It wasn’t the Caitlin Clark Effect, but it was still pretty impressive.
The 2025 women’s NCAA championship game between UConn and South Carolina drew 8.5 million viewers on Sunday, which was the third-most in the tournament’s history, per ESPN, but it was a steep decline from last year’s game and a slight drop from 2023’s matchup.
The 8.5 million viewership was, however, more than the 4.9 million viewers that UConn and South Carolina brought in the last time they played in the title game in 2022.
Paige Bueckers starred for UConn this season en route to its National Championship win. AP
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma led the program to its 12th National Championship. AP
The Huskies dominated from start to finish, particularly in the second half, and wound up beating the Gamecocks 82-59.
The title game in 2024 brought in a record-setting 18.9 million viewers as fans watched Dawn Staley’s South Carolina team complete an undefeated season and beat the Clark-led Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75.
Even with Staley’s Gamecocks taking on another superstar in Paige Bueckers and UConn, led by the great head coach Geno Auriemma — the game could not stack up with 2024’s.
The 2023 championship, where LSU and Angel Reese took down Iowa and Clark, 102-85, drew 9.9 million viewers.
LSU beat Iowa in 2023 in the National Championship. AP
These championship numbers followed up the Final Four, where this year’s tournament also slotted behind 2024 and 2023 for the third-most viewers ever. UConn versus UCLA drew 4.1 million viewers while South Carolina versus Texas averaged 3.6 million.
It’s worth noting that neither of this year’s Final Four games, like the championship, were overly competitive, as the Bruins were downed by 34 points and the Longhorns by 17.
The drop in ratings begs the question: if two legendary coaches of two blue-blood programs and a superstar like Bueckers couldn’t bring in ratings even close to last year’s otherworldly numbers, could any game ever come close without Clark?
The 2024 championship game drew in a record-setting 18.9 million viewers. AP
Bueckers is headed to the WNBA this season, and USC’s JuJu Watkins is potentially missing all of next season after her torn ACL, so it’s unclear who will take the throne as the “face of the sport” moving forward.
Make no mistake, though, while the ratings may never top those of the Clark years, women’s basketball’s viewership is in its golden era and has likely found a sweet spot in the 5-10 million viewers range for its national championship.
