March Madness took the nation by storm this past spring, but there were a few key differences between the 2024 tournament and that of prior years. Namely, the NCAAW March Madness saw a sharp increase in viewership and ticket sales across the board, which many attribute to Caitlin Clark’s game-changing ways.
Clark became the highest scorer in all of college basketball history this past collegiate season, marking just one milestone in her career thus far. During both her senior and junior seasons at the University of Iowa, Clark won the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award and qualified for the award her freshman and sophomore years as well.
Alongside these accomplishments, Clark has managed to rack up quite the fan base and following. With 2.1 million followers on Instagram, it comes as no surprise that Clark’s popularity is related to the increased viewership of women’s college basketball.
According to the NCAA, the women’s March Madness championship game garnered more views than the men’s championship game, became the most-watched women’s basketball game ever and was the most-watched basketball game – men’s or women’s – since 2019. The women’s championship game between South Carolina and Iowa peaked at 24 million viewers and averaged 18.7 million viewers.
Similarly, game attendance for women’s college basketball has also set records this 2023-2024 season. Throughout the season, women’s college basketball brought in a record-breaking total of 436,055 fans, and the championship game brought out a record-breaking 18,300 fans.
After selling out game after game, Clark moves on to the WNBA after being selected first in the 2024 draft by the Indiana Fever. Though her rookie contract has caused some discontent, the athlete can look forward to a fruitful partnership with Nike, which is expected to be valued at $28 million.
