After years of struggling to achieve recognition, women's sports took off in the 1990's.

Recognizing the growing importance of women's college and Olympic basketball, the NBA voted in 1996 to establish the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). WNBA teams were placed in eight cities: Charlotte, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Sacramento and Utah. Houston won the first ever WNBA Championship over New York. With the backing of the NBA the WNBA is sure to receive the kind of marketing previous women's leagues lacked.

The NBA also advanced the cause of women by hiring Dee Kanter and Violet Palmer to become the first women officiators in men's professional sports. Kanter and Palmer are expected to officiate 60 to 82 pro basketball games for the 1997-1998 NBA season.

Boxing has always been considered too brutal for women, but the 90's also saw a breakthrough in this sport. Christy Martin, the WBC Women's Lightweight Champion, brought the spark and championship poise to the sport of boxing and began to change people's perception of women in contact sports.

After years of amateur success, Women's Hockey has finally been given the recognition it deserves with its inclusion into the Olympics. Teams from Canada, China, Finland, Japan, Sweden, and the United States will compete for Olympic gold and the title of best hockey team in the world during the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games.