancer and exercise remains unclear, analysis of
all the studies on exercise and breast cancer to date suggests that
recreational physical activity may decrease a woman’s chance of developing
breast cancer – especially if the most recent, best-designed studies are
weighted more heavily. (Menopause,
1996, 3, #3; pp. 172-180)
·
One to three
hours of exercise a week over a woman's reproductive lifetime (the teens to
about age 40) may bring a 20-30% reduction in the risk of breast cancer, and
four or more hours of exercise a week can reduce the risk almost 60%. (Journal of the National Cancer Institute,
1994)
·
Half of all girls who
participate in some kind of sports experience higher than average levels of
self-esteem and less depression.
(Colton & Gore, Risk, Resiliency, and Resistance: Current Research on Adolescent Girls,
Ms. Foundation, 1991)
·
Research suggests that
girls who participate in sports are more likely to experience academic success
and graduate from high school than those who do not play sports. (Women's Sports Foundation Report:
Minorities in Sports, 1989)
·
Women who are active in
sports and recreational activities as girls feel greater confidence,
self-esteem and pride in their physical and social selves than those who were
sedentary as kids. (Miller Lite
Report, 1985; Melpomene Institute, 1995)
II.
FITNESS
·
98% of 7-12 year old children have at least one risk
factor for heart disease including high blood pressure, high cholesterol,
excess body fat. (Sports Trend,
April 2000)
·
Nearly 2 out of 3 adults in the United States are
overweight or obese. An estimated 1,200
people die daily from weight-related illnesses. Health care costs for overweight and obesity total an estimated
$117 billion annually. (Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and
Health, 1999)
·
More than 60 percent of adult women do not do the
recommended amount of physical activity (30 minutes of moderate activity
daily). More than 25% of women are not
active at all. (Surgeon General’s Report
on Physical Activity and Health, 1999)
·
Nationwide, 30.0% of students thought they were
overweight in 1999. Overall, female
students (36.4%) were significantly more likely than male students (23.7%) to
consider themselves overweight. This significant sex difference was identified
for all the racial/ethnic subpopulations and students in grades 10, 11, and 12.
Overall, Hispanic students (36.7%) were significantly more likely than white
and black students (29.2% and 24.9%, respectively) to consider themselves
overweight. Hispanic female students (42.3%) were significantly more likely
than black female students (32.3%) to consider themselves overweight. Female students in grade 11 (40.2%) were
significantly more likely than female students in grade 9 (32.5%) to consider
themselves overweight. (Center for
Disease Control & Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey,
1999).
·
13% of children ages 6-11 were overweight in 1999, up
from 11% in 1988-1994 and 7% in the late 1970s. (Center for Disease Control & Prevention, Youth Risk
Behavior Surveillance Survey, 1999).
·
14% of children ages 12-19 were overweight in 1999 up
from 11% 1988-1994 and 5% in the late 1970s.
(Center for for Disease Control & Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior
Surveillance Survey, 1999)
·
Between 1986 and 1998, the number of overweight
children has grown steadily. 22.5% of
African-American, 21.% of Hispanic, and 12.3% of white children are considered
overweight. (Journal of the American
Medical Association, 286, No. 22)
·
29.1% of students attended high school physical
education class daily in 1999, down from 42% in 1991. (Center for for Disease
Control & Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Study, 1999)
·
Of students enroll in physical education class, 76.3%
exercised more than 20 minutes during an average physical education class. Overall, male students (81.2%) were
significantly more likely than female students (69.6%) to have exercised more
than 20 minutes during an average physical education class. (Center for Disease Control &
Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Study, 1999)
·
55.1% of students had played on sports teams during
the 12 months preceding the survey.
Overall, male students (61.7%) were significantly more likely than
female students (48.5%) to have played on sports teams. (Center for for Disease Control &
Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Study, 1999)
·
Nationwide, 56.1% of students were enrolled in a
physical education class in 1999.
Female students in grade 9 (75.6%) were significantly more likely than
students in grades 11 and 12 (36.8% and 29.4%), respectively to be enrolled in
a physical education class, and female students in grade 10 (56.6%) were
significantly more likely than female students in grade 12 (29.4%) to be
enrolled in a physical education class.
(Center for Disease Control & Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior
Surveillance Study, 1999)
·
72% of 9th graders participate in vigorous
physical activity on a regular basis, compared with only 55% of 12th
graders. (Center for Disease Control & Prevention, Guidelines for School
and Community Programs: Promoting Lifelong Physical Activity, U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, March 1997).
Physical activity peaks in 10th grade, at 11 hours per week
as the median and then begins a steady decline that is likely to continue into
the adult years. (International Life
Sciences Institute, Improving Children's Health through Physical
Activity: A New Opportunity, A Survey
of Parents and Children about Physical Activity Patterns, July 1998)
·
In all grade levels, girls get significantly less
activity than boys, yet three-quarters of the girls surveyed felt they get
enough exercise. (International Life
Sciences Institute, Improving Children's Health through Physical
Activity: A New Opportunity, A Survey
of Parents and Children about Physical Activity Patterns, July 1998)
·
Almost half of young people aged 12-21 and more than a
third of high school students do not participate in vigorous physical activity
on a regular basis. (Center for Disease
Control & Prevention, Guidelines for School and Community Programs:
Promoting Lifelong Physical Activity, March 1997)
·
According to a study of
2,993 women, older women who exercise tend to be motivated toward physical
activity by expectations of benefit to their health and longevity. Inactive women tend not to have the
self-confidence, skill and experience with physical activity that active women
do. (Melpomene Journal, Fall
1997, Vol. 16.#3, pp. 23-28)
·
More women (27%) than
men (17%) have no leisure physical activity, and among those age 80 or older,
74% of women and 58% of men report little or no physical activity. (Archives of Internal Medicine,
January 1996)
·
Only one state,
Illinois, mandates daily physical education for school children K-12 (AAHPERD,
1997). Daily enrollment in physical
education classes dropped from 42% to 25% among high school students between
1991 and 1995. (Physical Activity
and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, 1996)
·
Levels of obesity among
children and adolescents rose an average of 54% over a 15-year period. A general decline in physical activity was
cited as one of the primary reasons. (American
Journal of Disabled Children, 1987; 141:535-540)
·
The National
Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) estimates that 23 million women are affected by
osteoporosis or have low bone mass in the U.S.
(1996 and 2015 Osteoporosis Prevalence Figures: State by State Report. Washington,
DC: NOF; 1997, p.1). Nearly 40% of women over the age of 50 will
develop an osteoporitic fracture (Osteoporosis. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, Inc.; 1996,
p.431). This is an $11 billion annual
cost (Journal of Bone Mineral Research, 1997; 12:24-35). There is substantial evidence that
weight-bearing exercise, e.g., walking, increases bone mass. (Gyn:
Current Prob 5, July 1982)
III.
