September 26, 2024

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Good morning. Caitlin Clark’s star power has elevated the growing WNBA far beyond its previous heights. Her rookie campaign ended last night as the Fever lost their first-round series to the Sun, but it won’t be forgotten. And her impact on the popularity of the league, and the sport, is only beginning.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]], and Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

Caitlin Clark Was a Gift for WNBA, ESPN Despite Early Exit [[link removed]]

Mark Smith-Imagn Images

Caitlin Clark’s run in the WNBA postseason lasted just two games.

The Indiana Fever were swept out of the playoffs following an 87-81 loss to the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Clark scored 25, dished out 9 assists, and grabbed six rebounds in the finale, becoming the first WNBA rookie with at least 25 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds in a playoff game. While the loss was predictable—the Sun have been title contenders nearly every year since 2017—the end of the Fever’s season could be a blow to the league’s viewership [[link removed]].

Game 1 between the two sides averaged 1.8 million viewers on ABC [[link removed]], the WNBA’s most-watched playoff game since 2000, and more than the combined viewership total of the other three playoff openers. Viewership for Fever-Sun Game 2 could be in the ballpark of Game 1 despite airing on ESPN instead of ABC because it did not compete with the NFL and had the added component of being an elimination game.

Everybody Wins

The WNBA was growing before this year. Viewership had doubled from 2020 to 2023, and stars like A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and Kelsey Plum were starting to gain some mainstream popularity.

But just because the league was already growing and would have likely continued to grow without Clark, doesn’t mean she shouldn’t receive the lion’s share of the credit for this year’s unprecedented growth. Two things can be true at once.

Attendance for the entire league is up nearly 50% this year, according to data from Across The Timeline, and Indiana leads all teams with an average attendance of 17,035, up 319% from last year. All other teams still grew by double-digit percentages.

Many of those increases could be attributed to games against Clark. The Atlanta Dream, Las Vegas Aces, and Washington Mystics all moved games to bigger arenas when they hosted the Fever. But there were increases that can’t be directly attributed to the rookie—such as the 69% attendance jump from the L.A. Sparks, the WNBA’s second-highest percent increase, despite hosting the Fever just once this year and finishing with the league’s worst record.

Merchandise sales are also up 450% for the WNBA, according to Fanatics, and Clark was the top-selling player and is fifth among athletes across all sports. Fanatics also reported a 100% increase in sales for WNBA-specific merchandise.

Until Next Year, Caitlin

With Clark’s season over, the WNBA’s viewership numbers should drop, but the extent of the dip will showcase the true effect of her popularity [[link removed]].

There are some early positive signs for the league as Game 2 of the Aces and Seattle Storm series averaged 985,000 viewers [[link removed]] on ESPN, according to Programming Insider, higher than any 2023 WNBA Finals game. Game 2 of the New York Liberty and Dream series averaged 863,000 viewers, doubling its Sunday viewership.

A new crop of rookies could potentially carry over the growth of NCAA women’s basketball [[link removed]] to the pro level next year, highlighted by UConn’s Paige Bueckers. The 2025–2026 season will also showcase the sustainability of Clark’s popularity, and whether it can survive past the novelty of her rookie year.

NFL TV Ratings Hit 9-Year High: 18.6M Average Through Week 3 [[link removed]]

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More people are watching the NFL than at any point since 2015.

Through three weeks of the regular season, the league reports all games outside of the Peacock exclusive [[link removed]] (Packers-Eagles in Week 1) have averaged 18.6 million viewers. That’s 10% higher than the average through three weeks of the 2023 season, which did not include an exclusive streaming broadcast. And the NFL hasn’t seen a first-three-weeks viewership figure this high since the 2015 season, then its 50th season in the Super Bowl era.

Not surprisingly, the Chiefs’ 3–0 start has featured three of the five most-watched games, as Kansas City’s star players continue to drum up interest off the field [[link removed]]. The Cowboys, despite a 1–2 record thus far, have played in the other two.

Dallas opens Week 4 against the Giants on Thursday night, which should give a boost to Amazon. Both Thursday Night Football game broadcasts on Prime Video so far have actually seen slight, single-digit percentage viewership drops compared to Amazon’s first two games last season.

Also on the docket this weekend is Tom Brady calling his first game involving a former team, as Fox heads to Tampa at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday for the Eagles-Buccaneers tilt. CBS gets the must-see-TV Chiefs again in the late-afternoon window at the Chargers. The 3–0 Bills visit the Ravens on Sunday night on NBC, while ABC and ESPN have another Monday night doubleheader.

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Principal to Peloton Instructor

Behind every great athlete is a team of mentors and supporters who help turn dreams into reality. From coaches and mentors to family and friends, this support system plays a crucial role in their success. That’s the power of us [[link removed]].

For Jess Sims, that support has come from many places, but none more significant than her high school coach, Jim Ridley. His belief in her potential helped shape Jess’s path from a three-sport high school athlete to a beloved Peloton instructor, inspiring countless people with her energy and resilience.

From her early days in sports to her time as a teacher and principal, Jess’s journey has been defined by the people who’ve supported her every step of the way.

Learn more about Jess’s Untold Team [[link removed]].

Woj Plans to Go From Dropping Bombs to Being a ‘Giant-Killer’ [[link removed]]

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The sports media landscape is still reeling from the stunning departure of NBA news-breaker Adrian Wojnarowski from ESPN [[link removed]] to become GM of the men’s basketball program at St. Bonaventure. The Woj Bomber himself has shed further light on the decision after a week of public silence, calling the move a natural next step on multiple levels, even amid its surprising nature.

