Tamika Catchings (photo courtesy of the Indiana Fever)

The WNBA's Indiana Fever are in their 16th season in the Hoosier state, and General Manager Kelly Krauskropf says it wouldn't be possible without legislation passed 40 years ago.

Listen:

Saturday is the 40th anniversary of Title IX. Krauskropf says that legislation that allowed girls to play has led to the evolution of both individual women's pro sports like golf and tennis and team sports like the WNBA. She says since that time professional women's basketball has become financially solvent with more teams operating in the black and making a profit. It also has become more of a mainstream sport in the eyes of the fans with male spectators outnumbering female spectators for the first time.

Krauskropf says if there are any areas that need to "catch up" to the acceptance and donimance of women's sports, it would be corporate endorsements and sports media. Krauskropf says there are female athletes, like the Fever's Tamika Catchings, that are just as good if not better than male athletes when it comes to the qualities a business looks for in an endorsement spokesperson.

She says the other hold back would be sports media in markets that don't have a WNBA team and don't cover the industry at all, but do cover other pro sports that don't technically exist in their markets.