LEADERSHIP/EMPLOYMENT
High
School/College
·
As of 2001 only three women were serving
as directors of state high school associations and only two women was serving
on the National Federation of State High School Association’s governing
board. (National Federation of High
Schools, January 2002)
·
Women are moving into leadership positions in the
NCAA. 26.7% of senior level positions
at the NCAA headquarters are filled by women.
Seven out of 23 association-wide committees are chaired by women. Lenti Ponsetto is the first woman to head
the championships/competition cabinet and Elsa Cole is the NCAA's lead
attorney. (USA Today, September
27, 2001)
·
The nine-member NCAA infractions committee is
comprised of two women, the NCAA minimum.
The championship and academic eligibility compliance committees combined
have 83 members and 32 of the members are women, the NCAA minimum. (USA Today, September 27, 2001)
·
At the NCAA Division I level, there were
2,717 men's head coaching jobs and 61 (2.2%) were filled by women. Out of a possible 5,927 assistant coaching
jobs for men's teams, 449 (7.6%) were filled by women. (Racial and Gender Report Card,
Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 2001)
·
Women held 42.1% of all head coaching jobs
of women's teams in NCAA Division I athletics in 1999-2000. This represents a decrease from the
1998-1999 school year where women held 43.6% of head coaching jobs. (Racial and Gender Report Card,
Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 2001)
·
According to a survey of head coaches of NCAA Division
I basketball teams, head coaches of women's basketball average only 61.4% of
the base salary of head coaches of men's basketball. Women's basketball coaches' average base salary was found to be
$86,199, compared to head coaches of men's basketball, who average a base
salary of $115,586. (The NCAA News,
August 27, 2001)
·
Coaches of men's basketball programs are more than
three times as likely to have personal appearance contracts and more than two
times as likely to receive country club or apparel contracts than coaches of
women's basketball teams. (The NCAA
News, 2001)
·
Women make up 9% of collegiate athletic directors in
Division I, 15.3% in Division II, and 25.0% in Division III. Each division reported an increase of women
in this position from 1998-1999. (Racial
and Gender Report Card, Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 2001)
·
Women occupied 38.6% of all college athletic
administration positions in 1999-2000, up from 35.7% in 1995-96. (Racial and Gender Report Card,
Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 2001)
·
68% of female assistant
coaches do not want to become head coaches because they like their current
team/situation; 59% because head coaches are under too much pressure to win; 59%
because assistant coaching brings less stress than head coaching; 50% because
of loyalty to current coach or team.
(Survey of NCAA Assistant Coaches by M. Sagas, Texas A & M, and G.
Cunningham, Ohio State University as cited in Marketing to Women, March
2001)
·
9.5% of the full-time
college sports information directors are females. The highest percentage of female sports information directors is
11.0%, found in Division III. (Acosta,
R.V. & Carpenter, L.J., Women in Intercollegiate Sport: A Longitudinal Study — Twenty-Three Year
Update, 1977-2000. Unpublished
manuscript, Brooklyn College, 2000)
·
25% of full-time college
head athletic trainers are females.
(Acosta, R.V. & Carpenter, L.J., Women in Intercollegiate
Sport: A Longitudinal Study — Twenty-Three
Year Update, 1977-2000. Unpublished
manuscript, Brooklyn College, 2000)
·
In 1997-1998 the number
of white males was roughly twice that of females and minorities in the NCAA
officiating ranks. Women make up only 24% of officials in women’s basketball
and are completely absent from men’s basketball officiating. (results of the 1998-99 Gender Equity and
Diversity Report, NCAA, 1999, as reported in the San Francisco Examiner,
March 21, 1999)
·
The American
Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) reports that of all high school and
college volleyball coaches in America, 58% are female and 42% are male. (AVCA, 1999)
·
In 1998, the Women's
Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) reported that while 90% of head coaches
of men's NCAA Division I basketball have employment contracts, only 75% of head
coaches of women's NCAA Division I basketball have contracts. (WBCA, 1998)
·
48% of the 24,000 active
members of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) are women, yet
only 30% hold key leadership positions in NATA. (NATA, 1998)
·
In Kentucky collegiate
institutions in 1998 there were 58 head coaching positions of men’s teams and
58 men held those jobs. There were 56
head coaching positions of women’s teams with 34 of those jobs held by men. Nationwide, female coaches held 55% of the
women’s sports head coaching positions and two percent of the head coaching
positions in men’s sports during the 1996-97 school year. (Lexington Herald Leader, May 24,
1998, Women’s Sports Foundation, 1997)
·
A study conducted by the
University of Texas reveals that the median salary for a softball coach
($44,725) is 56% of that for a baseball coach ($79,570). (As reported in The Chronicle of Higher
Education, March 28, 1997, Athletics Department, University of Texas, 1997)
Open/Amateur
·
Elected December 3, 2000, Sandra Baldwin is the first
woman to serve as President of the United States Olympic Committee. (USOC, 2000)
·
Only 9 (7%) of the 126 members of the IOC are
women. (Women’s Sports Foundation
calculation from IOC information, 2001)
·
The 2001 Board of Directors of the United
States Olympic Committee (USOC) is comprised of 30 women (26%). The USOC has more women in high level
positions than the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS, and NCAA. (Gender and Racial Report Card, Center for Sport in
Society, 2001)
·
There are currently no
women serving on the IOC Executive Committee Board. (Women's Sports Foundation
calculation from IOC information, 2001)
·
Of the 353 non-athletes
in the U.S. official delegation to the 1996 Olympic Games, 235 were men (66.6%)
and 118 were women (33.4%). (compiled
by the Women’s Sports Foundation from USOC data, 1997)
Professional Sports
· Women hold very few of the top management positions available in professional sports. They occupy 14% in the NBA, 7% in the NFL and 4% in MLB of all team vice-president positions. (Racial and Gender Report Card, Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 2001)
· Three women have majority ownership of major league teams. Georgia Frontiere and Denise DeBartolo York own the NFL's St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers, respectively. Marian Ilitch is listed as co-owner with her husband, Mike Ilitch of the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL. (Racial and Gender Report Card, Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 2001)
·
There are no women team physicians in the National
Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL) or Major League
Baseball (MLB). There are also no women
head trainers in any of these leagues, despite the fact that the National
Association of Athletic Trainers (NATA) reports that 48% of its membership is
female. Women hold 88% of all head
trainer positions in the WNBA. Two
teams have team-dedicated women physicians.
