According to ESPN, viewership surged 19 percent over last year’s championship battle between the Arizona Wildcats and eventual champion Stanford Cardinal, and by 30% from the 2019 final game, the previous championship prior to the epidemic. And the ratings were not simply impressive for a game of women’s college basketball. The Gamecocks’ 15-point victory drew more viewers than the vast majority of college football bowl games between 2021 and 2022.
Apart from the College Football Playoffs – the championship game and the two semifinal bouts — just seven bowl games last season drew a larger audience than the South Carolina-UConn showdown. Despite having a larger viewership than bowl games with a total payout of at least $50 million, neither the Gamecocks nor the Huskies received a dime for their respective schools following their participation in the final game.
At the moment, women’s basketball programs are not financially motivated to compete in or progress to the NCAA tournament. However, according to NCAA President Mark Emmert, this might change shortly. Emmert said rewards from the women’s tournament are now on the table at a news conference in Minneapolis’ Target Center, which hosted this year’s women’s Final Four.
