Advertisers are mad for March Madness. Yesterday, ESPN announced that it sold out its NCAA women’s basketball tournament advertising inventory — including branding opportunities outside of the competition's 67 games — for the second consecutive year.

The renewed commitment runs through the 2024–25 academic year and will focus on building parity between women’s and men’s sports.

The owners of MLS’ Real Salt Lake (RSL) announced the launch of the sister team on Saturday, confirming that the club will begin play in 2024 with a new look, a new group of investors and a new sponsor.

On Wednesday, the brand inked a multimillion dollar deal to become the NCAA’s official sporting goods retailer and is tipping off its partnership with a major presence during March Madness.

On Tuesday, a Nashville Metro council member proposed allocating $60M in public funds to facilities for pro women’s sports teams to entice prospective owners to the Tennessee city.

It’s a rich woman’s world for the WTA. Yesterday, it announced a long-awaited strategic partnership with CVC Capital Partners, who will invest $150M for a 20% stake in WTA Ventures, the organization’s new commercial strategy arm.

Canadian brands are getting in the women’s sports action. Canadian Tire directed millions of sponsorship dollars towards professional women’s sports on Monday, while GE Appliances Canada supported CanWNT in its ongoing labor dispute with Canada Soccer.

According to a Thursday report, ESPN is considering an online and mobile app feature that links out to live sporting event streams — even for events aired by competitors — in an effort to become the hub for sports fans.

On Wednesday, the women’s sportswear brand signed 13 athletes across 13 different sports to join “The Power of She Collective,” an initiative to deepen Athleta’s support of women in sports.

On Wednesday, the tennis organization scored Morgan Stanley as a global sponsor and presenting partner of its youth-focused “Come Play” initiative, a multi-pronged approach to targeting younger audiences.

As Staley exclusively told The GIST, this will raise “the level of our game [in] ways in which people aren't really thinking about.”

On Friday, the college sports governing body publicized fines for the University of Miami’s women’s basketball program after head coach Katie Meier unlawfully facilitated an NIL deal for stars Hanna and Haley Cavinder.