Women’s sports are growing fast. The WNBA and the NWSL continue to expand, and the PWHL has quickly created another major professional opportunity for women athletes. More people are watching, more money is being invested, and women’s sports are finally getting the attention they have deserved for a long time. However, that progress looks different at the college level.
On September 30, the Women’s Sports Foundation (“WSF”) released its first Sport Report examining the state of women’s sports. The report found that 93% of surveyed industry leaders believed progress toward gender equality in professional sports improved over the past year. College sports was the only level where more respondents thought progress for women had gotten worse rather than better.[1]
Why College Sports Matter
College athletics are a major part of the path to professional and international sports for women. More than 1,200 athletes from 125 countries who competed in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games had NCAA ties. [2] What happens in college sports matters beyond the NCAA. Fewer opportunities for women to compete in college could eventually mean fewer opportunities at the professional and international levels as well.
A New Era of College Athletics
These concerns come at a time when college sports are changing dramatically. Following the House v. NCAA settlement, Division I schools that opt in can now directly compensate athletes. The settlement also replaced scholarship limits with roster limits, allowing schools to offer scholarships to every athlete on a roster.[3]
These changes can benefit athletes while also forcing athletic departments to make new financial decisions. Schools have to determine how much money will go toward athlete compensation, which athletes will receive it, and how the rest of their athletic budgets will be spent.
The WSF sees potential concerns in those decisions. The report points to unequal resources, differences in NIL opportunities, and revenue sharing as issues for women athletes. It also found that 47% of the industry leaders surveyed viewed Title IX rollbacks or weakened enforcement as the biggest threat to continued progress for girls and women in sports.[4]
What About Title IX?
Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs, including college athletics. This does not mean schools have to spend the exact same amount of money on men’s and women’s teams. Schools do, however, have obligations regarding participation opportunities, athletic financial assistance, and the treatment and benefits provided to athletes.[5]
Revenue sharing adds another question to that analysis. The House settlement does not tell schools how they must divide direct payments among athletes. If schools decide to direct most of that money toward football and men’s basketball, where does that leave women athletes under Title IX?
There is not a simple answer yet. As schools continue implementing revenue-sharing plans, the relationship between direct athlete payments and Title IX will likely remain an important legal issue.
Protecting the Pipeline
Congress is getting involved too. On September 28, the Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act by a 77-22 vote. The legislation includes provisions aimed at protecting opportunities in women’s and Olympic sports as college athletics moves into its new financial model. The bill now moves to the House.[6]
The timing of all of this is important. Women’s professional sports are showing what can happen when women athletes are given more opportunities and investment. At the same time, college athletic departments are facing new financial pressures that could affect the opportunities available to women before they ever reach the professional level.
College sports are going to change, and athletes deserve to benefit financially from the value they create. Those changes should not come at the cost of opportunities for women athletes. If women’s professional sports are going to keep growing, protecting the college pipeline that helped get them here has to be part of the discussion.
[1] Women’s Sports Foundation, “New Research from the Women’s Sports Foundation Finds the Full Sports Pipeline Isn’t Keeping Pace with the Professional Women’s Sports Boom,” Sept. 30, 2026.
[2] Reuters, “Women’s sports momentum ‘under threat’ from changing college landscape, WSF study says,” Sept. 30, 2026.
[3] NCAA, “DI Board of Directors formally adopts changes to roster limits.”
[4] Women’s Sports Foundation, “New Research from the Women’s Sports Foundation Finds the Full Sports Pipeline Isn’t Keeping Pace with the Professional Women’s Sports Boom,” Sept. 30, 2026.
[5] U.S. Department of Education, “Title IX and Athletics.”
[6] U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, “Senate Passes Protect College Sports Act 77-22,” Sept. 28, 2026.
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