NCAA Women's Gymnastics Record Growth: Attendance, TV Viewership, NIL and Revenue Data | GIGA Insights

Women's Gymnastics:
The Commercial Opportunity

Sellout crowds and historic TV audience growth for Women's College Gymnastics, but still no post-NCAA pro path forward


This past April, 1.5M tuned into ESPN to watch the 2025 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship finals – on a Saturday afternoon during NBA playoffs. Viewership has surged in recent years; TV audiences have grown from 133K (2019) to 1.5M (2025) - with female fans accounting for 57% of ESPN audiences, nearly double the network's norm. In person NCAA event attendance tells the same story: sell out crowds becoming the standard versus the exception across powerhouse programs like LSU, Florida, UCLA, Utah, Georgia, and Auburn.

And yet, once eligibility expires, the sport's biggest stars stand at the edge of a competitive cliff - without any professional path forward. The question isn't whether the sport deserves a pro-level system, it's why one doesn't already exist at scale.

USA gymnastics fans at the Rio Olympics showing enthusiasm and support

NCAA Women's Gymnastics Viewership Explodes by 10X, growing from 133K to 1.5M (2019-2025)

Chart showing NCAA Women's Gymnastics TV viewership explosive growth from 133,000 viewers in 2019 to 1.5 million viewers in 2025, with year-over-year breakdown
Gymnastics popularity is not just every 4 years. Women's NCAA Gymnastics is seeing record audience growth, with TV viewership up 10X versus 2019, exploding from 133,000 to 1.5 million (2025) in 5 seasons, as NIL attracts Olympic-caliber athletes and their fanbases to collegiate competition. Female viewers comprised 57% of 2025 NCAA finals audience – nearly double ESPN's network average. This growth coincided with sellout crowds becoming standard rather than exceptional across top programs. Sources: ESPN, Sports Media Watch

Revenue Dominance: Women's Teams Generate 13X More Than Men's Programs

Revenue comparison chart showing women's NCAA gymnastics teams generate 13 times more revenue than men's college gymnastics programs
Massive revenue gap demonstrates commercial viability. Women's college gymnastics programs generate over 13 times the revenue of men's college gymnastics, with the 2024-2025 season marking the most commercially successful in NCAA gymnastics history. This revenue disparity reflects higher attendance, stronger TV ratings, and greater sponsor interest in women's programs. Source: NCAA Gender Equity Review, Phase II

73% Ad Effectiveness Growth: Women's Gymnastics Outperforms Primetime TV

Chart showing TV advertising effectiveness for women's gymnastics compared to average primetime television advertisements
Superior fan engagement drives measurable business results. Women's gymnastics advertising effectiveness surged 73% from 2022-2024, significantly outpacing average primetime TV ads by 40% in measurable impact metrics including sales spikes, brand searches, and website traffic. This performance reflects the sport's highly engaged, predominantly female fanbase and their purchasing behaviors. Source: Edo

Livvy Dunne: Only Female Athlete in NCAA's Top 10 NIL Earners

Chart showing NCAA's top 5 highest earning NIL athletes with LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne as the only female athlete, ranking #2 overall
Gymnastics dominates female NIL earnings despite limited professional opportunities. LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne ranks #2 in overall NCAA NIL earnings and #9 all-time, representing the only woman among predominantly male football and basketball athletes in top-tier earnings. This achievement highlights gymnastics' unique commercial appeal and the disconnect between college success and post-graduation professional opportunities. Sources: Bleacher Report, On3, Opendorse

NCAA Women's Gymnastics: Top NCAA programs see sell-out events

Chart showing NCAA's top 5 schools, average season long event and sell out with LSU and Auburn selling out 100% of all events in 2025
Top NCAA programs regularly sell out Women's Gymnastics events It's not just TV audiences growing at record levels. Women's Gymnastics programs are seeing sold out event across the country, at schools such as UCLA, Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State, Utah, NC State, and Oregon State. Schools such as Auburn (100%) and LSU (99.56) averaged sell out crowds all season long, while other programs, such as Iowa State, Maryland, Michigan State, and Boise State set program records for meet attendance. Source: NCAA