In the WUSA, there are 6 female trainers, and 4 doctors who work with
teams in the league. (Racial and
Gender Report Card, Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 2001)
· The Women’s United Soccer Association began play in April 2001. Seven of the eight head coaches will be men. (Star Ledger, February 27, 2001)
·
In a survey of the 132 players in the
WNBA when asked as to their preference of male or female coaches, 63.6% said
they didn’t have a preference, 25.8% would prefer to play for a male and 10.6%
would prefer to play for a female. (USA
Today, August 3, 1999)
·
Less than 2% of the 900
sports agents registered with the NFL Players’ Association are women, five
women are registered with Major League Baseball, one active NBA player is
represented by a woman and only one of the 225 agents registered with the NHL
is a woman. (Sports Business Journal,
October 12-18, 1998)
Business
·
International Speedway Corporation's Lesa Kennedy was
selected as SportBusiness Journal's Female Sports Executive of the Year. Kennedy serves as Executive Vice President
of the $500 million company. (SportBusiness Journal, 2001)
·
Women hold just 11.9% of Board of Directors seats at
Fortune 500 companies. (Business and
Professional Women, 2001). Of Nike’s 44
board members in 2001, four were women (9%).
(Nike, 2001)
·
The average salary for
vice presidents at sports corporate sponsors is 70% higher for men than for
women ($141,250 vs. $83,067). The
industry’s overall average base salary for women was $58,407 for women vs.
$88,796 for men. (IEG Sponsorship Report, December, 2000)
·
80% of women identified
as key leaders in Fortune 500 companies participated in sports during their
childhood and self-identified as having been "tomboys". (Bunker, L.K. "Life-long Benefits of
Youth Sport Participation for Girls and Women." Presented at the Sport Psychology Conference, University of
Virginia, Charlottesville, June 22, 1988)
IV.
Underrepresented Populations
·
The first all African-American final at the 2001 US
Open Final saw Venus Williams successfully defend her title against her sister
Serena. Venus became the eighth woman
to win back-to-back Grand Slam titles more than once. (Women's Sports Foundation Research, 2001).
·
Of the United States Olympic Committee Board of
Directors 86 % were white, 11% were African-American, 2% were Asian, and 1%
were Latino and others. (Racial and
Gender Report Card, Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 2001)
·
The WNBA has the best record among professional
leagues for people of color (45%) and women (85%) as professionals in the
league offices. (Racial and Gender
Report Card, Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 2001)
·
In the 2000 WNBA season, 34% of the players were
white, 63% were African-American, and 3% were Latina. (Racial and Gender Report Card, Center for the Study of
Sport in Society, 2001)
·
Data collected by the Center for the Study of Sport in
Society for the 1999-2000 school year indicates that there were only five black
female directors of athletics in all of collegiate sports. African-Americans make up only 2.4% of
athletic directors while women hold 9% of athletic director positions. (Racial and Gender Report Card,
Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 2001)
·
Among senior woman administrators in Division I, 6%
are African-American. (Racial and Gender Report Card, Center for the
Study of Sport in Society, 2001)
·
29% of assistant and associate athletic directors at
Division I schools are women. 90% of
women in these positions are white. (Racial
and Gender Report Card, Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 2001)
·
Nearly a third of women playing basketball on scholarship
and a quarter of track athletes on scholarship in Division I schools are
black. Only 2.7% of the women receiving scholarships to play all other sports
are black (excluding historically black colleges). (Racial and Gender Report Card, Center for the Study of
Sport in Society, 2001)
·
African-American women comprise 12% of all women’s
sports head coaches and 10.2% of all women's sports assistant coaches in the
NCAA. (Racial and Gender Report Card,
Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 2001)
·
According to NCAA statistics on scholarship athletes,
1.8 percent of female athletes are Asian, 3 percent are Hispanic, 7 percent are
from other countries. The proportions
of American Indian, Hispanic, Asian, and foreign athletes have grown while the
proportion of black women have remained the same since 1990. (The Chronicle of Higher Education,
November 26, 2001)
·
Black female
student-athletes in NCAA Division I are graduating at a far higher rate (57%)
than black females in the general student body (42%). (NCAA Study on Division I Graduation Rates, 2000)
·
Overall, white students (67.4%) are significantly more
likely than black students (55.6%) to report vigorous physical activity. White
female students (59.7%) are significantly more likely than Hispanic and black
female students (49.5% and 47.2%, respectively) to report vigorous physical
activity. (Center for Disease Control,
Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 1999)
·
African-American and
Latina/Hispanic teenage female athletes experience significantly reduced rates
of pregnancy than female non-athletes.
(The Women’s Sports Foundation Report: Sport and Teen Pregnancy, May 1998)
·
Only 10.5% of
administrators at NCAA Division I institutions are members of minority groups
and fewer than 38% of them are women. (Racial
and Gender Report Card, Center for the Study of Sport in Society, 1999)
·
The Women's Sports
Foundation Report: Minorities in Sports reported that girls derive as many benefits from
sports as boys and that Hispanic female athletes receive special benefits. They were more likely than their
non-athletic peers to score well on achievement tests, stay in high school,
attend college and make progress towards a bachelor's degree. (Women's Sports
Foundation, 1989)
V.
SPORTS FOR DISABLED
·
Women and girls comprise less than 12% of all
wheelchair basketball players in the world.
(International Wheelchair Basketball Federation, 2002)
·
The United States 2002 U.S. Disabled Alpine Ski
Team will include 13 men and 11 women alpine skiers with six men and
one woman named in cross country.
(United States Ski and Snowboard Association, 2001)
·
Of the 123 countries participating in the
2000 Sydney Paralympic Games, 80 (65%), brought female athletes to participate
in the Games. This is an increase of 19
participating countries from 1996 (a 13% increase). Women's powerlifting made
it's international debut at the Sydney Games. (International Paralympic
Committee, 2001)
·
At the inaugural disabled World Cup in 2000, Sarah
Will won the downhill, slalom and giant slalom races, and at the 2000 World
Championships, she won a gold medal in the downhill event. (Women's Sports Foundation Research, 2001)
·
Marla Runyan became the first legally
blind person to qualify for the United States Olympic Team. She competed in the 1,500 meter race Sydney.
(United States Association of Blind Athletes, 2001)
·
At the 1996
Olympic Games, swimmer Amy Van Dyken won four gold medals and was rewarded with
$129,583 in prize money from the USOC and USA Swimming. At the 1996 Paralympics, visually impaired
swimmer Trischa Zorn won two gold medals, three silver and three bronze. She received no money. (USA Today, December 6, 1999)
·
Approximately
1/3 of the athletes with disabilities participating in international
competitions are women. (DePauw, K.P.
& Gavron, S.J., 1995, Disability and Sport)
·
Opportunity,
not choice, may limit physical activity in women with physical
disabilities. (Henderson & Bedini,
1995, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 66, 151-161)
·
Differently-abled
children are almost three times as likely to be sedentary as their able-bodied
peers (29% vs. 10%). Physical activity
levels among disabled kids in this study generally decreased during adolescence
after peaking between 10-12 years of age (Longmuir & Bar-Or, 1994, Pediatric Exercise Science Vol. 6,
168-177)
·
Of the 191
competitors at the 1990 World Championships for disabled skiers, only 36 were
women. (Simmons, P., 1992, Disabled
Women in Sports. Outdoor Woman
2, 7-9)
·
Virtually no
varsity athletic opportunities are offered to the physically disabled despite
the fact that over 10% of the college student population have
disabilities. (Association For the
Disabled, 1992)
VI.
