3XBA And Rough & Tumble Pub Partner To Grow Women’s Basketball

By Alanna McDonald Caroline Fitzgerald Contributor

As women’s basketball continues to gain momentum on the global stage, new and unique opportunities continue to emerge for athletes to compete. One format that has gained traction in the last few years is three-on-three basketball, building on the momentum established after the FIBA’s 3×3 sport was featured for the first time in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In North America specifically, there are now two prominent professional three-on-three women’s basketball leagues: the 3×3 Basketball Association (3XBA), which is the premier professional women’s FIBA 3×3 tour and youth development pipeline in the United States, and Unrivaled, which plays by different rules than FIBA 3×3, and more closely mirrors the traditional professional 5-on-5 format.

While both leagues are helping to expand the professional landscape for women’s basketball, 3XBA is taking a global approach to growth by building a FIBA-sanctioned ecosystem from the ground up. Launched in 2024, the league is centered around Olympic development, youth participation, and sustainable career pathways. 3XBA’s growth is fueled by strategic partnerships, including USA Basketball, Spokane Hoopfest, All Women’s Sports Network, Baden, Moolah Kicks, and most recently, Rough & Tumble Pub, which is the world’s second-ever dedicated women’s sports bar and the first sports company purpose-built for gender equity in sports viewing and fandom. Rough & Tumble signed on as 3XBA’s first-ever official jersey patch partner.

Enter Rough & Tumble Pub

“This first-of-its-kind partnership marks more than just a strategic partnership with a pro women’s program. It’s a commitment to building the full ecosystem around it – community, content, and culture,” said Jen Barnes, CEO and Founder of Rough & Tumble. “3XBA is rewriting the future of professional women’s basketball rather than retrofitting something from the men’s side that doesn’t work for women athletes. Rough & Tumble is where women’s sports teams and their athletes build fans and the culture that supports them. The partnership we’re building upon is a catalyst for not just the next generation of women hoopers, but how we look at and execute partnerships and grow the women’s sports industry as a sector.”

The partnership’s first activation came to life at 3XBA Spokane, the league’s inaugural event of the 2025 season, which took place at Spokane Hoopfest: the world’s largest 3×3 tournament. The tournament, attended by over 225,000 people, also marked the launch of 3XBA’s broadcast relationship with AWSN and served as an official FIBA qualifying event. The winning team earned a coveted spot in the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series in Edmonton this August, and another 3XBA pro roster is headed to the Bucharest Women’s Series stop on July 11-13, 2025. Thanks to the partnership with Rough & Tumble, all games will be played on the screens at the Pub’s flagship location in Seattle.

“From day one, Rough & Tumble has made watching women’s sports accessible, exciting, and central to the culture,” said Barnes. “We don’t just air the games, we amplify them. We generate hype, drive visibility, and create spaces where fandom thrives.”

By Women, For Women

3XBA was founded by Alanna McDonald, Arlan Hamilton, and Holly Levow with a goal of filling the major gap in opportunities for female basketball players by creating professional pathways beyond the limited roster spots in traditional leagues like the WNBA. The 3XBA professional season runs from May through September, aligning with the international FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series and providing direct routes to international competition.

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“At 3XBA, we’re not copy-pasting a model built for men and trying to retrofit it for women,” said Alanna McDonald, President and Co-Founder of 3XBA. “We’re building something in our own likeness, designed from the ground up to reflect the values, needs, and brilliance of women athletes and teams. That kind of vision takes deep understanding and intentionality. Too much of what exists today simply doesn’t fit women’s sports. We’re creating something that does.”

Beyond the pro circuit, 3XBA offers year-round youth programs that lower barriers to entry, invest in future talent, and cultivate the next generation of 3×3 athletes and fans.

“We’re just as committed to expanding opportunities for women athletes who are too often left off the bench, pitch, or court to continue playing at an elite level,” said Barnes. “That’s why our partnership with 3XBA is such a natural fit. Two women-founded, women-led companies saw the gaps in the system, and built real solutions that people wanted. Now, we’re leveraging our two companies to benefit the athletes who love the game even more.”

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