South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has been around women’s basketball long enough to see the growing pains of a young WNBA league gradually shifting to increased interest in the sport at all levels.
“We probably are bursting at the seams for the people that are decision-makers in our game to allow us to be just that,” said Staley, who led the Gamecocks to their second women’s hoops title this year.
When the NCAA lifted restrictions on players profiting from their name, image and likeness, it created instant millionaires of elite college football players
The contracts have begun to trickle down to the high school level after the NCAA’s decision last year to allow college athletes to monetize their stardom.
The NCAA is stepping up its lobbying efforts as Congress considers allowing endorsement money for college athletes. NCAA and its allies spent at least $750,000 to lobby.