MEDIA COVERAGE
·
Of the 25 sportscasters nominated for 2000 Sports Emmy
Awards, none were women. (National
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences press release, March 21, 2001)
·
A study reviewing school reading text found that boys
were represented in physical activities 65% of the time while girls were
represented 35%. In addition, boys
dominated throwing and catching activities while girls dominated dance and
swing-set activities. (Henschel-Pellet,
H.A., Physical Activity Gender-Role Stereotyping: An Analysis of Children's Literature, Research Quarterly,
72, No. 1)
·
In 1989 women’s sports received only 5% of the
coverage. The 1999 numbers show an
insignificant increase to 8.7%. (Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, Gender
in Televised Sports: 1989, 1993 and 1999, 2000)
·
There are 335 male and 81 female sportscasters working
in national network and cable television.
ESPN numbers are not included because the network would not reveal the
number of its male announcers. It has
46 female announcers. (USA Today
research, USA Today, September 7, 2000)
·
In ESPN’s list of the
top 100 athletes of the 20th century, only three women were listed from number
51-100. (#59 Billie Jean King, #69 Bonnie Blair, #64 Althea Gibson) The top 50 included five more women -- Chris
Evert (#50), Wilma Rudolph (#41), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (#23), Martina
Navratilova (#17) and Babe Didrickson Zaharias (#10). (ESPN, 1999)
·
In a study at Vanderbilt
University, researchers found that men received 82% of all sports coverage and
women received 11% with 6% covering both genders in three newspapers: The Tennessean, USA Today, and
The New York Times. (Coaching
Women’s Basketball, January/February 1997)
·
In 53 weeks of Sports Illustrated
(1996), four women were awarded cover shots.
The first three could be characterized as sensationalism (the swimsuit
issue, bloodied boxing newcomer Christy Martin and Cincinnati Reds owner Marge
Schott) and the last was the Olympic preview issue that featured women from the
U.S. Basketball Team. In 1997 three
women made the cover, a swimsuit model, Venus Williams and Jamila Wideman, who
shared the cover with her father. In
1998 four women were on the cover, a swimsuit model, Michelle Kwan, Pat Summit
and Chamique Holdsclaw. In 1999 four
women were on the cover, a swimsuit model, Serena Williams, Brandi Chastain,
and the U.S. Women’s World Cup Team. In
2000 seven covers featured women, a swimsuit model, a ticket price issue
featuring a “nuclear” family; an L.A. Clipper fan with a bag over her head,
Shea Ralph, Anna Kournikova, Megan Quann, and Marion Jones. In 2001, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders were
women on the cover of Sports Illustrated. (Women’s Sports Foundation research, 1996-2001)
·
The Australian paper,
the Herald Sun, created a 200 Greatest Sports Stars top 50 list, which
included only eight women (#3 Dawn Fraser, #5 Margaret Court, #6 Betty
Cuthbert, # 9 Shane Gould, #14 Heather Mckay, #18 Evonne Cawley, #30 Marjorie
Jackson, #34 Shirley Strickland). (Herald
Sun, Nov. 21, 1998)
·
Only four women made the
list of Sport Magazine’s Players
of the Half-Century – Billie Jean King (#12), Martina Navratilova (#22),
Chris Evert (#33) and Jackie Joyner-Kersee (#36). (Sport, September, 1996)
·
In TV Guide’s
list of TV’s 50 Greatest Sports Moments,
only 3½ featured women –Torvill & Dean’s Gold medal winning performance at
the 1984 Olympic Winter Games (#10), Kerri Strug’s courageous vault at the 1996
Atlanta Games (#14), Bonnie Blair’s history-making performance at the 1994
Olympic Games, becoming the first U.S. woman Olympian in any sport to win more
than four gold medals (#20) and Joan Benoit’s victory in the first Olympic
marathon for women in 1984 (#26). (TV
Guide, July 11-16, 1998)
VII.
PARTICIPATION
Pre-Adolescent
·
The American Quarter Horse Youth Association has
30,000 members and 75% of them are girls.
Their world championship show is the largest single breed youth show in
the world. (Melpomene Journal,
Summer 2000, Vol. 19, No. 2)
·
Girls comprise 92% of U.S. Pony Club members and
outnumber boys eight to one in 4-H programs. (Melpomene Journal, Summer
2000, Vol. 19, No. 2)
·
12.67 million females
aged six and over played basketball in 1999, a 15% increase over the 11 million
found in 1987, the first year the study was conducted. (SGMA, Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
The number of girls who
registered for AAU basketball tournaments increased 264% between 1990 and 1998,
exceeding the number of boys whose chose basketball for the first time in 1997.
(SGMA, 2000)
·
There were 3.8 million
softball players of all ages in 1999, half of whom are female. Organized softball play by girls increased 41%
in the 1990’s, from 411,135 to 579,450.
(USA Softball as reported in SGMA, Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
7.3 million females aged
six and older participated in soccer in 1999, a 20% increase over the 6.06
million reported in 1987, the first year the study was conducted. (SGMA, Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
In all grade levels,
girls get significantly less activity than boys, yet 75% of them feel they get
enough exercise. (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, 1999)
·
For girls in the 6 to 11
age group the number of frequent participants (2 or more times per week) in 15
vigorous sports has increased 86% since 1987, from 2 million to 3.8
million. The percentage of girls aged 6
to 11 who participated frequently rose from 20.4% to 32.4%. Frequent participation by boys 6 to 11 also
increased sharply during the same period.
The number of participants rose 57% from 3.8 million to 5.95 million. The number of boys 6 to 11 who participated
frequently in sports increased from 36% to 49%. (Gaining Ground: A Progress Report on Women in Sports,
SGMA, 1998)
·
Of girls aged 9-12,
84.2% listed themselves as self-motivators.
76.3% receive additional motivation from their mothers and 57.9% are
also motivated by their fathers or friends.
(Melpomene Journal, Autumn 1992, 11, No. 23)
·
If a girl does not
participate in sports by the time she is 10, there is only a 10% chance she
will participate when she is 25. (Linda
Bunker, University of Virginia, 1989)
High School
·
Participation for girls is at a record level of
2,746,181 for the 2000-2001 school year, an increase of 60,662 over
1999-00. Boys' participation also is
up, standing at 3,911,076, an increase of 39,683 during the same period. (National Federation of State High School
Associations, 2001)
·
In 1971, 1 in 27 girls participated in high school
sports. Today, that figure is 1 in
2.5. For boys, the figure has remained
constant at 1 in 2. (Women's Sports
Foundation calculation based on NFSHA and Department of Education statistics,
2001)
·
In 2000-2001, 1655 girls played football, 3023
wrestled and 1610 played baseball on high school teams in the U.S. (NFSHA, 2001)
·
In 1994 Minnesota declared women’s ice hockey a
varsity sport on the high school level with 24 teams registered; by the 2001
season, 199 teams registered to play.
