There’s no denying it — the Caitlin Clark effect is still alive and well in women’s college basketball, even though she’s a year removed from her legendary time at the University of Iowa.
And Seth Davis unequivocally agrees.
The founder of Hoops HQ recently joined the Awful Announcing Podcast with host Brandon Contes. There, he shared his insights on the current state of women’s college hoops and how it relates to the cultural phenomenon that is Clark.
“Now, it’s probably not quite the same as it was last year,” Davis explained. “I think you have to understand there’s going to be some type of drop-off. But I could tell you, and I paid more attention to women’s college basketball than ever before because we’re covering it at Hoops HQ… I can tell you the product has never been better, and the games have never been better.
“What JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers and Lauren Betts and all these players are doing is pretty damn incredible. So, yeah, it’s obviously not where the men’s game is, but there’s definitely a long tail there, and Caitlin Clark has helped put this thing on a new plane in a new dimension that hasn’t been before. And now, it’s up to the stakeholders in the sport to be smart business folks about it and really do what they can to make it grow.”
The proof is in the pudding — or, more accurately, the ratings.
Women’s college hoops is outpacing men’s games on Fox this season. But it’s not just Fox — women’s college basketball is exploding across the board. ESPN’s viewership is up 3% from last year and a jaw-dropping 44% from two seasons ago. And remember, there’s no Caitlin Clark this season.
The momentum is real.
Several conference championship games last weekend hit seven-figure audiences or set viewership records.
Overall viewership across all networks may dip this year without a generational talent like Clark driving the numbers. But make no mistake — her impact has raised the baseline for women’s basketball at the college and pro level. The bar is higher than ever, and the sport isn’t going back.
As Davis put it, the product has never been better.
And it’s now up to the sport’s stakeholders to build on that success and continue to grow it.