Appearing at his alma mater Wednesday afternoon to detail the career shift, Wojnarowski said the new position in many ways marks a formalization of many of the functions he had already been doing for the Bonnies while still working at ESPN.

“This has been a role and a conversation that’s been going on, particularly between [men’s head basketball coach Mark Schmidt] and I, for years,” said Wojnarowski, who left about halfway through a five-year, estimated $35 million contract with ESPN to take the Bonnies job. “This has been an ongoing conversation, even while I was at ESPN, trying to rally our program and help keep it competitive.”

Uphill Climb

Wojnarowski’s substantial and national fame provides a huge lift in notoriety and prominence for St. Bonaventure, one of the smallest schools in all of Division I athletics with a total enrollment of fewer than 2,700 students. That fame and Wojnarowski’s deep battery of contacts across the basketball community will blend with a long history of overachievement by Schmidt, the program’s winningest coach with 302 victories, six 20-win seasons, and three NCAA tournament appearances.

But all that will come up against a fast-changing college sports landscape that includes a rising emphasis on NIL (name, image, and likeness) rights, accelerating realignment, and a growing dominance of football over other sports. St. Bonaventure’s conference, the Atlantic 10, does not offer football. And like other mid-majors, the A-10 also finds gaining at-large bids to March Madness an increasing challenge [[link removed]], with even automatic qualifiers for smaller conferences perhaps threatened.

“We find ourselves in unprecedented disruption and chaos in the world of intercollegiate athletics,” said Bob Beretta, St. Bonaventure athletic director. “At a place like St. Bonaventure, where our resources don’t always measure favorably to our peers in the Atlantic 10, we must remain at the forefront of change … and consider bold moves at a time where inertia equates to slow death.”

Wojnarowski’s role also spotlights the new level of importance of the GM role for college sports programs—a spot that did not broadly exist until just a few years ago, and is still more of a presence in football than in basketball. At St. Bonaventure, Wojnarowski’s duties will include not only managing NIL opportunities, collectives, and the transfer portal, but also fundraising, aiding in recruiting, and helping oversee the program’s relationships with other basketball organizations.

“To recruit great players and to retain the great players we have on campus now, you need NIL,” Wojnarowski said. “Since our announcement last week, I have been absolutely blown away with the incoming opportunities from national sponsors and entities who want to be in the NIL business with St. Bonaventure.”

Leaving It Behind

The loss of Wojnarowski from ESPN has produced no shortage of speculation and palace intrigue [[link removed]] as to how the sports media giant will fill the NBA news-breaker role [[link removed]]. Wojnarowski, meanwhile, said he will still be leaning on many of his existing reporting and storytelling skills in the new role, one he insisted “is no retirement job.”

“We have an incredible story to tell,” Wojnarowski said. “We want players to know that when you come to St. Bonaventure, you are a giant-killer.”

Schmidt put a finer point on that last notion, saying Wojnarowski easily could have pursued similar administrative opportunities at a variety of major-conference schools.

“Guys, we got Woj. If Woj put his name in the portal, it’d be Kansas, [North] Carolina, and Duke,” he said. “We have him, and the relationships that Woj has are something we couldn’t develop in the next 50 years.”

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Nominate your organization [[link removed]] now through Oct. 6 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Life Cycle of an NBA Player

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Gordon Hayward retired from the NBA after last season. He joins the show to discuss playing for the Hornets while Michael Jordan sold the team, watching another former team, the Celtics, win an NBA championship and his plans for his post-playing career.

Also, Kansas City Current president Raven Jemison joins the show to discuss what it’s meant for her team to play in the first soccer stadium built for a women’s team, and the intense pressure to succeed and grow in the NWSL.

Watch, listen, and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Spotify [[link removed]], and YouTube [[link removed]].

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U.S. Bank has been making greatness happen since 1863. But not alone. We know above all else that there’s nothing we can’t do together. From buying a home to kick-starting a career, U.S. Bank [[link removed]] is there to support you every step of the way.

We’re dedicated to powering your financial future and, as a result, our collective future. We’ve been doing it since the beginning and are committed to continuing this legacy, and yours.

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Conversation Starters Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz revealed who their dream non-tennis doubles partner would be. Take a look [[link removed]]. FOS Explains looks at the journey of Ryan Smith, the billionaire Jazz owner bringing an NHL team to Salt Lake City. Check it out [[link removed]]. The lawsuit that Pac-12 filed Tuesday will lead to a “long and messy breakup” with the Mountain West Conference [[link removed]], Front Office Sports reporter Amanda Christovich says. Editors’ Picks Alexis Ohanian’s Big-Money Women’s Track Experiment Is Here [[link removed]]by Andrew Greif [[link removed]]“Track and field needs them to pull it off,” said one agent. SEC Charges Former Foot Locker Executive With Insider Trading [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The former employee netted more than $110,000 by shorting company stock. Pac-12 Announces Addition of Utah State in 2026 [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]Utah State is the fifth Mountain West school to join the Pac-12 in 2026. Question of the Day

Are Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs the NFL’s biggest draw, or just having a moment?

YES [[link removed]] JUST A MOMENT [[link removed]]

Wednesday’s result: 43% of respondents said they are more likely to watch this year’s MLB playoffs with Shohei Ohtani taking part.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Written by Colin Salao [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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