There were 3,809 girls playing high school ice hockey in 2000. (NFSHA, USA Hockey, 2001)
·
Girls and women make up
85% of artistic gymnasts and 81% of all registered gymnasts in the United
States. (USA Gymnastics, 2001)
·
The number of female
athletes increased 40% on high school varsity teams in the 1990s. Boys’ participation increased 12.5% during
the same time. (SGMA, Gaining Ground,
2000)
·
According to the
National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHA), basketball
remains high school girls’ most popular sport, followed by outdoor track and
field, volleyball, fast-pitch softball, soccer, tennis, cross country, swimming
& diving, competitive spirit squads and field hockey. More than 16,500 high schools (out of a
total of 20,000) have girls’ basketball teams.
(NFSHSA, 2000)
·
In 1998-99 lacrosse,
water polo, weight lifting, ice hockey, wrestling and baseball were identified
as emerging sports for girls in high school.
(SGMA, Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
The number of girls
playing high school soccer in the ’90s increased by 112%. Softball was up 55%, swimming and diving was
up 51%, and cross country was up 46%.
(SGMA, Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
In the New York City
public school system, 155 of 165 high schools have some girls’ sports programs,
but 45 of them offer 3 or fewer. About
18,000 of the system’s 40,000 student-athletes are girls. There are 152,000 girls in the schools. (New York Times, Jan. 14, 1999)
·
In 1997, the Office of
Civil Rights (OCR) received 83 complaints under Title IX relating to sports
programs at elementary and secondary schools, the most received in a single
year since the agency began collecting data.
(OCR The School Administrator, November 1998)
·
During the ’90s, the
number of girls who play on high school teams has risen 31%, while the number
of boys has increased 9% during the same period. (SGMA Progress Report on Women in Sports, 1998)
College
·
Women's teams from Stanford and UCLA have a combined
46 NCAA women's titles and have been runners-up a combined 49 times. The schools with the most national titles
are Stanford (26), UCLA (20), Texas (20), North Carolina (21), and LSU (20)
with 26 national titles. (USA Today,
September 27, 2001)
·
Female athletes represent 41% of total varsity
athletes and receive 43% of collegiate athletic scholarship dollars. Total budgets for women's scholarships
increased 9% in 1999-2000. Total
budgets for men's varsity teams increased 5%.
(The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 18, 2001)
·
Only UCLA and Connecticut spend more money on travel
for women's basketball than men's basketball.
Virginia, Maryland, Texas, Ohio State, and Kansas spend more than
$100,000 more on men's travel than on women's travel. (ESPN, April 10, 2001)
·
As of 1999, the five fastest growing women’s college
sports since 1981 are water polo (up 3,600%), soccer (up 1,058%), equestrian
(up 486%), golf (up 222%), and rowing (up 184%). (U.S. General Accounting Office, as cited in U.S. News &
World Report, March 26, 2001)
·
Overall women's participation in collegiate athletics
has increased 128% across all three divisions since 1981 from 64,390 to
146,617. The total number of women's
teams is 8,271. Men's participation
grew from 167,055 to 208,481, an increase of 25%. The total number of men's
teams is 7,803. (NCAA Participation
Study, 2000)
·
According to the NCAA 1999-2000 participation study,
there are 857 softball teams in all three divisions for 15,157 players. (NCAA, 2000)
·
34 out of the 38 collegiate varsity riding teams are
women only. The majority of the 6,000
student athlete members of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association are
female. (Melpomene Journal, Summer 2000, Vol. 19, No. 2)
·
Women’s NCAA soccer participation grew 150% during the
1990s. (NCAA, 2000)
·
NCAA Division I institutions spent an
average of $31,000 per male athlete (up 15% from the 1997 Study) and $18,000
per female athlete (up 6% from the 1997 study) in 1999. In 1997, 25 years after
Title IX was passed, men’s sports received 78% of the athletics operating
budget and 75% of the recruiting budget. (NCAA, Revenues and Expenses of
Divisions I and II Intercollegiate Athletics Programs, 2000)
·
40% of all high school
athletes and 41% of all college athletes are female despite the fact that
male/female ratios in high school and college (53%) are about 50/50. (NFSHA, 2000; NCAA, 2000)
·
The seven most popular
collegiate sports for women are soccer, outdoor track, basketball, softball,
indoor track, volleyball and cross country.
(NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA as cited in SGMA’s Gaining Ground, 2000)
Adult
·
Frequent participation (100 or more times) by females
in fitness activities has increased 24% from 1990-2000. (Sports Edge,
October 2001).
