$13.4 billion worth Fox "contemplated" plan to keep Caitlin Clark in college for another season amid Iowa guard's WNBA Draft decision: Reports
Iowa standout Caitlin Clark's decision to declare for the 2024 WNBA Draft has sent ripples through the basketball world. Her stellar performances have transformed her into a bona fide TV ratings powerhouse. Fox Sports, recognizing Clark's immense drawing power, reportedly eyed an audacious move.
According to Puck's John Ourand, executives at the $13.4 billion worth (Forbes) network “contemplated reaching out to other networks to see if they could come up with an enticing NIL offer that would convince her to stay in the college ranks for one more season.”
NBC and CBS stand as those potential networks, being Fox's partners in the Big Ten TV package.
Clark's farewell regular-season game against Ohio State on Sunday shattered viewership records, attracting a staggering 3.4 million viewers – the highest for a regular-season women's college basketball game on any network since 1999 and the most-watched women's college hoops game in Fox Sports' history.
Remarkably, the marquee clash even outperformed the NBA on ABC, surpassing the Warriors-Celtics (3 million viewers) and 76ers-Mavericks (1.7 million).
On broadcast TV this season, Iowa games featuring Caitlin Clark have averaged an impressive 1.93 million viewers.
One of the Big Ten's tweets highlighted her involvement in the most-watched women's college basketball games ever on six different networks – ABC, Big Ten Network, Fox, FS1, NBC and Peacock.
Caitlin Clark wins third straight Big Ten Player of the Year award
The 2023-24 season has been a historic one for Caitlin Clark, as the NCAA all-time scoring leader was named Big Ten Player of the Year on Tuesday, marking her third consecutive year receiving this prestigious honor. Clark's dominance was further solidified with her unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten First Team.
Her coronation as Player of the Year was virtually a foregone conclusion, especially after being named the conference's Player of the Week a staggering 11 times this year, bringing her career total to 29 – the most in Big Ten history.
Caitlin Clark's statistical prowess has been nothing short of extraordinary. She averaged a Division I-leading 32.3 points and 8.7 assists per game, while etching her name in the record books as the first player in Big Ten history to surpass 500 career 3-pointers. Additionally, she holds the conference's career records for assists and field goals made.
In a crowning achievement, Clark broke the women's scoring record and all-time NCAA scoring record, capping off her remarkable journey by surpassing Pete Maravich's 54-year-old mark of 3,667 career points in her final home game for the Hawkeyes. Heading into the postseason, Clark has amassed an astonishing 3,685 career points.
As Iowa prepares for the Big Ten tournament, where they will be the No. 2 seed awaiting the winner of Penn State vs. Wisconsin in the quarterfinals on Friday, the Hawkeyes are poised for a deep run in the NCAA tournament.