Women’s March Madness Promises Star Power Even Without Caitlin Clark

Indianapolis is used to fans flocking to the city to catch a glimpse of Caitlin Clark. But on Sunday, fans sold out Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse not to catch Clark, but instead the visiting UConn Huskies and star guard Paige Bueckers.

Bueckers, together with USC’s JuJu Watkins, has carried the torch left by Clark as the top attraction in NCAA women’s basketball. The December game between the Huskies and Trojans drew 2.2 million viewers, the most-watched NCAA women’s basketball game of the season. It was also Fox’s second-most-watched game, behind only last year’s game when Clark broke the NCAA scoring record.

Given that Clark may be one of the biggest ratings anomalies in the history of sports, it’s unlikely NCAA women’s basketball can replicate last year’s March Madness tournament that saw the championship game draw nearly 19 million viewers and eclipse the men’s title game. NCAA women’s basketball viewership is down this season compared to last year.

But viewership is up double digits compared to the 2022–2023 season, which was Clark’s junior year. The recipe of star power and wide-open standings has the league poised for another strong ratings season—and one that may sustain for years to come.

Creating Stars

Fans who may have tuned in to see Clark in last year’s tournament were exposed to other names, many of whom have stayed in college because the WNBA requires U.S. players to be 22 years old in the draft’s calendar year—a stark contrast from the NBA, where players may declare for the draft after just one year removed from high school. International athletes can declare at 20.

Players like Bueckers, South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley and Te-Hina Paopao, LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson, and former Tiger turned TCU Horned Frog Hailey Van Lith played in front of millions during Clark and the Hawkeyes’ run last year. All of their schools are in the top 10 in the latest NCAA women’s rankings, alongside powerhouse programs like No. 1 Texas, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Notre Dame, and No. 8 UNC.

This year’s tournament could also provide the same effect as Bueckers, who is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft. Her stardom could be the attraction that exposes more fans to stars like the Bruins’ Lauren Betts—who announced she won’t join this year’s draft—or Fighting Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo, who, like Watkins, will not be draft-eligible until 2027.