·
In 2000 the following number of females, ages 6 and
older participated in the following fitness activities 100 or more times: 6.3
million worked out using free weights, 7 million used the treadmill, 4.3
million jogged or ran, 3.6 million used resistance machines, 3.9 million rode
stationary cycles, 2.1 million used stair-climbing machines, 1.3 million swam
and .9 million used mutli-purpose home gyms. (SGMA, Tracking the Fitness
Movement, 2001)
·
24.1 million women participate in fitness walking in
2000 (SGMA, Tracking the Fitness Movement, 2001)
·
The American Quarter Horse Association is the largest
breed association in the world with more than 3.7 million horses and 318,000
members. 75 percent of their membership
base is female. (Melpomene Journal,
Summer 2000, Vol. 19, No. 2)
·
In 1990, 23.3% of the
population exercised frequently. In
1999, it was 20.5% (21.4% of females and 19.4% of males). (SGMA, 2000)
·
In 1999, 16.4 million
females were members of health clubs, representing 54% of total
memberships. (SGMA, Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
A Sporting Goods
Manufacturing Association (SGMA) survey asked 662 men and women ages 18 to 30
to describe their high school gym class experience and rate their current
fitness level. 66% of those who had
positive memories are still very active – versus 5% who reported they felt
discouraged. 30% of women felt
embarrassed in class, as compared with only 11% of men. (SGMA, 2000)
·
The first Women’s
National Golden Gloves tournament was held in August 1999. Thirty-four countries have formal women’s
programs in boxing. (SGMA, 2000)
· According to the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA), women comprise 89% of step exercisers, 75% of aerobic exercisers, 63% of traditional roller skaters, 60% of ice skaters, 62% of exercise walkers, 53.6% of those who exercise with weights, 52% of badminton players, 53% of swimmers, 55% of volleyball players, 52% of calisthenics participants, 51% of in-line skaters, 73% of gymnasts, 71% of kick boxers, 52% of cross country skiers, and 51% of croquet players. (NSGA, 2000)
· Most athletic activities are dominated by younger women. The average age of a female soccer player is 16; female basketball player, 19; inline skater, 19; softball player, 21; volleyball player, 24; bowler, 28; tennis player, 29; and golfer, 39. (SGMA, Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
According to the
Sporting Goods Manufacturer’s Association (SGMA), the 10 most popular sports
and fitness activities for women are fitness walking, basketball, treadmill,
free weights, recreational walking, stretching, recreational swimming,
recreational bicycling, calisthenics, in-line skating. (SGMA, Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
Since the 1990-91 season
there has been a six-fold increase in the number of girls and women ice hockey
players from 5,573 to 34,156. (USA
Hockey, 2000)
·
7.49 million females
aged six and over played golf in 1999, a 4% increase over the 7.21 million
found in 1987, the first year the study was conducted. The average age of a female golfer is
39. (SGMA, Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
The number of females
who worked with free weights increased 134%, from 8.3 million in 1990 to 19.4
million in 1999. (SGMA, 2000)
·
8.17 million females
aged six and over played tennis in 1999, a 17% decrease over the 9.85 million
found in 1987, the first year the study was conducted. (SGMA, Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
54% of frequent
participants in fitness activities, 40% of frequent participants in vigorous
sports and 37% of frequent participants in vigorous outdoor activities are
women. (SGMA, Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
Physical inactivity is
more prevalent among women than men, among blacks and Hispanics than whites,
among older than younger adults, and among the less affluent than the more
affluent. (Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General,
1996)
·
Males are more likely
than females to participate in vigorous physical activity, strengthening
activities and walking or bicycling. (Physical
Activity and Health: A Report of the
Surgeon General, 1996; American Sports Data, 1997)
Senior
·
A study conducted at
Butler University found that older women who had competed intercollegiate
athletics during the late 1960s and early 1970s have remained active as they
age. 86% of women surveyed engaged in
moderate or strenuous activity at least three times per week. (Women and Physical Activity Journal,
Spring 2001)
·
Since 1991,
participation of women in the National Senior Games (NSG) has increased by 110%
(from 1756 to 3689). Swimming and track
and field are the most popular sports.
(NSG, 1998)
·
Only 37% of men aged 65
and older and 24% of women in the same age group engage in regular physical
activity (at least 30 minutes, three times a week), according to the most
recent National Health Interview Survey.
Walking and gardening are the most common choices. (Archives of Internal Medicine, June
24, 1996; Vol. 12, 1321-1326)
Olympics
·
The United States Olympic Committee projects that the
US delegation in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games will be comprised of 333
athletes, of which 32% (105) are female.
The Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee plans that of the 2500 athletes
who will be participating, 38% (959) will be female. (USOC, 2001)
·
In the 2000 Olympics, 4,254 women, an increase of 15%
from 1996, competed in 25 sports and 132 events (44% of the total events -
including mixed). For the first time,
women competed in the same number of team sports as men. Additional sports for
women included modern pentathlon, taekwondo, triathlon, water polo and
weightlifting. Two more teams were
added in handball and hockey.
Trampoline was added as an additional discipline and cycling (500m
track), shooting (ball trap and skeet), synchronized swimming (duet), hammer
throw, pole vault, 20km walk (replaces 10km walk) have been added as
events. (IOC, 2001)
·
Women will compete in two more sports at the 2002
Olympic Winter Games: bobsled and skeleton.
(IOC, 2000)
·
Women’s participation in
the Olympic Winter Games increased 58% from the Lillihammer Games in 1994 to
the Nagano Games in 1998. Women
competed in 46% of all events and comprised 36.2% (788 from 54 NOC’s) of all
athletes in Nagano. (IOC, 1998)
·
Women's participation in
the Olympics has risen from 1.6% in 1900 to 38.2% in 2000. (IOC, 2000)
·
44% of the Sydney USA Olympians, 42% of the Atlanta USA
Olympians, 35% of the Barcelona USA Olympians and 33% of the Albertville USA
Olympians were women. (complied by the Women’s Sports Foundation from USOC
data, 2001)
·
Of the 197 countries
participating in the 1996 Olympic Games, 26 (13%) still did not bring women
with their athlete delegations. There
were two countries that brought only women in 1996: Lebanon brought only one
athlete, and Liechtenstein brought two athletes. (IOC, 1996)
Professional
·
The United States Professional Volleyball league will
launch in 2002 in Chicago, St. Louis, Grand Rapids, and Rochester, Minnesota. By 2005, the league hopes to compete in 16
cities. (SportBusiness Journal,
2001)
·
USA Boxing has 2,000 amateur women, up from 340 in
1996. (SportBusiness Journal,
2001)
·
When the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA)
first began in 1950, the top purse was $15,000. In 1992, the average purse was $532,500, and in 2000, that number
was more than $900,000. Total purses
have grown from $21.3 million in 1992 (40 events) to $43.5 million in 2001 (41
events). In 2002, the women will have
31 official tournaments worth $37.1 million in prize money. (USA Today, November 14, 2001; LPGA,
2001; PGA, 2000)
·
From 1996 to 2000 the LPGA annual prize money rose
45.3% from $26.5 million to $38.5 million.
Over the same five years the PGA annual prize money rose 141.7% from
$69.1 million to $167 million. The
Senior PGA Tour annual prize money rose from $37.8 million to $49.5 million, an
increase of 30.1%. (LPGA, PGA, compiled
by the Women’s Sports Foundation, 2001)
·
Prize money for the women’s singles champion increased
6.5% while men’s singles champion’s purse increased 4.7% at Wimbledon in
2000. The men’s champion still earns
$53,625 more than the women’s champion.
(Time, May 7, 2001)
·
WUSA players earn between $24,000 and $85,000 per
season. (Fortune, April 16,
2001)
·
The Women’s United Soccer Association launched in
April 2001 with eight teams. The league
had most of the 80 games of its inaugural season broadcast nationally by TNT
and CNN/Sports Illustrated. (New
York Times, February 1, 2001).
34,148 fans attended the first game.
(WUSA.com, April 17, 2001)
·
Annika Sorenstam signed a three-year deal with the
apparel company Cutter & Buck that includes cash, stock, and performance
incentives. She could make up to
$600,000 which is 60% of what a male golfer makes in an apparel contract. (Sports Business Daily, April 2, 2001)
·
The top five highest paid woman athletes for 2000 were
all tennis players – Martina Hingis ($11 million), Anna Kournikova and Venus
Williams ($10 million), Serena Williams ($7.5 million), and Lindsey Davenport
($6 million). The top 10 highest paid
athletes in 2000 were all men. They
ranged from Michael Schumacher ($59 million) to Kevin Garnett ($21 million). (Forbes, March 2001)
·
Prize money in women’s tennis rose for the 31st consecutive
year in 2001. The total for the year was $50 million, an increase of $3
million, for 64 events. (WTA, 2001)
·
Men and women received equal prize money at the
Australian Open for the first time since 1994.
