The Indiana Fever will be the most-televised team in the WNBA this season, which comes as the team is expected to draft Iowa star Caitlin Clark with the No. 1 pick during the 2024 WNBA Draft.

A total of 36 of the team’s 40 games will be featured nationally – up from just one last year.

The reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces will be on national television 35 times, while the runner-up New York Liberty will be featured 31 times. 

With Clark entering the league, it’s expected that a large portion of her following will join her. The NCAA tournament championship between Iowa and South Carolina was the most-watched women’s basketball game ever with 18.9 million average viewers, and it outdrew the men’s championship for the first time. 

In total, Iowa had a hand in a number of record-breaking viewerships across the NCAA tournament, including the two most-watched games prior to the championship.

The announcement comes as teams around the league have been preemptively using Clark as a way to market to fans. The Phoenix Mercury advertised their June 30 matchup against Indiana as "The GOAT vs. The Rook," while the Minnesota Lynx are set to retire Maya Moore's jersey the same night they face Indiana in August. 

Resale tickets for some Fever home games are already 50x their original price, while other teams are seeing a bump for their games when Clark comes to town.

On Wednesday, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert spoke about Clark's impact on the league as it continues to grow. She also shouted out Cameron Brink and Kamilla Cardoso in what she described as a "really strong rookie class."

"I just think [Clark's] style of play resonates with the big basketball fan, the big game fan," she said. "Because with sports you need household names, rivalries and games of consequence. Obviously March Madness had all of that, and we're hoping to replicate it."

In Indiana, Clark will team up with Aliyah Boston, with the duo hoping to help the Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. In Christie Sides’ first year coaching the team last season, they finished 13-27. 

In the past, the WNBA has notoriously struggled to capitalize on the star power of big-time college players. It's often been said that the best college players "disappear" when they first get to the league.

“The WNBA, I don't think, has done a great enough job of marketing their individual stars,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said during March Madness. 

South Carolina’s Dawn Staley has echoed his sentiments, saying, "We have to bridge the gap between college and the WNBA."

There is hope that this year’s rookie class – headlined by Clark – can begin to do so. 

"With the energy and excitement already generated by what we anticipate will be a star-studded rookie class, and on the heels of a 2023 season that featured one of the greatest MVP races in WNBA history and our most-watched regular season in over two decades," commissioner Cathy Engelbert said, "the WNBA's broadcast and streaming partners are offering a huge national platform that will showcase the league's superstars, rising stars, and rivalries."

Despite a few shocking upsets in the early rounds of the 2025 NCAA soccer tournament, the ACC has retained its status as the conference to beat, with the powerhouse sending three teams to this season's College Cup semifinals on Friday.

With two tickets to Monday's national championship match on the line, four-time title-winners and No. 3-seed Florida State will take on College Cup debutants TCU in Friday's first semi, with the No. 2 Horned Frogs booking their semifinals spot by ousting fellow SEC standout No. 1 Vanderbilt 2-1 last Saturday.

The nightcap, on the other hand, will be an all-ACC affair, as No. 2 Duke continues their hunt for a first-ever national title against the tournament's overall No. 1 seed, Stanford.

The three-time NCAA champ Cardinal has been unstoppable, outscoring their opponents 21-5 across the tournament's first four rounds to set up a season-first matchup with the Blue Devils.

The 2025 College Cup will take place for the first time at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, home of the NWSL's Kansas City Current.

How to watch the 2025 College Cup semifinals

Friday's 2025 College Cup semifinals will begin with No. 2 TCU vs. No. 3 Florida State at 6 PM ET, with No. 1 Stanford's clash against No. 2 Duke kicking off at 8:45 PM ET.

Both semifinals — plus Monday's 7PM ET championship match — will air live on ESPNU.

Playa Society is honoring the 25th anniversary of the classic sports film "Love & Basketball" this week, with the popular women's basketball outfitter dropping a capsule collection entitled "First Quarter: Ball Better Than You" — an homage to one of the film's iconic quotes.

