The DePaul University women’s basketball team opened its season by playing in Iowa in front of a record crowd for the sport: 55,646 fans.
DePaul head coach Doug Bruno remembers the bus ride to the outdoor game at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City and watching fans enthusiastically stroll past the football stadium before the warning.
During that October game, Bruno witnessed what he called the “catalyst” for the explosion in women’s basketball popularity: “the Caitlin Clark effect.”
Iowa’s superstar — and national player of the year — was a major topic of interest this season, but other standout players, along with big games and intriguing storylines, put the sport in the spotlight .
“I’m so excited about the women’s basketball game that America is watching,” he said.
Millions across the country watched the NCAA women’s basketball Final Four in Cleveland on Friday night, with Iowa’s narrow 71-69 victory over UConn and South Carolina’s 78-59 loss against North Carolina State. The championship game will air Sunday at 2 p.m. on ABC. Chicago coaches say the interest is “exciting” and a long wait. Fans – including a contingent loyal to Iowa and Clark – were ready to fill the city’s sports bars to cheer on their favorite teams.
Thanks in part to superstar athletes such as Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese, viewership of women’s college basketball has grown significantly in recent years. Iowa’s 94-87 victory over LSU in the Elite Eight on Monday night averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen, making it one of the most-watched games in all of sports other than NFL football over the past year.
Tickets for the Women’s Final Four also sold on the resale market for an average of $2,300, twice as much as the men’s semifinals, according to a technology company that analyzes prices across multiple platforms.
Ashleen Bracey, head women’s basketball coach at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said she was watching the Iowa-LSU game on her couch with no one around so she could concentrate without interruption. The game was “everything we expected,” she said, calling the ratings “incredible.”
“It’s everything I think we’ve all worked for,” she said.
She expects high viewership for the rest of the tournament, especially for Clark’s match against Paige Bueckers on Friday.
“I don’t want to take anything away from the women who played in previous decades, because for me, women’s basketball has always been a very fundamental sport, very skilled, a team sport, but what I think that s “What’s really improved lately would be the generational talent, the improved skills and the ability to shoot (three-pointers),” she said. “We’re really progressing in our product.”
At UIC, attendance has increased about 200 percent over the past two years, Bracey said. With more media coverage and accessible games, Bracey said she expects new women’s basketball fans to show up to WNBA and other college games. The WNBA has already seen an increase in ticket sales after Clark announced her intention to enter the draft.
“Because it’s more available, because it’s more available, it’s a great product,” she said. “People see it, people appreciate it.”
When 2016 graduate Stephanie Swieca attended women’s basketball games while she was a student at the University of Iowa, she said the stands were almost empty. The difference in attendance is so stark now that she says her “heart swells.”
The 30-year-old Dunning neighborhood resident said she watched the Final Four game with his parents. She especially enjoyed talking about Iowa in family group chats throughout the season, she said.
“I am so proud of this team, this group of girls and this university. Not only are they great players, but their character is incredible,” she said. “If I had a daughter, these are the women I would want her to look up to.”
Swieca, who works as a communications coordinator for a Mount Prospect school district, said adults aren’t the only ones interested in gaming. Students ask her about Clark when they see the Iowa Hawkeye sticker on her phone, and fourth graders have featured the Division I scoring leader in dioramas about Iowa, she said declared.
“The kids love it,” she said.
Many of the elementary and high school age girls coached by Eddie Hartnett have requested jerseys with the number 22 on them, and he said many attended the game earlier this year when Iowa played Northwestern. Hartnett runs basketball programs for about 100 girls in the Chicago area through Hot Shot Sports and the New Trier Girls Feeder Basketball program.
Throughout March Madness, he heard the girls talk about Clark’s games and best plays. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if more girls started signing up for basketball leagues.
“It’s great,” he said. “Caitlin is a bit like this generation’s Michael Jordan in the sense that she inspires young people. They all want to be like her, and it’s amazing that we have this player who inspires girls.
Interest in women’s sports in general has grown at a “stunning pace,” according to Nielsen data. The 2023 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship also saw match attendance and television ratings. to skyrocket.
The crowds have also been a boon for business owners, according to Heather Roberts, co-owner of Whiskey Girl Tavern in Edgewater. When the bar opened in 2022, Roberts and his wife, both former athletes, prioritized showing women’s sports on their television screens. Roberts said it was difficult to find places to watch the sports they enjoyed, so they decided to create a space for that.
She said they broadcast almost every March Madness game on at least one TV. But the Iowa games have been the most popular “by far,” she said, including Friday night.
“This year, people followed these players, these athletes and these teams,” she said. “There are people who are obviously big fans. …Then there are people who are looking for something fun to do because of the camaraderie.
Roberts said she hopes the high ratings will prompt future games to be played at better times and on easily accessible channels. It’s confusing and sometimes expensive when games are broadcast on different networks and streaming platforms, and she said unusual game times can make it difficult to attract a crowd.
“If they can provide better consistency in how and when you access content, that will appeal even more to the fan base because people can plan around that like they do with Sunday,” he said. she declared.
When Karli Bell learned that more than 12 million people watched the Elite Eight game, Chicago Sky reporter and Chicago Cubs digital producer for Marquee Sports Network said she cried.
Many players laid the foundation for the popularity of women’s basketball, including those Chicago-area fans may know well like Candace Parker and Allie Quigley, but she said she now has the The impression that this sport was finally getting the notoriety it deserves. In the future, she said putting games on channels people can easily find and learn about players’ stories will help increase interest.
“We are finally seeing the intelligence and beauty of basketball being respected and the people who did it are women, and that has brought me incredible joy,” she said.