The U.S. Open is the only other tennis Grand Slam event with equal prize
money. (USA Today, January 16,
2001)
·
From 1996 through 2000, the average prize earnings of
the top 10 professional male athletes were at least double that of their female
counterparts in tennis (1.0:.59), bowling (1:.7), golf (1:.36), and skiing
(3.3:1). (Women’s Sports Foundation/Evian Athletes’ Earnings Gap Index,
2000)
·
The Women’s Professional Football League was launched
in 2000 with 11 teams. Players received $100 per game. (USA Today, October 11, 2000)
·
Huge endorsement deals
are rare in women’s sports but Venus Williams signed a five-year $40 million
deal with Reebok at the end of 2000, Monica Seles has a five-year $25 million
deal that began in 1996, and Martina Hingis has a six-year Nike contract that
pays close to $30 million. (USA
Today, December 12, 2000)
·
The Women’s Senior Golf
Tour held four tournaments in 2000 and plans eight in 2001, with the aim of
someday reaching 20 events. (Business
Week, July 12, 1999)
·
Leading players in the
Women’s National Basketball League of Australia make $30,000-$40,000 per season
compared with $200,000 in Europe. Of
the league’s 96 players, only 16 consider themselves full-time athletes. The players in the men’s Australian National
Basketball League can make more than $200,000 per season. (Herald Sun, November 22, 1998)
·
Before it folded in
December 1998, American Basketball League (ABL) players were paid between
$40,000 and $150,000 with the average being $80,000. (ABL, 1998)
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) salaries range from an
average (by policy the WNBA does not divulge the base salaries of players)
$15,000 to $62,500 with a few key players making six figure salaries because
they work year around participating in the process of marketing the WNBA. (WNBA, 1998) The average NBA player salary in 1996-97 was $2.2 million. (USA Today, August 28, 1997)
·
Each member of the U.S.
women’s soccer team initially was to earn $12,500 for winning the 1999 Women’s
World Cup. Following the win and the
success of the tournament, the bonus pool was increased an additional $750,000
with each player earning between $40,000 and $50,000 more. Those figures are in stark contrast to the
reported $400,000 a player the U.S. men could have made for winning the 1998
World Cup. (USA Today, July 9,
1999; AP July 12, 1999)
VIII. SPORTS BUSINESS
·
Women's sports overall sponsorship has passed the $1
billion mark in total sponsorship revenue.
Men's sports sponsorship is at $25 billion. (SportBusiness Journal, 2001)
·
A new 11-year contract, worth $160 million, with ESPN
will expand coverage of the Division I women's basketball tournament to include
every game. The deal also includes
coverage of Division II basketball, women's soccer, softball, swimming,
volleyball, and indoor track. This is a
new benchmark for coverage of women's athletics. (USA Today, September 27, 2001)
·
In its inaugural season, the WNBA had 11
sponsors. (Sports Business Journal,
2001)
·
Only two women have ever topped the $20 million amount
in prize money: tennis players Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf. (WTATour.com, 2001)
·
In 2000 only four women
appear on The Sporting News list of the “Power 100” in sports – Lee Ann
Daly (71), Anna Kournikova (76), Donna Lopiano (95), and Val Ackerman
(98). (The Sporting News,
December 12, 2000)
·
The 11 official sponsors
of the 1999 Women’s World Cup paid $44 million dollars for sponsorship. That’s what a single company pays to sponsor
the Men’s World Cup. (USA Today,
July 9, 1999)
·
In the five year period
between 1992 and 1997, corporate sponsorship of women’s sports more than
doubled to $600 million from $285 million.
(IEG Sponsorship Report, 1997)
IX.
VIEWERSHIP/ATTENDANCE
·
For the 2002 season, one WUSA game will air on PAX TV
every Saturday for the 22-week season.
(SportBusiness Journal, December 24-30, 2001)
·
The Venus Williams - Serena Williams US
Women's Open singles final drew a 6.8 television rating on CBS. The prime time final outscored NBC's Notre
Dame - Nebraska football game which recorded a 4.8 rating. The Serena Williams – Martina Hingis US
Women’s Open singles final drew a 7.2 television rating, the highest rated
women’s final since 1985. (SportBusiness
Journal, 2001; Real Sports, Winter 2000)
·
Average household ratings for regular
season broadcasts of WTA events is 4.5, a total higher than the WNBA (1.1) and
LPGA (1.0) combined. Average cable
ratings for the WTA are 2.1, again higher than the WNBA (.4), LPGA (.4), and
WUSA (.3) combined. (SportBusiness
Journal, 2001)
·
In its inaugural 2001 season, the total
WUSA attendance was 680,671. (SportBusiness
Journal, 2001)
·
An all-time high of 8,824,776 fans
attended college women’s basketball games in 2000-2001. This was the 18th consecutive year of
increased attendance and a 1.5% increase from 1999-2000. (NCAA, 2001)
·
A crowd of 9,351 watched Louisiana Tech defeat Cheyney
State in the first NCAA Division I women's basketball championship in
1982. The 2002 championship is expected
to draw a record 29,619, a 10th consecutive sellout. (USA Today, September 27, 2001)
·
The Tennessee Lady Vols led the nation in basketball
total attendance 232,646 with an average of 15,510 for the 2000-2001
season. (NCAA, 2001)
·
Roughly 40% of the 6.6 million people at Winston Cup
races in a year are women. (U.S.
News & World Report, March 5, 2001)
·
There has been a significant increase from women
(55-64 year olds) interested in college football (up 13%), extreme sports (up
42%) and pro wrestling (up 23%). (Sports
Business Journal, January 15-21, 2001).
·
The WNBA televised 31 games in 2001, 10 on NBC, 11 on
ESPN and 10 on ESPN2. The WNBA total
attendance in 2001 was 2,323,164, an increase of 1,000 fans per game from
2000. Average fan attendance for 2001
was 9,075 per game. This is an increase
of one person per game from 2000.
(WNBA, 2001; SportBusiness Journal, 2001)
·
The LPGA received 250 hours of tournament coverage in
2001. For the first time, all four
majors were televised on network television.
(LPGA, 2001)
·
Women make up 47.2 % of MLS fans, 46.5% of MLB fans,
43.2% of NHL fans, 40.8% of fans at NHL games, and 37% of NBA fans. (SportBusiness Journal, December
24-30, 2001)
·
Women make up 40% of the people who attend NFL games
each week. (SportBusiness Journal, December
24-30, 2001)
·
46% of ESPN/ABC Sports LPGA viewers are women, 69% of
ABC Sports’ and 68% of ESPN/ESPN2’s Figure Skating viewers are women. (Nielsen Personal NAD Facility, Jan-Oct,
2000)
·
As of October, 2001, the Women's Tennis Association
(WTA) Tour total attendance was at 3,602,621.
