In Celebrating The 50th Anniversary Of Title IX, Start With The ‘Mighty Macs’

They returned to the small campus outside of Philadelphia to celebrate. As the women's March Madness tournament began, these dynamic trailblazers and their headstrong coach had little idea what women's basketball would look like in 50 years.

The Macs of Immaculata College were given a hero's welcome on Friday as they celebrated their amazing legacy. The first collegiate women's basketball team to win a national championship still holds a special place at the small Catholic college on Philadelphia's Main Line.

Rush spoke to the crowd of players, alumni and officials. They won three national titles in a row in 1972, 1973, and 1974. Marianne Stanley is the head coach of the Indiana Fever in the Women's Basketball Association, and she is one of the players from that squad.

Tim Chambers, producer and director of the movie "TheMighty Macs", joined the celebration.

The growth of the women's game at other larger colleges and universities negatively impacted Immaculata in the late 1970s. The University of Maryland, University of Tennessee, and the University of Connecticut all have athletic scholarships and the school with 400 women could not compete. Immaculata faded from the national stage after a few more appearances in the Final Four. Rush finished her career with a record of 149-15 and was elected to the Hall of Fame.

Few would think of women's basketball as a sport that has taken 50 years to get here. The game is more entertaining than ever, and coaches like Dawn Staley and Adia Barnes reflect a new style of coaching, elevating their teams to a higher plane. The bridge between 50 years ago and today would not be possible if you didn't include Pat Summitt, Geno Auriemma and Tara VanDerveer.

The journey is not over for women's sports. The original intent of Title IX has a long way to go, as we saw in the NCAA Basketball Tournaments. It frustrates coaches, players and fans why the game is viewed as less than the men, from the facilities and travel to food, lodging and coach.

The amount of money pouring into women's sports at the professional level is a promising indicator of changing times. The WNBA raised $75 million to fund marketing, improve digital products, and increase revenue. The portfolio of broadcasts featuring women's NCAA championship events was overseen by Carol Stiff, the former Vice President of women's sports acquisitions at ESPN. She joined the team launching the Women's Sports Network, a global streaming network dedicated to showcasing women's sports. She is a part of determining the media strategy for the network that will go live in June.

The CEO of the Sports Innovation Lab is trying to find ways to measure how new fans consume women's sports. The days of counting viewers on linear and cable television are long gone, as streaming and other social platforms are adding consumers to the women's game in record numbers. New ways to measure fan engagement in sports are being created by Ruggerio's company.

The 50th anniversary of Title IX is this year and we celebrate the pioneers in women's sports. It's time to think about the potential of women's sports. There were at least 30 women's games this year that attracted over 10,000 fans, just in the regular season, and arenas are selling out. More money is pouring into women's sports than at any time in history, if you only care about the money.

Women's sports is one of the best places to invest right now. Count on it.