Iowa Still Tops Women’s College Basketball Popularity Rankings Post Caitlin Clark Era
It would not have been surprising to anybody to hear that the Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team was the country's most popular when superstar guard Caitlin Clark was on the Hawkeyes' roster.
After all, Clark was arguably the most popular women's basketball player in the sport's history before she had ever played a professional game. That, combined with the loyal fanbase Iowa already has among all sports, made this a match made in heaven.
And Clark only added to the Hawkeyes' already immense popularity during her historic four seasons there, which included two straight trips to the national championship game (in 2023 and 2024, both of which amounted to losses) and breaking the NCAA all-time Division 1 record for points scored, with 3,951.
Then, Clark was drafted by the Indiana Fever with the No. 1 pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft, and Indiana immediately became the league's most popular team because it now had No. 22 on their roster.
It would have been easy to assume that the Hawkeyes' popularity would have diminished amid Clark's absence. Yet, that's not what happened. The team announced in September of 2024 that all season tickets for that upcoming 2024-25 season had been sold out. And this steadfast support has persisted up to the 2026 NCAA Tournament, where Iowa is a No. 2 seed.
Iowa’s Popularity Ranking After Caitlin Clark Era Raises Eyebrows
In fact, a graphic that The Athletic's Scott Dochterman posted on March 18 shows that Iowa is still the country's most popular women's basketball program, according to a Nielsen metric.
"Nielsen releases the most popular teams in women’s college basketball measuring 'viewership and social media data,'" the X post was captioned. It shows the Hawkeyes taking the top slot, then the South Carolina Gamecocks, then the LSU Tigers, then the Tennessee Volunteers, then the Texas Longhorns.
No. 6 was the UConn Huskies (which was perhaps the most surprising), then the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, then the Oklahoma Sooners, then the Iowa State Cyclones, and then the Michigan Wolverines came in at No. 10.
Nielsen releases the most popular teams in women’s college basketball measuring “viewership and social media data.” pic.twitter.com/8BHychHb82
— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) March 18, 2026
Perhaps Clark shouldn't receive the share of credit for Iowa still being atop this ranking two years after her exit, as Jan Jensen's coaching staff and the current roster have done a wonderful job making the team into a national championship contender.
But there's no denying that this serves as further proof of the Caitlin Clark Effect.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
Follow GrvntYoung