Historic Viewership: Basketball Superstar Caitlin Clark Breaks Another Record

The Elite 8 matchup between Iowa and LSU in the women’s NCAA March Madness tournament Monday night was must-see sports, and that’s not just my opinion. The stats are out. More people watched this display of greatness from Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark than have ever tuned in to a women’s college basketball game. She continues to break records.

The rematch of last year’s championship game lived up to the hype surrounding the Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese face-off. Last year, when Reese and her LSU team secured the title, she put her hand close to Clark’s face and pointed to her finger, a gesture, it appears, to represent where her championship ring would go but also a “take that!” to Clark who, after a monster game against Louisville in the Elite 8 last season, did a John Cena “You can’t see me” move.

Much conversation ensued after that, but the two stepped on the court Monday focused on the current season, not last season’s noise. Clark’s 41 points, 12 assists, and 7 rebounds ended LSU’s run at defending its 2023 title, as her team defeated LSU 94-87, and a historic number of people got to see it.

“Iowa’s win over LSU averaged 12.3 million viewers and peaked at 16 million viewers. That shattered the previous all-time mark set last year for LSU’s win over Iowa in last year’s championship, a game that averaged a record 9.9 million viewers and peaked at 12.6 million viewers,” according to The Athletic.

Clark is a special talent—beyond special. She’s dominating the sports conversation. Men who previously dismissed women’s basketball are gazing, talking, reporting, and tweeting. She’s that kind of good, and she makes everyone around her better. As I’ve covered on my podcast, The Adrienne Ross Show, here and here, she sparks conversation that goes well beyond sports.