Grayson Weir
Videos by OutKick
Sunday’s national title game between LSU and Iowa was the most-watched women’s college basketball game, ever. To reiterate: the Tigers and Hawkeyes had more people watching their game than any other game in the sport’s history.
Roughly 9.9 million viewers had their TVs tuned to ABC for the national championship, with that number peaking at 12.6 million. The ratings number was up 103% year over year, which is bananas.
Women’s college basketball is on the come up!
Not only are Sunday’s ratings a testament to the superstar that is Caitlin Clark, there is a direct correlation between the product on the court and the amount of people watching, obviously. The Women’s NCAA Tournament was packed full of drama from start to finish, and it culminated with a battle between two polarizing programs.
Clark, though, was the biggest draw.
Unfortunately, the powerhouse matchup was slightly marred by the officiating. Where two teams should have been allowed to grind it out, the whistle became a real problem— particularly for Iowa.
In the end, it was LSU that came out on top and Kim Mulkey won her fourth national championship in just her second year with the program. And moments before the final whistle blew, star guard Angel Reese talked her talk, which only created an even larger conversation surrounding the highly-watched game.
People are talking about women’s college basketball, and people are excited about women’s college basketball. Sunday’s numbers are a testament to that interest.
The national championship game out-drew all-but three college football bowl games.
- College Football Playoff Semifinal (UGA vs. OSU) — 21.74 million
- College Football Playoff Semifinal (TCU vs. Michigan) — 20.93 million
- Rose Bowl (PSU vs. Utah) — 10.187 million
- Women’s College Basketball National Title (LSU vs. Iowa) — 9.9 million
- Sugar Bowl (Alabama vs. Kansas State) — 9.14 million
- Orange Bowl (Tennessee vs. Clemson) — 8.59 million
It also out-drew the following:
- Any MLS game in history
- Any Stanley Cup game after 1973
- Thursday Night Football in 2023
- The NBA Finals in 2021
- The World Series in 2020
This may not be the last time that a women’s college basketball game out-draws its college football counterparts in the postseason. Reese is just a sophomore. Clark is a junior, with one year left. And that list doesn’t even include the Cavinder twins, South Carolina, UConn, Tennessee, and the rest!
First time and last time for me, knowing corrupt, racists blacks officiate the games.
I’ve done stand-up routines about “watching girls’ basketball” for years. I watched IOWA – USC 100% because of the HYPE for Caitlin Clark … and she delivered. I watched the finals to see if she could do it again. …. The Finals turned into a Sh*t show between the refs and Kim Mulkey and then the fiasco at the end ……. I will go back to doing my stand-up routines on “girls’ bb.”. …. Its like kids soccer – IF your kid is playing you definitely watch otherwise nope.
My next TV sports event will Sunday Masters.