Women’s college basketball just keeps re-writing history in terms of people watching the games this postseason. Last year’s title game drew over 12 million viewers. A lot of fans tuned in to watch Kim Mulkey win yet another championship and the first with the LSU Tigers.
LSU was able to fend off the Iowa Hawkeyes and Caitlin Clark, who became a cultural phenomenon at a time when the women’s game was treated the same as the men’s. You could argue that Clark helped elevate the women’s game beyond the men’s over the last two tournaments. On Sunday afternoon, they did it again with another record-breaking game.
According to Front Office Sports, the game averaged 18.7 million viewers and peaked at 24 million.
South Carolina and Iowa’s National Championship game averaged a record 18.7 MILLION viewers on ABC and ESPN.
That's more than any other basketball game—women's, men's, college, or pro—in five years. pic.twitter.com/NfeSyvdvnD
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 8, 2024
The game will miss players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, Kamilla Cardoso, Rickea Jackson, and Aaliyah Edwards who helped make the past few seasons so electric. However, the future is also bright with the superstars to come. Let’s also not forget that UConn star Paige Bueckers has already announced that she will return for at least one more season.