Too Loud to Ignore: UConn and the power of women’s visibility 

For years, women have been told to stay small, to play quietly, to dream modestly and exist within the margins while men took center stage. Their ambition was dismissed as unbecoming, their strength called unfeminine and their victories treated as less important. And yet, women kept showing up. In classrooms, on courts, in newsrooms and boardrooms, they built records and legacies that can no longer be ignored. Nowhere has that quiet defiance found a louder amplifier than at UConn. From the dominance of women’s basketball to the educators trained at Neag, to alumni who shape the media to those who advocate for equality in every sphere, UConn has been more than an institution, it has been a force for visibility whose impact extends beyond championships and headlines. UConn has helped prove that women’s contributions are not side stories, but central chapters in athletics, education and society itself. 

This article is not intended to be a history lecture, but it’s impossible to celebrate progress without acknowledging the gaps women have had to bridge throughout history. Between women’s suffrage, the passage of Title IX in 1972 (a mere 53 years ago), and today’s ongoing fight to close the wage gap, the story of progress is one of transformation, though the numbers remind us it remains unfinished. Women’s sports still receive less than 10% of media coverage, women in the U.S. still earn only about 82 cents for every dollar earned by men and cultural voices like NFL kicker Harrison Butker, who told hundreds of graduating women their “most important title” should be homemaker, reveal how entrenched and outdated expectations remain. Progress is undeniable, but so are the barriers that persist. And yet, if progress is always unfinished, it is also always pushed forward by institutions willing to challenge the margins. Right here, at the University of Connecticut, that push for visibility has been impossible to ignore. 

If UConn has been a beacon of hope for women’s visibility in sport, then basketball has been the catalyst. With 12 women’s national titles (compared to the men’s six), 24 appearances in the final four, and the longest win streak in NCAA history (111 consecutive winning games), the Huskies have done more than dominate, they redefined what dominance looked like when women were at the center. Not only has this team’s success forced networks to air primetime matchups, filled arenas once thought impossible to sell out and inspired generations of young girls, but it has also provided a direct comparison to their male counterparts. For the first time we are seeing women not only on the same playing field (or court), but rather surpassing the very standards long reserved for men.  

Not only has UConn inspired women on the court, field or ice, but it has also encouraged them to step into sports management, education and journalism, spaces where their presence has historically been limited. Through the Neag School of Education and the visibility created by its championship programs, UConn has given women the tools and the confidence to lead, to teach and to tell the stories that matter. In doing so, it has created a ripple effect: women amplifying each other’s voices in boardrooms, classrooms and newsrooms. And crucially, UConn didn’t just acknowledge woman’s athletic success, it made it part of the school’s identity. By celebrating its women athletes as central to its story, UConn has sent a message to generations of young girls that their place in higher education was not only valid, but vital. 

And that influence extends far beyond the classroom. UConn’s media presence has made its athletes household names. From legends like Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier to today’s stars like Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, these women are celebrated not only for their dominance on the court but also for their voices off it. They have spoken out for equal representation, for racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights, proving that visibility is not just about being seen, but about being heard. Their names are proudly worn on the backs of little girls’ jerseys, transforming idols into attainable goals and showing a generation that women can be the pinnacle of excellence. Even in small towns where Friday night football is worshipped, where scholarships are primarily funneled to men, and where female representation remains scarce, UConn’s example has shifted the narrative proving that greatness is not defined by gender but by impact. 

Progress isn’t only measured in banners or headlines but in the moments when visibility breaks through. It’s in the little girl who turns on her TV and sees women commanding the court, the classroom or the newsroom and finally believes she belongs there too. UConn’s impact makes that belief real. It shows us that when the world tries to shrink women, the answer is not silence but presence. To be loud, to take up space, to claim the spotlight without apology. That is the legacy, and the responsibility, UConn has handed us.