Not investing in NCAA women’s basketball? That’s madness. Through the first half of the 2025-26 season, ads airing during NCAA women’s basketball games drove 1.2x as much impact as the primetime broadcast and cable average through, according to EDO’s 2026 Women’s Sports TV Outcomes Report.
And this impact grows exponentially as the stakes get higher in March. In fact, ads broadcast during the 2025 NCAA women’s basketball final delivered 9.4x as much impact as the average ad on primetime broadcast and cable — making it the most impactful women’s sports event of the year.
With this year’s tournament in full swing, let’s take a look at the brands and ads that drove results during last year’s Big Dance, based on consumer engagement behaviors like brand searches and site visits that reliably predict future sales.
Great Clips topped the charts at the 2025 NCAA women’s basketball tournament, outperforming the average March Madness advertiser by 351%. Its most effective ad employed a mock NCAA Tournament studio segment to offer viewers $10 off their next haircut.
Great Clips was followed by brands across a range of categories, including luxury automotive, quick-serve, retail, and more.
Like Great Clips, Home Depot seized on the excitement of last year’s March Madness with contextually relevant creative designed to generate engagement among fans of both men’s and women’s basketball.
One ad featured NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu and highlighted Home Depot’s selection of electric fans — all of which were shown seated in the stands as if they were basketball fans. The pun-laden spot helped Home Depot outperform the average 2025 women’s tournament advertiser by 139%.
NCAA women’s basketball has proven to be extremely valuable for advertisers, but the power of women’s sports doesn’t end there.
EDO’s 2026 Women’s Sports TV Outcomes Report dives deep on brands driving engagement across the WNBA, NWSL, women’s college sports and more. Download your copy today — and get the most out of your next women’s sports ad buy.