NCAA Women’s Sweet 16 Sets Viewership Records With Massive Numbers From Caitlin Clark, Iowa

Patrick Andres | Apr 2, 2024

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives to the basket against Colorado Buffaloes guard Jaylyn Sherrod. / Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register / USA

For the game of women's college basketball, this is a golden age.

Led by a crop of stars with national name recognition—such as Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, LSU forward Angel Reese and Connecticut guard Paige Bueckers, to name a few—a sport that once took a backseat has been thrust into the national spotlight. Millions hung on every shot Monday as Clark's Hawkeyes warded off Reese's Tigers 94–87 to reach the Final Four in a hotly anticipated rematch of last year's national championship.

On Tuesday, the domination of the women's game was confirmed with the release of unprecedented TV numbers for the Sweet 16.

Paced by Iowa's 89–68 win over Colorado on Saturday, ESPN recorded its highest viewership ever for a women's Sweet 16. The Hawkeyes' blowout victory drew an astounding 6.9 million viewers.

The NCAA Women's Sweet 16 was the most-watched ever.

Games averaged 2.4 million viewers on ESPN, led by:
• Iowa-Colorado: 6.9 million
• LSU-UCLA: 3.8 million
• South Carolina-Indiana: 2.1 million
• UConn-Duke: 2 million pic.twitter.com/2eTqKPD4al

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 2, 2024

Three other marquee matchups weren't far behind: LSU's 78–69 win over UCLA drew 3.8 million viewers, South Carolina's thrilling 79–75 triumph against Indiana drew 2.1 million, and the Huskies' 53–45 win over Duke drew two million.

All told, the numbers back up what has always been true: March Madness belongs to everyone.