The University of Connecticut women’s basketball team has become the first public women’s college basketball program to surpass $3 million in annual ticket sales.
The Huskies reported $3.25 million in ticket revenue for the 2023-24 season, according to the school’s latest NCAA financial report. This places UConn ahead of more than 75 public men’s teams.
The Huskies’ ticket sales eclipsed those of Alabama’s men’s basketball team, which generated $2.8 million, as well as LSU and Oregon, which brought in $2.4 million and $2.3 million.
UConn stands out as the only public FBS school that allocates more resources to its basketball program than to its football team. The gap in spending between the two sports widened in the 2023-24 fiscal year. The basketball budgets raised to $32.93 million, surpassing the $18.45 million spent on football. In comparison, the UConn football team’s ticket sales were reported at $2.2 million, falling short of both women’s and men’s basketball.
The men’s basketball team, fresh off a national championship win under head coach Dan Hurley, reported $8.3 million in ticket sales, an increase of $2 million from the previous year.
Overall, the UConn athletic department’s expenses rose to $101 million, up from $90.7 million in the prior year. The average public FBS school saw a rise in women’s basketball ticket sales, from $174,389 in 2017-18 to $244,627 in 2022-23, according to Sportico’s college finance database. In that same period, UConn’s ticket sales went from $2.41 million to $3.25 million.
Additionally, UConn has a large online presence and fan engagement. The team has approximately 482,000 Instagram followers, 180,000 more than any other program, with a gain of 20,000 followers this season alone.
