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November 17, 2023
Sportswear brand Under Armour wants to increase visibility for women athletes and help expand women’s sport’s worldwide. This month it joined with luxury tailor and designer Richfresh to provide custom tracksuits for November 6th’s Oui Play Classic in France. The game was the start of the NCAA — the US’s National Collegiate Athletic Association — women’s basketball 2023-24 season and the first time an NCAA regular-season basketball game was played in Paris. Richfresh has outfitted NBA greats such as LeBron James and Steph Curry.
Participating players from the two top-10 Under Armour-sponsored schools — No. 6 ranked University of South Carolina and No. 10 ranked University of Notre Dame — were outfitted in stylish gear ‘fit for the pros’ to elevate the athlete’s off and on-the-court experience. “Female athletes today are breaking barriers, shattering records and making a historic impact on the future of sport. So why are they less visible than their male counterparts? While everything from pre-game training, to game-day fits and tunnel walks from a men’s game goes viral, female athletes of equal caliber still receive limited representation and exposure,” states Under Armour’s website.
As with other sports, there is a history of gender inequity in women’s collegiate basketball. While women represent 43.4% of all college athletes, they receive 20-30% less than men in terms of travel allocation, recruiting resources, equipment and overall operating expenses. Additionally, there’s a clear discrepancy in viewership and visibility for women’s collegiate basketball compared to men’s. For instance, the 2019 Women’s Division basketball final had an average viewership of 3.69 million compared to 6.79 million for the men’s final. However, ESPN platforms set unparallel records with the NCAA women’s national championship scoring 9.9 million views – becoming the most viewed women’s collegiate basketball game.
The Oui Play Classic is set to ride this wave of popularity and give women’s collegiate basketball the platform and recognition it deserves. “The Oui Play Classic feels like a big step, not just for women’s basketball, but for all women’s sports. We give our sport and game everything we have just like the men do, so we deserve the same amount of recognition and attention,” said South Carolina’s Raven Johnson.
In addition to the custom suits, Under Armour also hosted a UA Next Youth Basketball Clinic for local Parisian teen girl basketball players to continue its mission to empower the next generation of athletes. Participants received branded gear and access to mentorship from the South Carolina and Notre Dame players. Later this year, it will also release limited UA X Richfresh suits for the universities’ alumni and fans, as well as a docuseries that documented the event to further elevate the historic moment for women in sports.
“A lot of times, a lot of energy is geared primarily to male athletes, but I think that this is a great opportunity for us to not just empower future generations of women athletes but to actually congratulate our current women athletes,” said Patrick “Fresh” Henry, Richfresh Founder and Tailor. “I want each player to feel elevated yet comfortable — like royalty but also like boxers ready to enter the ring. I want them to feel untouchable, appreciated and deserving.”
Beyond Sport is proud to have Under Armour as a program partner. Learn more about our #SportforSocialChange point-of-purchase campaign to transform young lives through sport currently active in Under Armour retails stores across the UK and Europe.
Source and images: Under Armour
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