Natalie Newton
My Stories
For Lindsey Kirschman, it’s all about the next challenge
First of Its Kind: Utah Women Launch State's Only University Club Basketball Team
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Biography
Natalie Newton is a communications student at the University of Utah studying journalism and history. During her time at the U, Newton has worked in the live video department on the sports production crew. She's also marketing chair for The MUSS, Utah's famed student section. Growing up, Newton played basketball and read Sports Illustrated, which made her a passionate supporter of women's sports. She wants to go into TV broadcasting after graduation to tell important sports stories and help continue growing media exposure for female athletes. When she's not working behind the scenes at a game, Newton loves attending them as a fan — especially Utah women's basketball, the Los Angeles Chargers or tennis matches.
Reporter's Notebook
One afternoon during the 2024 spring semester, I was at the University of Utah’s Life Center playing pickup basketball. I’m very used to being the only girl on the court—m not only at the U, but also in other pickup games, whether church ball or with friends.
I was surprised and excited to see another girl walk in the gym and step on the court. That was how I met Ella McDonald, who started the first-ever women’s club basketball team at Utah. And, it’s also the only one at any university in the state.
Fast forward a year, and I was writing a story on this club team, which gave me the chance to talk to many of the players and leadership. I’m a woman who knows what it’s like to play basketball with a bunch of guys because there aren’t any other options, just like these women. That helped me know what questions to ask, what topics to bring up and where to dig deeper.
The biggest assumption that this club basketball team challenges is that there aren’t enough women interested in basketball (or insert any other sport) to make it worthwhile to have a league or time dedicated to them. The club team started with roughly seven girls in its first semester, but exploded in size during the second semester. They had so many women try out that they had to make cuts. Some were okay with only playing at practice and not getting to play in games or travel with the team—that’s how badly they wanted to play.
I hate to say it, but even I was a little surprised to hear that. I play a lot of basketball at the U, but it has been largely with men. To hear that so many women were so excited to finally have a place to play basketball with other women was meaningful to me. That is the impact of this team. Women play sports, and women need places to play sports with other women. Just because we mostly see men in pickup games, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t women who want to play—we just don’t have spaces already built for us. We have to create them ourselves, and when we do, community blooms.