In 2000, the WTA reached a new record with 4.1 million fans in
2000. (WTA, 2001)
·
The NCAA Division I 2000 Women's National
Basketball Championship game earned 3.34 rating (2.7 million households) on
ESPN. The game outdrew all of the
200-plus regular-season men's basketball games on ESPN and ESPN2 and did better
than that network's rating for regular-season major league baseball
(1.23). The 1999 NCAA Women's National
Basketball Championship game scored a 4.3 rating (3.24 million households),
still the highest-rated and most - watched women's NCAA basketball game in ESPN
history and the second highest audience for an ESPN college basketball game
(men's or women's). (USA Today,
September 27, 2001; ESPN, 1999)
·
In 2000, the University
of Hawaii volleyball team had nearly twice as many fans at its games (153,688)
as the next highest school, University of Nebraska (80,252). (NCAA News, March 26, 2001)
·
49% of viewers of the
final game (of the 1999 Women’s World Cup) were adult men, compared with 36%
adult women, and 15% children under 18.
(Sports Business Journal, July 19-25, 1999)
·
The U.S. – China (1999
Women’s World Cup) finals match received an 11.4 Nielsen rating with 11,307,000
households watching the event, an estimated 31% market share. (Sports Business Journal, July 19-25,
1999)
·
More than 650,000
tickets were sold to the 1999 Women’s World Cup (WWC) tournament. The final match drew a women’s sports record
of 90,185 to the Rose Bowl. (WWC, 1999)
·
The 1999 Women’s World
Cup final match turned out to be the most-watched soccer game in U.S.
television history. It posted an 11.4 national rating, a 31 share
and drew an estimated 40 million viewers.
(AP, July 13, 1999; ABC, 1999)
·
The WNBA concluded its
inaugural regular season drawing more than 1,000,000 fans for 115 games. The league’s total regular season attendance
figure was 1,082,963. The WNBA averaged
9,699 fans per game. (WNBA, 1997)
·
The opening game of the
WNBA, televised on NBC June 21, 1997, drew a 3.7 television rating and a crowd
of 11,551 to the arena as the New York Liberty defeated the Los Angeles
Sparks. (USA Today, July 29,
1997)
·
In 2000, the top women’s (spectator)
sports among women were figure skating (12%), tennis (9%), and pro basketball
(8%) while top women’s (spectator) sports among men were tennis (10%), soccer
(9%) and pro basketball (9%). (ESPN
Sports Poll: July ‘99- June ‘00)
·
Over the
Atlanta, Barcelona, and Seoul Olympic Games, viewership among women increased
more than viewership among men across all age groups, especially in the 18-34
age group (39%). (NBC, 1996)
X.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
·
Women purchase 46% of official NFL merchandise. (SportBusiness Journal, December
24-30, 2001)
·
From 1992-99 women’s
athletic footwear sales were up 37% vs. 5% for men. (The NPD Group as cited in SGMA’s Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
Out of a total $40.5
billion spent on sports apparel in 1999, females spent nearly all the dollars
that go for female and children’s sports apparel, plus 60% of the money that
goes for men’s. In short, women control
81% of total sports apparel dollars.
(The NPD Group as cited in SGMA’s Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
In the $13.74 billion
athletic footwear market, the women’s segment comprises 46% ($6.09 billion),
the men’s 40% ($6.68 billion) and the children’s is 11% ($1.5 billion). (The NPD Group as cited in SGMA’s Gaining
Ground, 2000)
·
Women’s sports apparel
makes up 38.5% ($15.6 billion) of the total sports apparel market. (SGMA’s Gaining Ground, 2000)
·
Women buy 81% of all
athletic apparel, including 60% of men’s and 91% of children’s athletic
apparel. (SGMA, 2000)
·
Consumer spending on
sports apparel for males and females was roughly the same in 1999 at $15.6
billion, with an additional $9.3 billion spent on children’s sports
apparel. More money is spent on women’s
athletic footwear ($6.3 billion in 1999) than on men’s ($5.5 billion). (The NPD Group as cited in SGMA’s Gaining
Ground, 2000)
·
More than 50% of the
time women in the household make the decisions to buy sports products. (Chilton Sports Poll January 1999)
·
In a SELF
magazine survey, 88% of its readers indicated that it is very important or
important in their purchase decisions that a company provides a product or
service that supports girls and women in sports and fitness. (SELF, October 1999)
·
Women make 70% of all
purchases of NFL licensed merchandise.
(NFL Properties, 1998)
·
In the $13.74 billion
athletic footwear market, sales of children’s products represents 11% ($1.5
billion). (The NPD Group as cited in
SGMA’s Gaining Ground, 2000)
XI. INTERNET
·
Tennis
players and downhill skiers are more likely than participants of other sports
to be connected to the Internet. Of the
10.2 million people who played tennis in ’99, 62.8% spent time online. Of the 7.4 million skiers, 60.5% did
so. (National Sporting Goods
Association as cited in Entertainment Marketing Letter, November, 2000)
·
From
September 1999 to September 2000 there has been an 86.2% growth of females 55+
online. (Media Matrix as cited in Ad
Week, November, 2000)
·
Between
1999 and 2000, the number of females online grew 35%, while the number of total
Americans online grew 22%. (Media
Metrix/Jupiter Communications as cited in Marketing to Women, 2000)
·
Women
age 25-34 and 35-44 still make up the largest group of female online users,
about 8 million women in each bracket were online as of May 2000. Women ages 18-24 are the only age group of
female online users whose numbers declined (-5%) between 1999 and 2000. (Media Metrix/Jupiter Communications as
cited in Marketing to Women, 2000)
·
Teen
girls are the fastest-growing group online:
their numbers increased 126% between 1999 and 2000. Women over 55 are the second fastest-growing
group, with a 110% increase in number of users between 1999 and 2000. (Media Metrix/Jupiter Communications as
cited in Marketing to Women, 2000)
·
Among
women and men over 50, 65% of women versus 48% of men seek health information
online. (The Pew Internet &
American Life Project as cited in Marketing to Women, July, 2000)
·
Girls
age 8-17 are more active users of the Internet than boys the same age. Girls spend an average of 46 minutes on line
and use the Internet 2.7 days per week.
(Statistical Research Inc. as cited in Marketing to Women, 2001).
XII.
CAUSE BRANDING
·
22% of women are more likely to buy a product endorsed
by female athletes, 1% are less likely to purchase the product and 74% say
athlete endorsements have no impact on their purchasing power. (Reaching the Women’s Market Research
Study, Sports Trend, 2000)
·
85% of females and 47%
of males feel it is very important for corporations to sponsor/support women’s
sports. (Harris Poll Online 1999)
·
59% of females and 27%
of males feel better about purchasing products or services from a company that
sponsored/supported women’s sports.
(Harris Poll Online 1999)