10 million viewers separate Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers in national championship games

Caitlin Clark and UConn star Paige Bueckers dominated NCAA tournament viewership over the past three seasons.

10 million viewers separate Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers in national championship games

Iowa star Caitlin Clark and UConn star Paige Bueckers

The UConn Huskies women’s basketball program just won its twelfth NCAA national championship. Paige Bueckers led her teammates to thump South Carolina in a game that was supposed to be an exciting tight battle.

Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd are two of the most followed athletes in all of college basketball. With the way women’s basketball has surged over the past two seasons, many expected the national championship game to reflect how far the game has come to attract viewers.

YouTube video

Caitlin Clark‘s last college basketball game, which also happened to be a national championship battle against South Carolina attracted 18.9 million viewers. That 2024 NCAA title game became the new standard in terms of viewership.

This meant, every forthcoming game was going to be compared to that game. As per ESPN PR, the UConn – South Carolina game drew 8.5 million viewers. That is more than 10 million down from the previous year.

8.5 million viewers for a women’s game is a stellar number. But it was still lower than Caitlin Clark and her Iowa Hawkeyes’ first trip to the national championship game. That battle against Angel Reese and her LSU Tigers notched 9.9 million.

In fact, Clark and Bueckers’ battle in the 2024 Final Four netted 14.2 million viewers. This goes to reinforce the fact that the now Indiana Fever superstar is head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to attracting an audience.

Caitlin Clark believes Paige Bueckers’ influence can transform Dallas Wings

Caitlin Clark played against the Dallas Wings thrice during her rookie WNBA season. Her Indiana Fever lost the first road game but then won the next one and the last one at their own arena. In the second road game, they played to a packed College Park Center.

In the upcoming season, ticket demands forced the Wings to relocate their first home game against the Fever to the much larger American Airlines Center. The Fever will travel to Dallas again in August, but that game is at their usual smaller arena.

That arena is fun to play in, it’s a small place and loud. Honestly, they should move every game to American Airlines (Center) because I think Paige has that type of a draw. She’ll be able to bring those type of fans in.

Caitlin Clark said

She said on The Bird and Taurasi Show that Paige Bueckers has the stardom to force the Dallas Wings to play at the American Airlines Center. Caitlin Clark hopes the Wings shift her second WNBA road battle against Bueckers. She believes many more fans deserve to watch their rivalry resume in the WNBA.

Paige Bueckers’ fame should help WNBA engage second gear of growth

Caitlin Clark was alluding to the millions of fans that already follow Paige Bueckers. She has seen how the UConn Huskies superstar captured the attention of basketball fans. Along with her social media presence, the newest national champion has a draw that will benefit the WNBA.

With Bueckers in the middle of America, Clark in the mid-east along with Angel Reese, and Cameron Brink on the West, the league has all of their most popular athletes spread out. Last season, Reese and Clark led the viewership charts.

Had Brink not ended her season early, viewership and sales numbers could have continued to spread across the league, just like it did in the months until Brink injured her ACL. Now with her back on a Los Angeles Sparks team that is playoff ready, it should garner enough attention.

Last season, these three rookies powered the WNBA’s merchandise sales charts. Now with Paige Bueckers likely joining the Dallas Wings, the numbers should continue to grow exponentially. The league is about to engage second gear in its growth.