Unless you have been living under a rock, you are at least peripherally aware of who the two women in the photo are. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have become household names due to their duels in college and now the pros. While much commentary has been given on how these two young ladies – in particular Clark – have caused a surge in the popularity of women’s sports, it almost seems to be lost on people that they were in high school once upon a time.

K-12 schools should push girls’ sports as they do boys’. We all know that isn’t the case. Title IX makes schools pretend to treat the sports of both genders equally, but it isn’t fooling anyone. From practice times, to venues, to uniforms, to promotion, it isn’t hard to see where the girls get the short end of the stick. Go to a small town and ask when the next football game is, then ask when the next volleyball game is. Yes, men’s sports are more popular at the moment, but some of that is due to the space male athletics occupies in our culture. If you go to the Facebook page of most school districts, the varsity football and basketball teams typically have their games and schedules highlighted while girls’ sports are lucky to get a mention.

We have seen in recent months that if you put out entertaining women athletes, with compelling narratives and promote them, people will take interest. In other words: If you build it, they will come.

K-12 sports are uniquely positioned to do this. Aside from the fact that they are legally supposed to, there are no TV contracts to worry about or massive coach salaries to pay. Though it is not ideal, it is understandable why Alabama football is not treated the same as Alabama women’s volleyball. But you have way too many high school athletic directors pretending they are running a big-time SEC football program and can’t be bothered to make sure that they are providing meaningful opportunities for their girls.

If given equal footing, women’s sports may even be more popular than men’s in certain instances. Women’s basketball games have started beating men’s in the ratings. According to the Female Athlete Project, U.S. adults are seven times more likely to name Simone Biles as the ‘face of the Olympics’ than LeBron James, the top male athlete mentioned.

But at the end of the day, giving women athletes more exposure is not actually about generating more revenue. You may indeed do this, but it’s about giving girls the same opportunities that you give boys.