The largest investment fund for women’s sports is now even bigger

[ResidentialBusiness]

As buzz around women’s sports continues to grow, the largest dedicated female sports fund just got larger.

Monarch Collective, the first and largest investment platform that exclusively invests in women’s sports, announced Thursday that it has expanded its fund size from $150 million to $250 million. The increased capital will allow the fund to capitalize on what it calls a “rapidly accelerating market”: women’s professional sports teams that have been increasingly filling seats.

“Since launching our fund last year, women’s sports has experienced a cultural transcendence and the ecosystem has evolved dramatically, making the need for operational, value-added capital even more important than it once was,” said Kara Nortman, managing partner of Monarch Collective, in a statement. “Now is the time to build the right community around the table and deploy new playbooks that will win.”

Big-name investors on board

The fund touts high-profile investors, who contributed to the majority of the new infusion of capital. According to a press release, they include Melinda French Gates’s Pivotal Ventures; Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden; and Beth Brooke, former global vice chairman of public policy at EY.

The growth of Monarch Collective aligns with an increased interest in women’s sports more broadly. Over the last few years, viewership of games has soared alongside merchandise sales and tickets sold.

Last year, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) reached 2 million total attendance. Monarch’s current profile includes three NWSL teams: Angel City Football Club, BOS Nation FC, and the San Diego Wave FC.

But the main driver of this women’s sports boom is basketball at both the collegiate and professional level. Last year, “Caitlin Clark mania” drove record-shattering viewership and revenue toward the Women’s March Madness tournament last year. The women’s championship game was the most-watched basketball game on ESPN since 2019—among all men’s, women’s, collegiate, and professional games.

And ever since Clark joined the WNBA for the 2024 season, that league has more than tripled its number of sell-outs.

‘Meaningful change’

This year, get ready for the hype around women’s sports to continue. Women’s March Madness begins next Wednesday, and sports-centric X accounts have already begun to share their excitement about seeing stars like Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins playing on national television.

“Some may say we’re at a pivotal moment in women’s sports, but to us, it’s much bigger than that,” said Jasmine Robinson, managing partner of Monarch Collective, in a statement. “Along with our investors, we believe we have the power to drive meaningful change that is representative of today’s diverse ownership groups, management teams, and fan bases.”

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