Caitlin Clark, next-gen female hoops stars raise bar on what’s possible for women’s game

Move over, Serena. Make room, Simone. A new superstar female athlete has captured the attention of American sports fans — men and women alike — shattering competition and viewing records in the process.

The NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament is the hottest ticket in sports, thanks to the “Caitlin effect” — a burgeoning, seemingly unquenchable interest in Caitlin Clark, the NCAA’s all-time Division I scoring leader, male or female, with jaw-dropping range on her shot.

The sharpshooting guard for the Iowa Hawkeyes and a generation of media-savvy college hoops stars have made the women’s side of March Madness tournaments must-see TV. Another record audience is expected for Friday night’s Final Four Iowa-Connecticut matchup.

The Huskies have their own breakout star in guard Paige Bueckers, and Friday’s highly anticipated clash, on the heels of a series of thrilling performances in the women’s tournament, is driving ticket prices sky-high. Getting into the game will cost more than a ticket to the men’s Final Four games.

The college women have got game, NBA superstar LeBron James said Wednesday.

“I don’t think there’s much difference between the men’s and women’s games when it comes to college basketball. I think the popularity comes in with the icons that they have in the women’s game,” James said, rattling off the names of stars such as Clark, Bueckers, LSU’s Angel Reese and USC’s JuJu Watkins.

The cheapest ticket for Friday’s Iowa-UConn game in Cleveland is $966, according to TicketIQ. The average ticket costs about $2,700, and the best seats in the house are hitting $11,000.

The average men’s Final Four ticket has a $1,000 price tag, though supply may play a role in the differing ticket values. The men are playing in a stadium with more than 70,000 seats, while the women’s games will seat about 20,000 fans.

“Caitlin Clark is someone that has definitely made such a great impact on our game,” North Carolina State coach Wes Moore told reporters Tuesday. “I bet ticket prices for the Final Four doubled last night. If you had some at face value, they might be a lot more valuable.”

The Iowa native is the tournament’s main attraction, drawing crowds of onlookers during warmups and autograph sessions.

Some observers question whether Clark, who is White, is getting more attention because of her race.

“Caitlin Clark seems to be a great personality, but it is not like Caitlin Clark is walking around saying crazy stuff. They’re just covering her excellence, and that’s good enough,” former ESPN personality Jemele Hill told The Athletic. “Whereas it feels like for Black athletes to get the same amount of coverage or even fair coverage, there has to be something extra.”

Coverage of women’s basketball has surged in recent years, and ticket prices have followed. The average cost of a women’s Final Four ticket went from $216 in 2022 to $416 in 2023, SeatGeek said.

“It’s crazy going from playing in the bubble when things really took a turn. That was my freshman year,” Clark told reporters on Sunday. “Now we’re playing in environments where it’s really hard to get a ticket, where everybody wants to get in the door.”

Monday’s game between Iowa and LSU, a rematch of last year’s title game, became the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history, according to Nielsen.

The instant classic featured Clark pouring in 41 points and pulling in 12.3 million viewers for ESPN — more than last year’s World Series and four of the five games in the 2023 NBA Finals.

Only one men’s tournament game, CBS’s Elite Eight matchup between North Carolina State and Duke, drew more viewers this year.

ESPN reported that Iowa-LSU was the network’s most-watched college basketball game of all time, doubling records held by the 2002 women’s final and a 2008 regular-season matchup between rivals Duke and North Carolina.

All those extra eyeballs have also meant more scrutiny — and occasionally more controversy. Some viewers of Monday’s game were upset that LSU players and coach Kim Mulkey were absent during the pregame playing of the national anthem. Many social media users, including Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, said athletes unwilling to honor “The Star-Spangled Banner” may risk forfeiting their scholarships.

Monday’s game was the last college game for Baltimore native Reese. The SEC Player of the Year declared for the WNBA draft two days later, and prognosticators see the “Bayou Barbie” as a likely top-10 pick in this month’s WNBA draft.

Clark is also headed to the WNBA, likely as the top pick, but has unfinished business in the college ranks first.

The other women’s Final Four game, N.C. State against undefeated South Carolina, will be on Friday before Iowa squares off against UConn. The winners will play for the national championship on Sunday.

Gamblers also are getting in on a slice of the women’s action. FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM reported that the Iowa-LSU tilt attracted more bets than any other women’s event in their histories.

The USC-UConn Elite Eight matchup wasn’t far behind.

The top-performing games are emblematic of a deeper trend in college basketball: Bettors are paying more attention to women’s games.

Caesars Sportsbook said the men’s Final Four received 15 to 20 times as many bets as the women’s event in 2019. This year, the ratio has dropped to 2-to-1 in favor of the men.

“We treat the women’s game with the same importance as we treat any NBA game or any men’s Final Four games,” said Craig Mucklow, Caesars vice president of trading. “We’re all hands on deck. We’re focused on the wagers, the injuries, the news. You’ve got to get the price correct because people follow the game.”

Even with the departures of Reese and Clark, college basketball will have stars on the courts next season.

Bueckers passed on this year’s WNBA draft and will return to school in the fall. Watkins set the Division I freshman scoring record before the Trojans’ tournament run ended on Monday.

Iowa State freshman Audi Crooks caused a social media frenzy when she posted 40 points in a tournament game against Maryland.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said the future of college basketball is in good hands.

“You got a lot of young players who are coming in and making an impact. They grew up watching the NCAA Tournament. They grew up watching the WNBA,” Staley told reporters during March Madness. “To get their opportunity to play on the big stage, they’ve prepared themselves for it.”