(Photo courtesy of sports.yahoo.com)

Collegiate women’s basketball has made a significant jump in many different categories: viewership, attendance growth, ticket sales, and media coverage have all increased, thanks to Caitlin Clark who has changed the game of women’s basketball. 

But her three-pointers from the logo isn’t the only reason people are starting to be more entertained. Consider the recent scuffle between LSU and South Carolina. This was a result of a player bumping into another player, and these women were trash talking each other all game long. Fans loved it. 

SAU senior and collegiate basketball fan, Christian Grems stated, “I actually watch a lot of women’s basketball whenever it’s on mainstream TV. I saw the fight between LSU and South Carolina, it made the game so intense, and it was all over Instagram. This may have been a bad look for the players or teams, but definitely was good for the NCAA viewership.”

Foxsports.com mentioned, “What fans saw Sunday in the Southeastern Conference tournament championship was No. 1 South Carolina and LSU getting into a late-game confrontation that led to multiple ejections. Chippy play, plenty of trash talking and players thrown out, something more familiar to fans watching an NBA game.” 

SAU junior basketball player, Isiah Borgos said, “I can tell girls basketball is making a big improvement because I see ads, commercials, and posts online about upcoming games and stuff about players all the time. But Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are big reasons why the viewership is going up. So, I’m not sure what will happen once they move on to the WNBA. I do know the WNBA is going to skyrocket in views and sales with Caitlin getting drafted in this upcoming draft.” 

The women’s Big Ten Tournament sold out for the first time ever. Approximately 109,000 fans got to see the sold out tournament. ESPN saw a lot of individual accomplishments this season in women’s college basketball views. They reported, “ESPN saw its most-watched women’s basketball regular season since 2017-18, with an increase of 7 percent year-over-year. ESPN2 saw the largest growth year-over-year, with a 32 percent increase, making it the most-watched regular season since 2016-17. ABC finished up two percent year-over-year, while ESPNU registered its most-watched regular season since 2020-21 with a 23 percent increase year-over-year, most-watched women’s college basketball regular season ever on ESPN plus.”

Three days before Iowa’s last regular season game, Cailtin Clark announced she will be entering the 2024 WNBA draft rather than taking a fifth year. She is expected to be the number one pick to the Indiana Fever. This is a big opportunity not only for the WNBA, but for the Fever to become relevant. The skill level of the players in the WNBA are better than ever, so people question how they will take advantage of this opportunity to expand even more than they already have in terms of viewership, media, and ticket sales. 

Usatoday.com mentioned, “The fact that a generational player was even considering staying a fifth year instead of going pro needs to be a serious wakeup call to WNBA power brokers. This is their shot to elevate their league, and they better not screw it up. On the other end, Clark is leaving the college game in great hands. When she and Angel Reese trash talked back and forth last year during the most-viewed title game in the history of the women’s NCAA tournament, fans also got to watch players like Flau’jae Johnson, a gifted sophomore and one of the better defenders in the country, who happens to also be a rap star.”