Invisibility: The Framing of Women’s Athletics by Sports Media During the House v. National Collegiate Athletic Association Case

This study examined how sports media framed women’s athletics and athletes during coverage of the House v. NCAA case and settlement. Drawing from 679 resources published between April 2024 and June 2025 from the D1 Ticker, a qualitative content analysis guided by Entman’s framing theory and MacKinnon’s dominance approach to feminism revealed four dominant frames: (a) the superficiality of Title IX, (b) women’s basketball commercialism, (c) roster limits, and (d) women’s objection letters as resistance. Findings indicate women athletes and sports were largely invisible—minimally selected, excluded, and rarely emphasized or elaborated upon—reflecting patriarchal and commercial hierarchies embedded in college sport media. The study highlights how gender equity is framed within curated sport media coverage, urging managers and leaders to critically reflect on how framing narratives influence the post- House era.