Iowa-LSU Sets Record With 12.3 Million Viewers, Most-Viewed Women’s College Basketball Game Ever

The Iowa Hawkeyes beat the LSU Tigers 94-87 on Monday in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA women’s college basketball tournament in front of a record 12.3 million viewers. The matchup of last year’s championship game, which saw 9.9 million viewers, helped the explosion of women’s basketball around the country, with the storyline of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark versus LSU’s Angel Reese leading the way.

“There could have been nobody in the gym, and both teams would have competed the exact same way,” Clark said. “You’re playing for a little more with the Final Four on the line, but to me I’m not thinking, ‘Oh my God, there’s 15 million people at home watching this game right now.’”

It was the most-watched game in women’s college basketball history, surpassing the 1983 national championship game, which brought in 11.83 million viewers. The Monday night matchup was also one of the most-watched sporting events of the past year, with more viewers than all but one of the most recent NBA Finals games. The most-watched men’s tournament game this year was Duke versus UNC, which garnered a total of 15.6 million viewers on CBS.

“I think it’s just great for the sport, just being able to be a part of history,” Reese said. “Like I said, no matter which way it went tonight, I know this was going to be a night for the ages. And just being able to be a part of history is great.”

According to ESPN, it was also their network’s most-watched college basketball game, passing the 2002 women’s national championship and 2008 regular season Duke-UNC matchup. Both broadcasts brought in 5.6 million viewers, less than half of the total on Monday night.

Iowa, led by Clark, has been getting attention all season. Whether a women’s college basketball fan or not, people around the country have learned her name and tuned in to watch her play. The team has averaged 6.83 million viewers across its four tournament games so far, and three of its last five games have each received at least 4.9 million viewers.

But it isn’t just Clark or Iowa’s matchup against LSU that has seen a recent rise in viewership. According to ESPN, which covers all of the women’s tournament games, viewership is up 127% from last year, with an average of 1.5 million viewers per game.

UConn’s victory over USC, which was played after the Iowa-LSU game, saw 6.7 million viewers making it the second-most watched game in the sport’s history. The other two Elite Eight games in the women’s tournament had an average of 2.8 million viewers, and LSU’s Sweet Sixteen defeat of UCLA had 3.8 million viewers. Regardless of the team, the numbers are going up everywhere you look.

“It’s a perfect opportunity to make the moment a movement,” former player and now broadcaster and analyst Isis Young said. “Right now, women’s basketball is a movement … And the movement is really riding on the back of these players that we’re watching.”

On Friday, Iowa now faced South Carolina in the Final Four, a rematch from last year’s game that brought in 5.5 million viewers, winning in a 71-69 thriller.