• Loading stock data...
Saturday, August 16, 2025
Stephen A. Smith vs Clay Travis at Tuned In on September 16 in NYC. Don’t miss it. Buy tickets now!

Iowa-UConn Draws 14.2 Million Viewers, Racks Up Records

  • The thrilling matchup was the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history, ESPN announced on Saturday.
  • The list of records the women’s game sets continues to grow. 
Zach Boyden-Holmes / USA TODAY NETWORK

Even with the men’s Final Four about to tip off Saturday, the focus of the national college basketball world turned, again, to the women’s tournament.

The news: Friday’s women’s Final Four matchup between UConn and Iowa was the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history, ESPN announced. The thrilling Iowa win, featuring stars Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers, averaged 14.2 million viewers. The game, which ended with a controversial foul call against UConn that took over the online conversation Friday night, peaked at 17 million. 

The list of records the game broke is seemingly endless. It is now the most-watched basketball game on ESPN’s platforms at any level—men’s or women’s, pro or collegiate. It is, by most accounts, the most-watched women’s game at any level, on any network, in at least three decades. This collegiate season, across all networks, it beat out every single regular-season college football game except one. And it now stands as ESPN’s second-most-watched non-football telecast ever, behind only a U.S.-Portugal matchup at the 2014 World Cup.

The semifinals, in total, averaged 10.8 million viewers, a 138% increase compared with last year—and another record. (South Carolina-NC State notched an average of 7.1 million.)

None of this is a surprise, given the seemingly unstoppable momentum of the women’s tournament. The previous women’s college basketball viewership record was set just four days earlier, when Iowa took on LSU in the Elite Eight. That game drew an average of 12.3 million viewers. (Last year’s Iowa-LSU championship game drew an average 9.9 million.)

Multiple experts have predicted that this year’s women’s Final Four could rival or even top recent men’s Final Four viewing numbers. If the momentum continues, that could prove right: Last year’s men’s championship between UConn and SDSU, for example, averaged 14.6 million viewers.

The success of the women’s tournament has come despite decades of inequities perpetuated mostly by the NCAA, but also by broadcast partners, which have held the event back. Some of those inequities, including a lopsided corporate partner program and a lack of women’s prize-money distribution system, continue today. 

The NCAA and ESPN just inked an eight-year, $920 million extension on a media contract that covers 40 championships and that values women’s March Madness at $65 million per year. The new contract will commence in September. 

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Oklahoma's John Mateer warms up during football practice for the University of Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Okla., Wednesday, Aug., 6, 2025.

Cybersecurity Experts Warn Athletes Against Public Venmo Accounts

Venmo “can expose patterns of spending, locations, and relationships.”
Nov 2, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines cheerleader runs with a flag before the game against the Oregon Ducks at Michigan Stadium.

NCAA Hits Michigan With $20M Fine, Show-Cause Orders in Sign-Stealing Scandal

The NCAA found that Stalions called the sign-stealing network the “KGB.”
Middle Tennessee wide receiver Cam'ron Lacy (86) catches a pass and carries the ball during the season final home football game against New Mexico State on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.

How Middle Tennessee State Added $668,000 to Its NIL Budget

The Blue Raiders are creating a new blueprint for cutting costs.

Featured Today

Bridgewater American 12U Little League player Micah Poulter holds a District 7 pin during a send-off rally to the New England regional tournament in Bristol, Connecticut, from Legion Field on Friday, August 2, 2024.

Inside the Little League World Series Pin Trade

The rare little collectibles fuel a frenzy in Williamsport each summer.
Schultz of Israel-Premier Tech
August 12, 2025

Rice Krispies Treats Are Upending the Billion-Dollar Athlete-Fuel Wars

The world’s most elite athletes are eating like first graders.
Dec 14, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; President Donald Trump wave during the second quarter of the game between the Navy Midshipmen and the Army Black Knights at Lincoln Financial Field
August 9, 2025

‘Political Gold’: Trump Putting His Stamp on College Sports 

Trump has embraced executive action on hot-button college sports issues.
August 3, 2025

Inked Under Anesthesia: Athletes Getting $50,000 Tattoos

High-end studios, elite artist teams, and hours under anesthesia.
Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby (2) attempts to gain possession of the ball against West Virginia Mountaineers players in the second quarter of a college football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and West Virginia Mountaineers, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati.

Power 4’s Next Era: Will Player Availability Reports Fuel Betting Ties?

The Big 12 became the final Power 4 conference to require injury reports.
August 14, 2025

More Than Jerseys: Tennessee-Adidas Deal Brings in NIL Money

The Volunteers are switching from being a Nike school.
Michgan football
exclusive
August 14, 2025

Fox Unlikely to Let ESPN Use Big Ten Games for College Football..

The network doesn’t want to cannibalize its own rights, sources say.
Sponsored

‘Run With the Competition’: Ultra Trail Runner Lotti Brinks Is Back With..

Ultrarunner Lotti Brinks is ready to make her first Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix podium in her HOKA Mafate 5s.
Kansas Booth
August 13, 2025

Billionaire Investor Commits $300 Million to Kansas for Sports

“Philanthropy, like investing, pays dividends over time,” David Booth said.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (2) carries the ball during fall practice Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
August 11, 2025

NCAA’s Recent Wins May Not Be Enough to Stop Flood of Eligibility..

The fate of NCAA eligibility rules remains unclear.
August 8, 2025

Three Schools Sue Mountain West, Commish Over Withheld Funds

Boise State, Colorado State, and Utah State intensified the court battle.
August 4, 2025

March Madness Fields Will Stay Put at 68—at Least Until 2027

NCAA tournament expansion is still on the table for 2027.