The Rising Star: Caitlin Clark’s Impact on Women’s Basketball

As attendance numbers smash men’s records, college basketball’s all-time top scorer is about to enter the pros.

TFD – Dive into the world of women’s basketball with Caitlin Clark, a rising star whose impact on college basketball and the upcoming WNBA draft is unparalleled. Her journey from breaking records to influencing the future of women’s sports is a testament to her skill and dedication.

It has been heralded as a turning point for women’s sports in America because the NCAA women’s basketball tournament final on Sunday attracted more US television viewers than the men’s final for the first time in history. Over the past few months, a group of rising stars—Paige Bueckers of Connecticut, Angel Reese of LSU, and JuJu Watkins of Southern California—have raised the profile of women’s basketball to previously unheard-of levels while also readjusting expectations for how all women’s sports can be covered, marketed, and enjoyed.

But none of them have captured the imagination of the country quite like Caitlin Clark, the ponytailed University of Iowa star who came around once in a generation and whose small stature of six feet belies her enormous influence on college basketball and American athletics in general.

The West Des Moines native, 22, who earlier this year surpassed Pete Maravich’s 54-year-old record to become the all-time best scorer in major college basketball history, led Iowa to the championship game and smashed other records for TV ratings in the process. Even though Clark led all scorers with 30 points in Sunday’s championship game, South Carolina denied the Hawkeyes a fairytale ending. The Gamecocks’ head coach, Dawn Staley, had hardly begun her victory speech at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse when she paid homage to the player of the moment, saying, “I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport.” She put a lot of effort into our sport, and it won’t end here.

It was the culmination of a transformative season, headlined by Clark, in which women’s basketball penetrated the US mainstream like never before. The TV numbers tell only half the story. Consider all the morning chatshows dissecting the stars, personalities and beefs across the women’s game after years of ignoring it entirely. Or how the cheapest ticket on the resale market for Sunday’s title game surpassed $500 (£400) at tip-off, more than three times the asking price for Monday night’s men’s final. Or the more than 17,000 spectators who turned out last Saturday to watch Iowa and South Carolina in an open practice, forcing organisers to turn fans away by the time Clark and the Hawkeyes took to the court. Or the Saturday Night Live sketch that centred on how Clark and co have overshadowed the men’s tournament. When she broke the college scoring record, fans including Joe Biden, Billie Jean King, Jason Sudeikis, Mila Kunis, LeBron James and Tom Brady were quick to congratulate her.

Since Clark emerged as one of the nation’s top-ranked recruits during an exceptional career at Dowling Catholic High School, she has been well-known to die-hard basketball enthusiasts. She first committed to play for the two-time national champion Notre Dame, but she later changed her mind and chose to play for a less renowned college in order to have the chance to create something truly unique closer to home. This decision has made her incredibly popular in Iowa.

Although she made an immediate impression, scoring 27 points in her first game and led the Hawkeyes to the Sweet Sixteen as a freshman, she didn’t become well-known until this past season.

Clark has a very fast-paced, crowd-pleasing style of play that is simple for casual onlookers to understand. She can score or create opportunities for her teammates from anyplace past midcourt. She is practically impossible to contain because of her remarkable court vision and ability to whip one-handed passes to every area of the court. Her talent at draining three-pointers from the midcourt logo has earned her comparisons to NBA star Stephen Curry.

Ever since their October preseason game in an outdoor football stadium drew an unprecedented 55,646 spectators, Clark and the Hawkeyes were a must-watch. One of the most watched sporting events of the last year outside of the NFL was Iowa’s victory over LSU in the Elite Eight, which attracted 12.3 million US television viewers. With an average of 14.2 million viewers and a peak of 17 million, their Final Four matchup with Connecticut last Saturday night outperformed it, surpassing the viewership of all the World Series and NBA Finals games from the previous year.

Next was the South Carolina championship game on Sunday, which drew an average audience of 18.9 million viewers on ABC and ESPN. That figure easily outperformed the 14.82 million average for the men’s final on TBS and TNT on Monday, which saw UConn defeat Purdue 75-60.

There are many reasons to think women’s basketball will continue to gain traction. More money than ever before is being allocated by schools to women’s sports. Players may now increase their star power like never before because to social media and new regulations that let them make money off of their name, likeness, and appearance. There are now more regular-season games on television than ever because to the expansion of conference networks and ESPN’s dedication to broadcasting games on their main channel. The machinery that has made it possible to get players like Clark in front of viewers appears built to last.

“As much as people say it’s a moment, you know it’s more than a moment?” Geno Auriemma, the coach of UConn, stated last week. Moments can turn into minutes at times, and minutes can turn into hours, and hours can turn into days. And before you know it, it’s included in the national pastime.

There have always been outstanding players at the top of women’s college basketball: Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, and Cheryl Miller. But more stars and more intrigue have resulted from a deeper talent pool than ever before, which has helped the sport reach new fans. They are watching because the games are interesting in and of themselves, not because they are being persuaded to support women’s sports.

The question now is whether Clark’s exuberance will translate to the professional levels at the WNBA draft in Brooklyn on Monday night, where the Indiana Fever are predicted to take her with the first overall pick. Positive signs have been seen thus far; in response to increased demand, two WNBA teams have already shifted their games against Indiana to bigger venues.

“I am aware of the weight on her shoulders due to her contributions to women’s basketball.” I would like to express our gratitude. We’re appreciative of her decision to play basketball,” Staley remarked on Sunday. We appreciate how well she handled everything. Her next move is to play in the WNBA; I believe she has what it takes to elevate us.