March Madness Without Caitlin Clark is Just Fine, Thank You.
On Saturday, I shared an Instagram Reel with some of my thoughts on the viewership from this year’s Women’s Final Four.
It was prompted by several posts I saw following the National Championship that were critical of a “dip” in viewership this year, as compared to the 2023 and 2024 viewership numbers. Many have been quick to point to Caitlin Clark’s impact and departure from the college scene, some even going so far as to suggest the game is falling apart without her.
For context: This year’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament was the third-most-watched of all time. The only two years to exceed the 2025 NCAA Women’s March Madness numbers are the Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese years in 2023 and 2024. That’s it.
So no, the sky is not falling. Women’s basketball is not in trouble. In fact, it’s thriving. Growing. Evolving. And anyone suggesting otherwise is just… well, silly.
My Hot TAYke:
The increase in viewership during the Caitlin Clark/Angel Reese era was driven by a very specific media-fueled obsession with rivalry. Though both Clark and Reese were entertaining on the court, the media zeroed in on a “good vs. bad” narrative. Caitlin and Angel were pitted against each other. LSU Head Coach Kim Mulkey was pitted against other coaches like Dawn Staley and Lisa Bluder.
Before the on-court rematch between Iowa and LSU even took place in 2024, one writer even went so far as to refer to LSU women’s basketball as America’s basketball villains.
And the storyline sold. Not because it was true, but because it tapped into something deeper that the media knows gets clicks: conflict. Especially in women’s sports.
The trope that women are too emotional to lead, play, coach, etc. is so tired — but it gets clicks.
When we look at storylines from the 2024-25 NCAA Women’s Basketball season, there was no “villain.” There was no real, obvious drama the media could latch onto. What we did have was Paige Bueckers making a remarkable comeback from injury, Juju Watkins gaining notoriety as only a sophomore, and Dawn’s Daycare in full effect at South Carolina.
And yet… folks are repeatedly pointing to this year’s drop in viewership as a failure.
Prior to this year’s championship even taking place, Hall of Famer Sue Bird predicted the National Championship would have 8M viewers - and that should be considered a successful year. (As an aside, I’d love to know what else Sue can predict in her crystal ball 😂).
Ask the Hard Questions
If we really want to understand why viewership dipped in 2025 compared to the 2023 and 2024, we need to be asking some harder questions—like, why does the media feel like it needs a negative narrative to make women’s sports compelling? Why is pitting women against each other still a go-to move for sportswriters?
This year, NCAA Women’s March Madness reiterated that women’s sports have arrived at every level. Just as it happens in men’s sports, women’s players graduate or get traded or declare for the draft. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese moving on to the WNBA arguably does more to generate excitement for women’s college basketball because it is setting us up for what to expect in the future — more household names in women’s college basketball getting drafted to the W to play at the next level.
Women’s sports are growing, the talent is there, and the future is bright. It’s time for the media to give women athletes and coaches the proper respect—and coverage—they deserve.
