After last night’s second-round finale, the men’s Sweet 16 is officially set for Thursday’s tip-off — and despite a tumultuous first round (and the sport’s recent, sharp rise in parity), this year’s crop contains mostly familiar faces.

While official data points from women's March Madness have yet to drop, there’s a general consensus building that the women’s tournament is more compelling than the men’s. A recent Seton Hall Sports Poll (the first and only university-based poll on the sports industry) reflects the rising popularity of women’s college basketball.

Last Saturday, Angel City FC, the Los Angeles Public Library, and Wikipedians in the LA area hosted a one-day Wikipedia edit-a-thon in celebration of Women’s History Month. The at-capacity event allowed local residents to contribute their Angel City knowledge to the world’s largest, community-driven encyclopedia.

The first round of the women’s tourney went mostly as expected, but the second round served up some serious surprises yesterday as the first eight teams secured Sweet 16 berths.

Join us as we examine the recent and rapid growth on the women’s side.

A recent SponsorUnited NIL report on the 2023-24 season details how women college athletes are taking over the NIL space as they see a higher percentage of deals per athlete and increased social engagement compared to men. Here are some of the most telling numbers that prove women athletes are ideal brand ambassadors.

MLB’s season-opening Seoul Series quickly became overshadowed by scandal after news broke Wednesday that LA Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s longtime interpreter and friend Ippei Mizuhara had been fired amid allegations he stole millions from Ohtani to pay off his gambling debts.

The sport of women’s hockey just keeps on winning, which means the pinnacle of the collegiate season — this weekend’s Frozen Four — couldn’t come at a better time. Future PWHLers will face off in Sunday’s 4 p.m. ET national championship game, but first, they have to survive today’s semifinals, featuring the nation’s four most dominant teams.

As of this week, women’s March Madness ads are effectively sold out. It’s estimated that Disney — the network that owns the women’s tournament — could generate more than $25M in ad sales revenue this year, up from the estimated $19.4M ESPN and ABC made during last year’s tourney.

After a successful inaugural W Gold Cup, the NWSL and Liga MX Femenil — Mexico’s top pro women’s soccer league — will compete in the first-ever NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup this year. Similar to Europe’s UEFA Women’s Champions League, it further proves the viability of international women’s soccer tourneys in the Western Hemisphere.

More than 86.2% of brackets were already busted just two games into the men’s first round yesterday. Must be March.

With the women’s First Four games in the rearview mirror, their first round of full mayhem tips off this morning. In a weekend of wall-to-wall basketball, here are four not-to-miss matchups.