In a landmark move for women’s professional sports, the WNBA announced on June 30 that the league will once again expand its reach. The WNBA is adding three new franchises — one each in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia — bringing the league’s total roster to a record 18 teams by the end of the decade.
This expansion plan will impact the broader spectrum of collegiate sports. Previously, with only 12 teams and 144 roster spots in the entire league, many collegiate athletes had to look overseas or leave the sport entirely. Expansion addresses this issue, signaling to NCAA athletes that the pipeline from college to professional play is not as fraught as it once was.
Increased visibility of women’s professional leagues drives up youth participation, strengthens recruiting for college programs and encourages universities to invest more deeply in their own women’s sports teams. For cities with deep sports traditions, such as Pittsburgh, this cycle could bring about more women’s professional sports leagues in the years to come.
“This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league’s extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game and the surging demand for investment in women’s professional basketball,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “We are excited for what these cities will bring to the league and are confident that these new teams will reshape the landscape of women’s basketball.”
Engelbert was right in stating that there is a growing demand for investment in women’s basketball and women’s sports as a whole. The league expansion comes in the middle of a staggering rise in popularity, with WNBA viewership on ESPN rising by 170% last season, hitting an all-time high of 1.2 million viewers on average.
This surge in basketball isn’t isolated but reflects a broader upward trend in women’s sports — from the WNBA to soccer, gymnastics and more. Expansion isn’t just about breaking into the untapped market — it’s about amplifying women’s athletic achievement, and female athletes are thriving under the much-deserved spotlight.
Cleveland and Detroit are both returning to the WNBA after formerly hosting the Rockers and the Shock, respectively. Philadelphia, however, gets its first-ever WNBA team. Fans in all three cities have already embraced the excitement of welcoming a new home team. In Philadelphia, fans have begun floating potential team names on social media, such as the Liberty Belles, the Philadelphia Freedom and many more.
Because this expansion announcement was so well-received by the WNBA’s dedicated fanbase, many viewers are hopeful this round of league growth is only the beginning of a nationwide dedication to women’s basketball. Hopefully, Pittsburgh viewers will be able to root for their very own WNBA home team in the years to come.
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