The Caitlin Clark effect: Natty game viewership falls over 50% one year after Iowa alum's final game v South Carolina set NCAA record
On Monday, ESPN reported the viewership of the national title game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the UConn Huskies. The contest on Sunday averaged 8.5 million viewers while peaking at 9.8 million, via an X post from ESPN PR.
In the post, ESPN claimed the matchup was the third-most viewed women's basketball title game on record.
The numbers are impressive and nearly two times higher than those of the 2022 national championship game between these same programs (South Carolina won 64-49). However, they pale in comparison to the viewership that Caitlin Clark drew in her final collegiate game against the Gamecocks last season.
According to Nielsen, that matchup in Cleveland averaged 18.8 million viewers and peaked at 24 million on ABC and ESPN, the most in women’s college basketball history.
In comparison to the numbers Clark was responsible for, the 2025 title game dropped over 50 percent in viewership — approximately 10 million fewer viewers.
The Hawkeyes vs. UConn game in last year's Final Four drew more viewers than this year's championship, with 14.2 million tuning in.
The 2023 national championship game where Caitlin Clark played against Angel Reese and LSU still ranks as the second-most viewed title game on record, garnering 9.9 million viewers.
Before Clark arrived at Iowa, the women's NCAA Tournament final averaged around three to four million viewers each year. Although this year's final did outperform the pre-Clark era, it is difficult not to recognize the significant impact that No. 22 had on women's college basketball.
South Carolina was unable to deny Paige Bueckers the title as they did Caitlin Clark
Paige Bueckers entered Sunday's national championship game with similar pressure that Caitlin Clark faced a year ago. Both playing their final college basketball game, Clark and Bueckers sought to end their careers with national titles.
They had to overcome a dominant South Carolina team to do so. However, last year, the Gamecocks stood in the way of Clark's fairytale ending.
While South Carolina defeated Clark and the Hawkeyes 87-75, denying the NCAA's all-time leading scorer of a championship ring, they could not do the same to prevent Bueckers from winning a championship. The UConn superstar added 17 points and six rebounds in the Huskies' blowout win in Tampa, Florida.
This was also the first time in Gamecocks history that they did not win the national championship, having entered the title game 3-0.