With its football team not in playoff mix, TCU gets boost from unlikely source
Following the lead of the Big 12 conference and its commissioner, TCU has doubled down on the investment that is women’s sports, but unlike a return in men’s basketball or football, this yield remains subjective.
To some audiences, this won’t be received well, but a football team in the conversation for a playoff spot is worth more than all of an athletic department’s women’s sports combined. The same can be said of men’s basketball team that reaches the NCAA Tournament, particularly the round of 32 and beyond.
TCU’s football team is not near the College Football Playoff. Its men’s basketball team opened the season with a home loss to New Orleans, and despite packing the home gym for its game against No. 6 Michigan, blew a late lead in a defeat.
To save morale with national relevance, and positive headlines, are its women’s teams. For people with long memories, it defies both gravity and history that TCU is highly competitive in women’s sports, which includes multiple national championships. For a long time, this athletic department treated women’s sports as a nuisance, a necessity mandated by the federal government.
The challenge is determining what it’s all worth. Because winnin’ ain’t cheap, and there is that unfortunate chance the masses don’t notice.
TCU’s women’s soccer team hosted the NCAA’s second round on Friday, a one-day delay in the schedule necessitated by the weather. The Horned Frogs defeated Memphis 4-0 and will host North Carolina for a berth in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Monday.
TCU creates traction in women’s sports
Shortly after TCU named Daniel Pullin its new chancellor, the school announced in April its “strategic” plan for a designed growth spurt. Included is the emphasis on winning.
The school’s stated goal for athletics is to win “30 conference & national championships while also elevating the student-athlete experience.”
Save for men’s tennis, the majority of the heavy lifting here is by its women’s programs. Between its rifle team, beach volleyball, volleyball, golf, equestrian, basketball and soccer teams, TCU has assembled a stable of nationally relevant names in those respective sports.
The rifle team has won four NCAA championships; the beach volleyball team won the NCAA title in the spring of 2025, and the equestrian team is nationally competitive. The volleyball team is consistently a threat to reach the NCAA Tournament, and is No. 20 in the AVCA rankings.
The soccer team is fifth nationally, and back in the NCAA Tournament. From 2016 to ‘24, the team reached the NCAA Tournament eight times, with an Elite Eight appearance in 2021.
The women’s basketball team reached the Elite Eight for the first time ever in the spring, and is No. 8 in the latest coaches’ poll. Second-year coach Mark Campbell has successfully used the chance for an increased role, combined with some NIL money, to land top transfers such as Hailey Van Lith and now Olivia Miles to build a top-10 team.
“The value of this to an athletic department is we want to be well-rounded, and a high level department that pursues excellence,” TCU director of athletics Mike Buddie said in a phone interview. “Excellence in college athletics is defined by winning championships.
“If you are winning Big 12 championships, it means you are competing for national championships. That’s valuable.”
Assigning value of a winning women’s sports program
An athletic department describes a “revenue” sport as one where a ticket can be sold. Technically, a women’s soccer team is a revenue sport, the same as football or baseball.
Most schools could take all of its tickets sold for all of its women’s sporting events combined, and they don’t reach the number for two home football games. Maybe one. In the 2023-24 season, the BYU women’s basketball team drew 37,455 fans for its 15 home games. On Nov. 16 of 2024, its home football game against Kansas drew 62,704 fans. This imbalance is common.
And the real value is media exposure through football and men’s basketball. There is a proven correlation between a winning football or men’s basketball team to a spike in donations and applications. Those two sports with media rights deals that generate real money carry the greatest expense, and reward.
With the possible exception of the NCAA Final Four in women’s basketball, there is no collegiate women’s event that comes close to the reach, and potential influence, of football, or the NCAA men’s tournament.
But the women’s basketball tournament has enjoyed gains in recent years; TCU’s Elite Eight appearance against Texas drew 2.3 million viewers on ESPN, a record.
And there are outliers to the traditional college sports equation. In the past decade, softball has expanded its niche, and enjoyed solid ratings in its World Series. A few programs have created a national recognition, notably Tennessee basketball when Pat Summitt was coaching, the same for UConn under Geno Auriemma, and now South Carolina with Dawn Staley. Oklahoma softball of late has created a name for itself.
Caitlin Clark was a phenomenon.
One winning team in women’s sports is not going to do a lot, but several of them combined can help a school. It helps morale, and gives the school a positive point of identification necessary when the two main revenue sports aren’t producing.
“What this does is attract young women who want to be a part of this university, this community and a part of the experience,” Buddie said. “We are fortunate to have exceptional coaches who want to develop these young people into champion-level athletes without costing an arm and a leg.
“This is a low overhead for a high return on investment in terms of being in the national spotlight.”
The yield is not as clear as a football team, but there is some, and in the case of TCU, it’s needed this fall.
This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
