The 2023 NWSL regular season kicks off this weekend, and commissioner Jessica Berman is expecting it to be one of the most successful opening weekends in league history.

“We’ve already surpassed the number of sales for opening weekend [over 2022], and we still have five days to go,” she told reporters Monday. “We know that that will just continue over the next five to six days, so we’re excited to break some records.”

Season ticket sales already are up 20% across the league compared to the entirety of the 2022 season, even with days to go before the 2023 season begins.

“We’re comparing a full season of sales to what is a prospective sale for the upcoming season,” Berman said. “So if you are really comparing apples to apples, which we will do, you would see what the number and the percent increases at the conclusion of 2023 … we will be excited to share that number and certainly expect it to be significantly more than a 20% increase.”

Berman described ticket revenue as “rocket fuel” for the league in its 11th year, building on the strong increases the league had already seen from 2021 to 2022. More than 1 million fans attended games in 2022, the first time the league has reached that milestone.

The NWSL also experienced a jump in viewership from 2021 to 2022, including a 71% jump for the NWSL Championship, which brought 915,000 fans to CBS in prime time.

The rising numbers have fortuitous timing as the NWSL actively negotiates its new broadcast contract. The league is in talks with a number of prospective partners, as the exclusive negotiating period with CBS expired in 2022 (though CBS still has its hat in the ring).

The NWSL’s previous contract, extended an extra year after the suspension of the regular season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was reportedly worth $3.5 million. Yet as expansion fees skyrocket, Berman is optimistic the NWSL can negotiate a rights deal that reflects where the league is going.

“The conversations we’ve had have been robust,” she said. “There are many interested parties in the media landscape.

“We’re looking at it both from a domestic as well as international perspective. And we think that there are some really interesting opportunities here and overseas to consider as we think about growing our brand globally and really claiming our spaces the best league in the world.”

Berman highlighted other investments the league has made in itself this offseason, including doubling the NWSL’s staff size and officially opening an office space on Madison Ave. in New York City. The league is preparing for its first season after investing in VAR, which includes a greater investment in production quality.

The changes are player-driven, Berman said.

“[Players] really felt that it needed to be a priority for the league to invest in broadcast production, and for the game itself to be able to showcase in a way, for fans to be able to appreciate their athleticism and how great the NWSL is,” she said. “That was a consistent theme, and almost every team of players that I spoke with, I think we also know that we expect to really have more visibility with our next media deal.”

For a league coming out the other side of years of controversy after bombshell reporting exposed years of league-wide toxicity and in some cases abuse, Berman wants the focus in 2023 to have room for storylines on the field as well as off it.

Two NWSL teams put up for sale in the aftermath of the abuse reports, the Portland Thorns and the Chicago Red Stars, are in “advanced stages” of the ownership transfer process, with the league eager to close a painful chapter and to get the final decisions right.

“The most important thing is that we have the right ownership in place who are not just resourced appropriately, but willing to invest what’s necessary to provide the professional environment that we all know is necessary,” Berman said. “And so long as we feel that the process is moving forward in good faith, we’ll continue to make sure that that is the utmost priority.”

WE PLAY ⚽️ THIS WEEK!
WE PLAY ⚽️ THIS WEEK!
WE PLAY ⚽️ THIS WEEK!
WE PLAY ⚽️ THIS WEEK!
WE PLAY ⚽️ THIS WEEK!

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) March 20, 2023

The 2025 NCAA volleyball championship game is officially on lock, as No. 3-seed Texas A&M and No. 1-seed Kentucky survived Thursday's semifinals to punch their tickets to Sunday's season finale.

After snapping overall top-seed Nebraska's undefeated season in last weekend's Elite Eight round, The Aggies kept their history-making hot streak alive, blowing past No. 1 Pitt as the first team to sweep the Panthers all year.

Leading the charge for A&M were sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers and senior opposite Logan Lednicky, who registered 16 and 14 kills, respectively, on the Final Four court in Kansas City.

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As for the last No. 1 seed standing, Kentucky survived No. 3 Wisconsin in a five-set thriller on Thursday, following the example of senior outside hitter Eva Hudson, whose 29 kills trailed only the semifinals-leading 32 posted by Badger senior outside hitter — and fellow AVCA Player of the Year finalist — Mimi Colyer.

With Kentucky hoping to add to their 2020 Division I title — the only NCAA volleyball championship in SEC history — the conference already owns the 2025 trophy, as Thursday set up the sport's first-ever all-SEC national final.

