Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Caitlin Clark's regular-season finale outdrew Celtics-Warriors

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 3/7/24

Over the past year or so, there have been countless tales of families traveling through state lines — and, in some cases, countries — to watch Caitlin Clark do her thing. The Iowa star is such a box office draw that, per Front Office Sports, even visiting teams have seen their attendance skyrocket by 145% — making her one of the biggest attractions in all of sports.

As she continues to put fans in the stands, the 22-year-old sensation is also starting to obliterate the age-old 'women's sports don't draw a crowd' theory. According to Sports Media Watch, Clark's final regular-season college game against Ohio State last Sunday averaged 3.39 million viewers on FOX, outdrawing the Celtics vs. Warriors game on the same day, which averaged 3.01 million viewers on ABC.

Most-watched basketball games, 2023-24 season (thru 3/3) SportsMediaWatch.com

Clark also outdrew the always-popular Duke vs. North Carolina men's college game on Feb. 3, the Nuggets vs. Lakers game on March 2 and several other marquee NBA games this season. Her regular-season finale ranks as the sixth-most watched basketball game of the season — regardless of gender — and second among all college games, behind only the Michigan State-Arizona game on Thanksgiving that benefited from a direct lead-in from the NFL.

For the weekend of March 2-3, the game trailed only its lead-out — the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas (4.36 million) — as the most-watched sporting event on any network and ranked fourth among all shows on network primetime in the coveted 18-49 demographic. The Hawkeyes vs. Buckeyes game also became the most-watched college regular season women's game since the UConn-Tennessee game in January 1999, which drew 3.88 million viewers.

Next stop: The Big Ten Tournament. Is there any doubt that records will be shattered?

After that: the WNBA, a league that hasn't seen a game averaging 3 million viewers since its opening week in 1997. If Clark continues on her trajectory, is there any doubt that her debut — presumably for the Indiana Fever — will be the most-watched WNBA game in decades?

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