Iowa-LSU Draws Record 9.9 Million Viewers
The game may have been a disappointment for Hawkeye fans, but the nation tuned in at a record level to watch Iowa-LSU compete for the national championship in women's basketball.
According to ESPN, Sunday's championship game drew an eye-popping 9.9 million viewers, peaking at 12.6 million.
The near-10 million number is more than double last year's total, and is the largest viewership ever recorded for a women's college basketball game, on any network. Per Richard Deitsch of The Athletic, the previous record for a women's basketball National Championship Game was 5.68 million for UConn-Oklahoma in 2002. The overall viewership record for women's basketball is approximately 8.1 million viewers for a Virginia-Stanford Final Four game on CBS in 1992, according to Sports Media Watch.
"I view matchups that people get really excited about as a really good thing for this game," Caitlin Clark said on Saturday, prior to the championship game. "I think more than anything, people are starting to understand women can play with excitement and a passion and a fire about themselves. That's what's fun. That's what people want to see."