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Morning Edition

October 15, 2025

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The WNBA’s momentum isn’t slowing down. Despite a lopsided sweep by the Las Vegas Aces, the 2025 WNBA Finals were still the second-most-watched series since ESPN began exclusively broadcasting the postseason in 2003.

— Colin Salao [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], Amanda Christovich [[link removed]], and Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]

WNBA Finals Draws 1.5M Viewers, Second-Highest Series on ESPN [[link removed]]

Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

One of the biggest questions entering the 2025 WNBA season was whether the league could continue its ratings momentum following a historic 2024 campaign [[link removed]]. The 2025 season showed its staying power [[link removed]], and the Finals were the cherry on top.

The 2025 WNBA Finals between the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury averaged 1.5 million viewers across four games, the second-most-watched Finals series on ESPN (behind 1.6 million from last year) since the network took exclusive rights to the WNBA postseason in 2003.

It’s worth noting that the numbers are based on Nielsen data, which changed its methodology to the Big Data + Panel model earlier this year. This change, on top of the addition of out-of-home viewership added in 2020, has boosted viewership numbers across all sports.

The series saw the Aces sweep the Mercury, essentially nullifying the league’s first best-of-seven playoff series, as there have been at least four games in the WNBA Finals in each of the last five years. The lopsided series clearly cut into the series viewership, considering that last year’s do-or-die Game 5 between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx drew 2.15 million viewers, the most-watched WNBA Finals game of the 2000s [[link removed]].

However, the Nielsen metric changes and dip compared to last year aren’t enough to deny the league of its success. The 2025 Finals numbers are still twice as much as the 728,000 average in 2023, when the Aces beat the Liberty in four games. The full postseason also averaged 1.2 million viewers, up 5% compared to last year—despite the absence of Caitlin Clark.

The game-by-game viewership breakdown of the 2025 Finals:

Game 1 (ESPN): 1.9 million Game 2 (ABC): 1.2 million Game 3 (ESPN): 1.3 million Game 4 (ESPN): 1.4 million

Despite the success, the WNBA now enters one of the most consequential offseasons in history. The league and its players’ union have until Oct. 31 to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement [[link removed]]—or an extension of the deadline—to avoid a work stoppage.

SPONSORED BY PEPSI

Cheesesteaks, Crabfries, and Chaos in Philly

Eagles fans bring the same energy to the food as they do to the field. In the latest episode of Stadium Eats [[link removed]] presented by Pepsi, Front Office Sports teams up with local food creator TwoChomp to take on Philadelphia’s wild tailgate scene and top stadium eats. [[link removed]]

From Nonna’s tailgate spaghetti and Chickie’s & Pete’s legendary crabfries, to birria fries, cheesesteak pie, and the stacked Vincent sandwich—we taste it all, rate it, and crown the top Philly bite [[link removed]].

Watch Episode 2 now [[link removed]] and see which dish takes our top rating.

Dawn Staley Says NBA Far From Ready to Hire a Female Head Coach [[link removed]]

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley doesn’t think the NBA will hire a female head coach in her lifetime, she said when asked about it Tuesday despite her groundbreaking interview for the Knicks vacancy this summer.

“I don’t,” Staley, 55, said at preseason SEC media days. “And I hope I’m wrong.”

The Knicks ultimately hired former Cavaliers, Lakers, and Kings head coach Mike Brown, but Staley, who has led the Gamecocks to three national championships, previously said she would have left South Carolina to take the job [[link removed]] if it were offered to her.

Staley is the highest-paid coach in women’s college basketball [[link removed]], after signing a new contract in January that came with a $4 million annual salary. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 2 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll.

“It was a real interview,” Staley said Tuesday of the Knicks situation. “I like to see what they’re talking about. If there’s somebody that is interested in knowing and interested in being the first female NBA coach or such, I got all the information. Come see me because I’ll get you prepared for the interview. If there are NBA franchises that are interested in hiring a female, I’m here, too, because you got to be ready to take on that and all the things that it comes with ’cause it’s not just hiring the first female coach.”

Double Standard?

Staley added, “If I’m the Knicks coach, you have a five-game losing streak, it’s not going to be about the losing streak, it’s going to be about being a female coach. You as an organization and franchise have to be prepared for that and strong enough to endure those types of instances when you’re going to hire a female coach.”

Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon, a former assistant coach with the Spurs, previously interviewed for several NBA head coaching jobs, including the Trail Blazers in 2021, a job Staley interviewed for, too. There are still several female assistant coaches across the NBA.

USC, Michigan Officials Oppose Big Ten’s Private Capital Proposal [[link removed]]

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Big Ten is seeking unanimous approval from member schools to move forward with a $2.4 billion private capital proposal [[link removed]] involving a California pension fund. But opposition from university officials at Michigan and USC might tank the deal.

A group of board members from the two schools met virtually on Tuesday to discuss their concerns with the deal, a source familiar with the matter told Front Office Sports. The source said it appears, at this point, the members of both university boards have close to unanimous feelings of opposition.

The university presidents in the Big Ten will ultimately be the ones to vote—and could potentially do so without the approval of their boards of regents or trustees. But the source emphasized that both USC and Michigan boards wield major power within their universities.