"This is a love story, about our love for 'Love & Basketball,'" notes Playa Society about the collection. "Our love for [lead character] Monica, who served as the first representation of an unapologetic female athlete in film. Our love for [writer and director] Gina Prince-Bythewood for her persistence in delivering culture and truth. And our love for the energy of it all that inspired Playa Society to fill in the gaps for women in sports."

"I am so humbled by the enduring impact of the film on both ballers and non-athletes, who are inspired by characters who believe in themselves enough to fight for an impossible dream," Prince-Bythewood said of the project.

With New York Liberty teammates and girlfriends Natasha Cloud and Izzy Harrison serving as models, the "First Quarter" collection includes T-shirts, hoodies, and more.

This week's drop is just the first in the works between Prince-Bythewood and Playa Society founder Esther Wallace, with the LA Sentinel describing their collaboration as "blending nostalgia, culture, and women's sports in a way that honors the film while pushing the narrative forward."

How to purchase from Playa Society's "Love & Basketball" collection

All items from the "First Quarter" collection are now available in limited quantities at PlayaSociety.com.

The inaugural North American iteration of World Sevens Football (W7F) kicks off in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, when eight standout clubs will battle for three days for the the largest share of the 7v7 competition's $5 million prize pool.

All eight clubs boast championship backgrounds, including the reigning NWSL Shield-winning Kansas City Current, 2023 NWSL Shield-winners San Diego Wave, Liga MX Femenil Apertura winner Tigres UANL, current Northern Super League Shield-winner AFC Toronto, and more.

This weekend's edition is the second-ever W7F tournament, after the new venture launched with a Europe-centric competition in Portugal last May, crowning Bayern Munich as its debut champions.

In W7F, the 11v11 clubs instead field seven players per side on a pitch half the size of a regulation field, with matches comprised of two 15-minute halves along with smaller goals, no offside rule, and rolling substitutions throughout the games.

All eight clubs will compete in the group stage on Friday and Saturday, with the top four teams advancing to Sunday's knockout rounds.

How to watch this weekend's W7F tournament

The North American debut of W7F kicks off when the NWSL's Kansas City Current faces Brazilian powerhouse Clube de Regatas do Flamengo at 5 PM ET on Friday.

All games, including Sunday's 4:30 PM ET championship match, will air live on HBO Max as well we either TNT or truTV.

The SEC displayed its basketball dominance on Thursday's courts, as the conference won all four of the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge Day 2 matchups to feature at least one Top-25 team.

No. 2 Texas handled No. 11 North Carolina 79-64 while No. 3 South Carolina and No. 13 Ole Miss survived nail-biters against No. 22 Louisville and No. 18 Notre Dame, respectively.

"I thought [our players] got out and made big plays for themselves in the fourth and building the five-point lead," said South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. "It was a turning point for us, whether we were going to succumb to losing the game or fight to get back in it."

No one had a better night than No. 5 LSU, however, as the Tigers faced their season's first Power Four opponent to a 93-77 result over unranked Duke, erasing a 14-point deficit behind six double-digit LSU scorers — led by 18 points from star guard Flau'jae Johnson.

"We scored 93 tonight, and look how poor we played in the first quarter. We were behind. Scoring the ball is not going to be a problem," said Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey. "Our problem is we have to just continue to get better on the defensive end and take care of the ball."

Across the 16 total 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge games, the SEC took 13 victories, with only unranked Syracuse, Virginia Tech, and SMU earning ACC wins — over Auburn, Florida, and Arkansas, respectively — this week.

How to watch Top-25 NCAA basketball this weekend

This weekend's NCAA docket sees the nonconference schedule cool down, with No. 16 USC hosting No. 21 Washington in the only ranked battle.

The Trojans and Huskies will tip off in LA at 8 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on the Big Ten Network.