No matter the season, there's always a reason to support Marketplace. 💙 Give Now 🎁

When take your kid to work day goes viral

Apr 26, 2024
At 5 years old, Christopher Bess is already a high school basketball coach.
At just 5 years old, Christopher Bess appears to have already found his calling: coaching basketball.
Courtesy Bess

Colleges are hiring general managers to help athletes navigate NIL deals

Apr 11, 2024
Colleges want the best athletes to play at their school. So what's one way to attract them? Help them get the best name, image and likeness deals.
Schools want their athletes to benefit from their popularity "because it helps both the player, and it also helps the schools make sure they can get the best players," says Austin Meek or The Athletic. Above, Caitlin Clark in the NCAA championship game.
Thien-An Truong/ISI Photos/Getty Images

The success of women's college basketball is more than just Caitlin Clark

Mar 19, 2024
There are now a lot more ways to watch and engage with sports. People are seeking out women’s leagues on streaming platforms. Social media hype is attracting new fans. And brands are taking notice, providing the women's league with more resources.
University of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is getting a lot of credit for the growing fan base of NCAA women's basketball. "But this is not the one and only talent," says sports management professor Ceyda Mumcu of the University of New Haven..
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Half of NBA teams are now led by Black head coaches

Jun 6, 2022
But those studying the NBA say change has been slower among referees, athletic trainers and in the front offices.
Ime Udoka has led the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first year as head coach of the team.
Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images

The WNBA is bringing in more sponsors. Will that be enough of an assist for more viewers?

May 6, 2022
The league opens Friday with a record 38 sponsors.
A WNBA basketball.
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

How the NBA jersey patch became a billboard for advertisers

Sep 24, 2021
Basketball teams have struck lucrative deals to feature company logos on players' uniforms.
Aaron Nesmith of the Boston Celtics guards Bol Bol of the Denver Nuggets during the 2021 NBA Summer League. The logo of Vistaprint, the Celtics' patch partner, is featured on Nesmith's jersey.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

What basketball can teach us about economic mobility

Mar 11, 2021
Ambitions to go pro are often "a metaphor for the elusiveness of the American dream," says "Hoop Dreams" director Steve James.
Success stories for Black athletes "can sometimes hide the fact that for the great majority of people in these communities, the hurdles are so huge that it makes it hard to succeed," "Hoop Dreams" director Steve James says.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

A conversation with "Hoop Dreams" basketball star, 3 decades later

Mar 11, 2021
William Gates, star of the 1994 documentary, on the economic challenges college athletes face today.
"Hoop Dreams" documents over five years the lives of two high school basketball players from families struggling economically in Chicago as they work toward pro careers.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The economics of the NBA "bubble"

Jul 15, 2020
What the Disney World bubble is costing the NBA in its effort to keep players safe — and why it's probably money well spent.
Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images