Following a successful 2023 Tipoff Classic highlighted by an unforgettable game between Iowa and Virginia Tech, the Charlotte Sports Foundation and Ally are expanding their tipoff event to feature a double-header to help kick off the 2024-25 women’s college basketball season.
The event, hosted on Nov. 10, will feature South Carolina and NC State, as well as a rematch of last season’s Iowa-Virginia Tech game. The 15,196 fans who attended the game set a record for the most-attended women’s college hoops game in North Carolina state history and the ESPN2 broadcast drew 548,000 viewers, at that point the highest-viewed women’s college basketball game on that network since 2017.
Additionally, the partnership has committed to hosting the event through 2026, ensuring that top-level women’s college basketball games will be played in Charlotte during the non-conference schedule through the next few seasons.
What do events like this do for growth of women’s college basketball?
High-profile non-conference games, especially those early in season, are huge for the sport. These kinds of games — with teams like this that have large followings — get both diehards and casual fans invested in the season earlier and earlier, rather than waiting until March to see great…
