As buzz around womens sports continues to grow, the largest dedicated female sports fund just got larger.Monarch Collective, the first and largest investment platform that exclusively invests in womens sports, announced Thursday that it has expanded its fund size from $150 million to $250 million. The increased capital will allow the fund to capitalize on what it calls a rapidly accelerating market: womens professional sports teams that have been increasingly filling seats.Since launching our fund last year, womens sports has experienced a cultural transcendence and the ecosystem has evolved dramatically, making the need for operational, value-added capital even more important than it once was, said Kara Nortman, managing partner of Monarch Collective, in a statement. Now is the time to build the right community around the table and deploy new playbooks that will win.Big-name investors on boardThe fund touts high-profile investors, who contributed to the majority of the new infusion of capital. According to a press release, they include Melinda French Gatess Pivotal Ventures; Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden; and Beth Brooke, former global vice chairman of public policy at EY.The growth of Monarch Collective aligns with an increased interest in womens sports more broadly. Over the past few years, viewership of games has soared alongside merchandise sales and tickets sold.Last year, the National Womens Soccer League (NWSL) reached two million total attendance. Monarchs current profile includes three NWSL teams: Angel City Football Club, BOS Nation FC, and the San Diego Wave FC.But the main driver of this womens sports boom is basketball at both the collegiate and professional level. Last year, Caitlin Clark mania drove record-shattering viewership and revenue toward the Womens March Madness tournament last year. The womens championship game was the most-watched basketball game on ESPN since 2019among all mens, womens, collegiate, and professional games.And ever since Clark joined the WNBA for the 2024 season, that league has more than tripled its number of sellouts.Meaningful changeThis year, get ready for the hype around womens sports to continue. Womens March Madness begins next Wednesday, and sports-centric X accounts have already begun to share their excitement about seeing stars like Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins playing on national television. Some may say were at a pivotal moment in womens sports, but to us, its much bigger than that, said Jasmine Robinson, managing partner of Monarch Collective, in a statement. Along with our investors, we believe we have the power to drive meaningful change that is representative of todays diverse ownership groups, management teams, and fan bases.