So the numbers are interesting for this game and beyond. It had the largest audience of any Elite 8 women's game since 2006 at 2 million. Carrying over to the Finals, that game had the highest audience for a Finals since 2004 (everyone wanted to see the GOAT's last game), averaging 4.85 million but peaking at 5.91 million at about 10:00- 10:15 PM. I know we have been over this ad nauseam but we did not play well and the game was nothing like the NC State game, nor was it particularly tight or exciting, perhaps explaining the drop off at that time frame. The record average was 5.68 million in 2002. If we were not banged up and ill, and it was a back and forth game which it would have been, we would have set the record.
I use these statistics to argue that the interest and viewership of women's college basketball has risen. For example, the viewership on the B10 channel, no doubt due to Ms. Clark in part, rose a whopping 41% in one year. It's not just TV. The attendance in the first and second rounds of the NCAA tourney was at a 20 year high. Let's face it, Webster Arena (I was there for the regional semis), was a smaller venue. I'm not suggesting that MSG would have worked better, I'm just stating that there could have been a larger arena filled.
The game is expanding its base. When I hear my golf buddies, men's Bball fans to the core, knowing who is in the women's FF or wanting a tip, it tells me something about the change in notoriety as to the sport. It's a very exciting product right now, with much better players, a few of whom are extraordinary, up and down the rosters, and the next two years ( she will stay) will bring more attention to the game than ever before. I question whether the new NCAA tourney format will nurture or truncate its growth however but not questioning the NCAA and their actions is like not questioning the weather when you see dark clouds and hale the size of golf balls.