Though the 2025 SEC champion Wildcats seemingly have the edge over the conference's runners-up — Kentucky took down Texas A&M 3-1 in October — A&M's current momentum is undeniable, with the Aggies riding into Sunday's clash having ousted two No. 1 seeds and one No. 2 seed en route to a program-first national final.

"We are considered the underdog in a lot of these moments just [because] we haven't been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces," said Lednicky. "So why not us?"

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How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship

No. 3 Texas A&M will battle No. 1 Kentucky for the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship at 3:30 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on ABC.

Retired WNBA icon Sylvia Fowles is returning to the court, with ESPN reporting on Wednesday that the former Minnesota Lynx star center will join the staff of the Portland Fire, becoming an assistant coach for the 2026 expansion team.

After reportedly fielding multiple offers of WNBA coaching opportunities, the 40-year-old will back up recently announced Portland Fire head coach Alex Sarama during the team's debut season, with the opportunity to help mold a fresh league roster and create culture from day one serving as a deciding factor in Fowles choosing the expansion franchise.

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The 2025 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee's resume underlines her ability to make an impact from the sideline, as the beloved WNBA alum packs both championship experience and a defensive mindset to aid a team still forming its identity.

In a 14-year playing career split between the Chicago Sky and Minnesota, the 2017 WNBA MVP won two league titles, earning Finals MVP honors alongside each of those Lynx championships.

A four-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Fowles exited her pro career as the league's all-time rebounds leader with 4,007 boards — a stat that held until current Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles passed the Hall of Famer in September 2024.

The eight-time All-Star also shined on the international stage, as Fowles snagged four Olympic gold medals during her time with Team USA.

With the 18-team UWCL league phase now done and dusted, the 12 clubs still standing discovered their paths to the Final in the 2025/26 Champions League knockouts draw on Thursday.

While the top four clubs — No. 1 Barcelona, No. 2 OL Lyonnes, No. 3 Chelsea FC, and No. 4 Bayern Munich — punched their way into March's quarterfinals behind elite league-phase performances, the remaining eight teams must battle in February's playoffs in order to advance.

Thursday's draw has reigning champs No. 5 Arsenal facing Belgian side No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the playoffs, but the Gunners then face a difficult road in the UWCL knockouts, staring down a potential quarterfinal clash with WSL rivals Chelsea as eight-time UWCL winners OL Lyonnes looms on the same side of the semifinal bracket.

Elsewhere, No. 7 Real Madrid have an opportunity to make UWCL history should they win their playoff tie against No. 10 Paris FC, setting up the tournament's first-ever El Clásico with a possible quarterfinal match against perennial winners Barcelona.

How to watch the 2025/26 Champions League Playoffs

The first-leg of the 2025/26 UWCL playoffs kick off with No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven hosting No. 5 Arsenal at 12:45 PM ET on February 11th, with No. 7 Real Madrid visiting No. 10 Paris FC at 3 PM ET.

The following day, No. 8 Juventus will take on hosts No. 9 Wolfsburg at 12:45 PM ET before No. 11
Atlético de Madrid faces the visiting No. 6 Manchester United at 3 PM ET.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.

The NWSL Players Association is not on board with the league's latest proposal, rejecting the NWSL's new "High Impact Player" rule allowing teams to exceed the salary cap by up to $1 million to retain star athletes.

According to the current CBA, the union — rather than the league — has the final sign-off on all changes regarding compensation.

"The league is trying to control and interfere by trying to dictate which players [benefit from] this pot of funds," NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke told ESPN. "How you measure a player's value, both in terms of sporting merit and business criteria, is nuanced. It is more complicated than a handful of bullet points."

The NWSLPA has instead suggested that the league simply raise the 2026 salary cap by $1 million, giving clubs the same spending discretion without the star player mechanism.

Citing concerns about the rule's potential long-term implications on the market, roster structures, and locker-room culture, Burke noted that "We just don't feel that it delivers anything of value that simply increasing the team salary cap wouldn't, without having negative consequences."

"Our position is that teams — GMs, soccer ops, business folks at the team level — are uniquely positioned to make judgment calls about how to structure their rosters, how to negotiate deals," Burke continued. "It is within the purview of the teams to make those judgement calls, and in a system of free agency like we all agreed to, that's how it works. It's a free market."

"We are actively reviewing feedback from the NWSLPA as part of the consultation process outlined in the CBA," an NWSL spokesperson said in response.

"The league remains committed to being the home of the world's best talent, and this path gives our clubs the opportunity to pursue that goal while raising overall player investment."