MAILBAG! What college sport has the most growth potential?
Matt Brown
August 31, 2022
Good morning, and thanks for your continued support of Extra Points.
It's been a few weeks, and I have a few mailbag questions that I haven't had a chance to answer yet...so let me turn the time over to my readers. As always, if you have a question you'd like to see discussed on Extra Points, feel free to leave a comment, shoot me a DM or Tweet (@MattBrownEP), or email me at [email protected].
Let's get to your questions:
What NCAA sport, either men's or women's, that are not related to the traditional big 4 North American sports (men's & women's basketball, baseball, softball, football, men's hockey) has the most room/easiest path for a huge growth in popularity by the end of the decade?
— Gonza Lulika (@GonzaLulika)
Aug 29, 2022
Great question!
How we define popularity could lead us to different answers, but I think the most obvious answer here is women's volleyball. According to this 2021 story at EdWeek, high school volleyball is the second most popular participation sport for girls, outpacing basketball, soccer and softball (only track counts more female participants). Over 300 D-1 schools sponsor women's volleyball as well. So you already have a massive base of potential athletes, current participants, and opportunities for fans across the country to see a match.
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