Every so often we get to take a brief pause from conference games for a special college basketball event. Coming on Jan. 20, 2025 is the inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic to be held at the Prudential Center in New Jersey and will feature four of the top women’s programs in the nation. On Monday’s episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, analyst and host Missy Heidrick is joined by Michael Neuman, co-chair of Playfly Sports Consulting to talk about the impact this event will have on and off the floor, the partnerships it took to make it happen and the fantastic teams — Baylor, UCLA, Texas and Maryland — that will square off in this monumental event.
In 2023, Playfly Sports Consulting collaborated with FOX to create the Women’s Champions Classic in New York, further expanding the visibility of women’s basketball. Following this success, the Coretta Scott King Classic idea was born, focused around the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. “It seemed like an ideal time… because one, it’s a national holiday,” Neuman said on the podcast. This event aims to offer “destination TV” for women’s basketball, following the model of annual fixtures like the NBA on Christmas Day or NFL games on Thanksgiving.
The Coretta Scott King Classic is not just a sports event; it symbolizes the intersection of diversity, empowerment and sports. This collaboration is a milestone in the continued rise of women’s sports, especially in the context of a media landscape that increasingly recognizes the value of women’s athletics.