Although the Moody Center is a busy venue for men’s basketball games, it can be quite the opposite for the Texas women’s basketball team. While the men continue to have a packed stadium full of fans and a bustling student section, the women usually have
empty seats
and a lack of support from the student community.
This is a continuous problem not only for UT but for
women’s college basketball teams
across the country. The lack of appreciation for women’s sports is a problem that can be fixed by showing up and showing out for the women who represent the Longhorns.
Although the number of attendees for women’s basketball games has skyrocketed throughout the years, it still falls short of the attendance that the men’s games have.
Krysta Gonzales, a passionate advocate and president of
Texas Women in Sports and Entertainment
(WISE), shares her experience watching both men’s and women’s basketball games.
“It hurts to say that (there’s a difference between the men’s and women’s games),” Gonzales said. “At a men’s game, everyone’s more energetic, but going to (a) women’s, it felt like being an outsider.”
She believes a big reason why people are not tuned into women’s sports is because of the lack of advertising and accessibility.
“In a marketing sense, we weren’t immersed in women’s sports,” Gonzales said, “If people aren’t getting access to seeing these types of women playing at these levels, they’re not getting that same energy.”
As this is an ongoing problem, especially when it comes to the Texas women’s basketball team, there are students who make a point to show appreciation for our female athletes. Anjali Dixit, a member of
Texas Darlins
, a spirit organization that supports both men’s and women’s basketball, is passionate about the Texas women’s basketball team. She had been questioned for being a female spectator of the sport, so Dixit could only imagine the amount of negativity that the female athletes faced.
“Women’s basketball is so underestimated because they’re just as intense (and) fun (as men’s basketball),” Dixit said. ”Just because it’s a guy’s game doesn’t make it any different than if it was a girl’s game.”
This mode of thinking solidified her passion for women’s sports, specifically women’s basketball. Dixit earned a position on the Texas Darlins executive board to be a Basketball Co-Chair, pushing the organization and students to watch women’s basketball.
“I saw how great we did this year and (realized) I have a passion for this basketball team,’” Dixit said. “I love them. I want them to feel special. That’s why I ran for officer.”
Both Dixit and Gonzales share ways in which you can keep up with not only women’s basketball but women’s sports in general. Gonzales says that staying up to date with social media is a way to immerse and educate yourself with recent women’s sports news. Dixit recommends joining organizations and taking advantage of opportunities such as free admission.
Despite the growing number of fans, the fact is that women do not get the appreciation and support they deserve. As someone who enjoys a good game of basketball, I highly recommend going to the Moody Center and watching some of the best female athletes shoot some hoops.
Estrella is an English junior from Corpus Christi, Texas.
