This year, the women’s March Madness Tournament broke records both on the court and through streaming. March Madness is college basketball’s playoffs, and it is a very popular tournament every year. However, the men's tournament generally has way more viewers than the women’s—until this year. March Madness is structured the same for both the men’s and women’s tournaments: a round of thirty-two, the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight, the Final Four, and the championship. This year, the women’s tournament saw a 42% increase of viewership from last season. Fans watched 4.7 billion minutes of women’s March Madness, which is an ESPN record. The Ohio State vs. Connecticut game during the Sweet Sixteen was the most watched Sweet Sixteen game in the women’s tournament on ESPN record. The Louisville vs. Iowa game had 2.5 million viewers, and was ESPN’s most viewed Elite Eight game in the women's tournament ever recorded. The Iowa vs. South Carolina game drew 5.5 million viewers, making it the most watched women’s semifinal on ESPN. And finally, the championship game between Iowa and Louisiana State University garnered 9.9 million viewers across ABC and ESPN, making it the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever. For context, the previous record was 5.7 million viewers for a championship game in 2002 when Connecticut won the title. Basically, at least one game in most rounds of the tournament broke viewership records. These records are all based on the number of people watching, so what was causing the extreme leap in viewers of the women’s March Madness tournament this year?
There were multiple factors that contributed to the heightened viewership in this tournament, but one key factor was Caitlin Clark, who plays for the University of Iowa. Clark was the National Player of the Year. And Clark did not disappoint once the tournament began. She shattered records on the court while drawing in viewers to watch her play, who helped to break viewership records for the tournament. She had ten triple-doubles (at least ten points, ten assists, and ten rebounds), through the regular and postseason, which is the third most in Division I history among both men and women. She was the only player, among both men and women, to score 25 points, have 15 assists, and grab 10 rebounds in a game, which she did twice. In the championship game, she had eight three-pointers, which was a new championship game record. This also helped her team break the record for most team three-pointers in the title game. Her main strength that draws people to watch her is her shooting. People have compared her to NBA-icon Steph Curry, who is widely regarded as the best three-point-shooter in the NBA. But what makes Clark so incredible is that she is not just a great shooter. This season, she also became the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament all-time assist leader. She is overall just a well-rounded, talented, young, and exciting women's basketball player who is helping to popularize women's basketball. The rise in popularity of Caitlin Clark drew lots of attention to the Women’s March Madness Tournament that doesn’t normally attract as many viewers.