Star athletes and increased TV coverage will draw record crowds to the women's Final Four this weekend.
It begins tonight with No. 1 seed South Carolina playing No. 3 seed N.C. State at 7 p.m., followed by Iowa playing UConn.
Tournament ratings should exceed double-digit millions. Iowa-LSU's 12.3 million viewers set a women's record and made it the NCAA basketball tournament's second-most-watched game.
TickPick's “get-in” price for the men's Final Four is $416 and the women's $451. Experts attribute rising interest in the women's game to two key factors: a new crop of stars, including a once-in-a-generation player, and increased coverage from networks.
Caitlin Clark, the University of Iowa guard, leads the star wave as the all-time leading NCAA career basketball scorer, surpassing Pete Maravich earlier this year. That record lasted 54 years.
Since arriving at Iowa four years ago, Clark has done well, leading the Hawkeyes to the Sweet 16 as a freshman and being voted Big 10 Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten.
Ben Portnoy, Sports Business Journal's college sports reporter, predicted other stars will keep the women's games momentum going.
While great women's coaches like Tennessee's Pat Summitt, who died in 2016, and UConn's Geno Auriemma were once the biggest names in the game, more continuous media coverage has led to more players sharing the spotlight.
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