In the plan, the Big Ten would spin off its assets, including its media rights, into a separate entity called “Big Ten Enterprises,” two sources confirmed to FOS. Then, a California pension fund would pay $2.4 billion, offering at least $100 million to each Big Ten program in a payout, in exchange for an equity stake in Big Ten Enterprises, they said.

The deal would also include a grant of rights extension until 2046 to keep the league together. The source confirmed that UC Investments is the pension fund that would offer the deal.

On the call, officials from both universities shared concerns about the concept of selling an equity stake to any private capital entity, the source said, adding that board members were concerned the deal was providing a temporary but inadequate fix to existential issues in college football.

In addition, USC officials were also unhappy about the existence of a tiered structure for the initial one-time payments, multiple sources told FOS: Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State would be in the top tier, each receiving about $190 million; USC and Oregon would be in a second tier and would receive less.

The proposal has been fraught since ESPN broke the news [[link removed]] that the Big Ten was considering taking a private capital investment two weeks ago—and forced the Big Ten to brief university officials at multiple schools, sources said.

Many details of the proposal have been shrouded in secrecy [[link removed]] throughout the past week, with briefings for university officials lacking key details like which pension fund was offering the deal. Sources told FOS last week they first believed the deal would be with CalPERS, then CalSTRS. On Friday, Yahoo Sports [[link removed]] reported [[link removed]] the firm was UC Investments—though one of the sources told FOS that even as late as Monday, officials from one university still had not received confirmation of the name of the pension fund.

Despite the lack of transparency, the conference and commissioner Tony Petitti have been pushing the proposal hard among university officials—potentially to fast-track the deal and hold a vote as early as this week, multiple sources said. The first source noted that USC and Michigan aren’t against considering these types of deals in general, but that this one—at least at this point—is not something they can rubber stamp.

Infantino Says FIFA Will Help Rebuild Soccer Facilities in Gaza [[link removed]]

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Monday’s critical meeting in Egypt where world leaders agreed to a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and peace plan in Gaza featured an unlikely attendee: FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Invited by his friend [[link removed]] U.S. President Donald Trump, Infantino declared that the global governing body will help rebuild soccer facilities in Gaza.

“It’s something that is really important for FIFA to be here to support, to help, to assist, to put ourselves at disposal for whatever we can do to make sure that this peace process comes to fruition and to the best possible end,” Infantino said.

Following the peace talks, 20 hostages held by Hamas and more than 2,000 prisoners and detainees held by the Israel Defense Forces were released to their families.

The soccer president laid out a loose plan for FIFA’s involvement going forward, saying the organization will “help to rebuild all the football facilities.” Working with the Palestinian Football Association, FIFA plans to build pitches, provide equipment and coaches, organize matches, and establish a fund to rebuild soccer infrastructure, Infantino said.

“Football’s role has to be to support, has to be to unite, has to be to give hope in the region,” he said.

The Palestinian sports community has been hit hard by Israeli bombing and airstrikes. The PFA said this summer that more than 400 soccer players have died [[link removed]] in the conflict that has damaged or destroyed close to 300 sports facilities [[link removed]], including the PFA headquarters. Soccer legend Suleiman Obeid, known as “the Palestinian Pelé,” was killed in August while trying to receive aid. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah drew attention to the nature of Obeid’s death by responding to UEFA’s tribute post [[link removed]] for the player with the question: “Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?” [[link removed]]

The PFA has urged FIFA [[link removed]] to suspend Israel from international competition, as it did for Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. UEFA nearly ousted Israel last month, but it halted those plans awaiting Trump’s peace talks [[link removed]]. Israel plays Italy on Tuesday in a World Cup qualifier that is expected to draw more protesters than fans [[link removed]]. Israel has been effectively banned from the world championships for gymnastics [[link removed]] this weekend because host country Indonesia won’t give its athletes visas.

Conversation Starters The Lakers have unveiled their upgraded locker room a week away from the 2025–26 NBA season. Take a look [[link removed]]. The Rams beat the Ravens on Sunday and are practicing at the Orioles’ Camden Yards to avoid flying back to Los Angeles. They play in London for Week 7. Check it out [[link removed]]. Kirk Herbstreit left ESPN’s College GameDay set [[link removed]] in Oregon in the middle of the show so he could fly to Dallas in time to call Oklahoma-Texas. Editors’ Picks Oura’s $11B Valuation Signals Leap From Sports to Defense [[link removed]]by Ben Horney [[link removed]]In addition to tracking athlete performance, Oura serves the federal government. Knicks, Raptors Agree to Drop Suit Over ‘Mole’ Accused of Stealing [[link removed]]by Ben Horney [[link removed]]The Knicks had sought more than $10 million in damages. Mat Ishbia Countersues Suns Minority Owners in Transparency Fight [[link removed]]by Ben Horney [[link removed]]He claims two minority partners are manufacturing a “contrived legal drama.” Question of the Day

Do you think the NBA is ready for a female head coach?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Tuesday’s result: 36% of respondents think NBA League Pass will thrive under league control.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Written by Colin Salao [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], Amanda Christovich [[link removed]], Margaret Fleming [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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