Oct 2, 2026 · 57 min
Women’s sports pipeline faces pressure from youth fields to college rosters
Belonging is a Big Deal with Cole Brauer and Danette Leighton
The episode connects everyday barriers in girls’ sports to financial decisions that could shrink women’s opportunities at the college level.
- 1Girls’ sports participation is shaped by cost, local access, racial disparities, and whether athletes feel they belong.
- 2Title IX remains essential, but its protections depend on continued public awareness, enforcement, and advocacy.
- 3College athletics’ shifting economics could threaten women’s scholarships and roster spots without intentional investment.
Don't miss
Cole Brauer describes the psychological shock of returning from solitary ocean sailing to crowded, complicated life on land.
The brief
Sarah Spain speaks with Women’s Sports Foundation CEO Danette Leighton and solo sailor Cole Brauer about belonging, resilience, and the infrastructure women’s sports require.
Leighton argues that attention cannot stop at professional leagues: costs, travel, limited local opportunities, and racial and socioeconomic gaps push girls out long before elite competition.
The conversation treats Title IX as a living protection rather than settled history, covering athletic access, pregnancy and parenting, LGBTQ protections, and campus safety.
College sports face a financial crossroads as transfer rules, NIL, revenue sharing, lawsuits, and football-first priorities threaten women’s roster spots and scholarships.
Brauer’s contrast between solitary ocean sailing and crowded life on land gives the episode its most personal lens on belonging and human connection.
The closing discussion links Arike Ogunbowale’s clutch legacy with athletes resisting misogyny, racism, and exclusion in skateboarding and beyond.
Books & mentions
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