Creating history, the NCAA women’s basketball final surpassed the men’s final in viewership for the first time ever. The championship game, a fierce battle between top-seeds South Carolina and Iowa, was a fitting climax to an unprecedented season for women’s basketball.
At first, it appeared that South Carolina was destined to be the final victim of Caitlin Clark’s illustrious college career at the University of Iowa. With 18 points in the first quarter and a 7-point lead heading into the second, South Carolina fans were having flashbacks of last year’s semi-final matchup, in which the Iowa Hawkeyes edged the unbeaten South Carolina Gamecocks 77-73.
The Hawkeyes’ early lead, however, was short-lived, thanks to South Carolina’s decisive second quarter, led by Kamila Cardoso and Raven Johnson. The duo’s dominance on both ends of the court turned the tide, and the Gamecocks never looked back, outscoring Iowa by 10 points in the second quarter and going on to finish the game 87-75.
Cardoso dominated the paint throughout the night, with 17 rebounds and 15 points, while Johnson was tasked with locking down Clark for the duration of the game, holding her to only 12 points in the last three quarters. Johnson also had 4 steals, 5 defensive rebounds, and 2 blocks to go along with an all-around impressive defensive performance.
As the night ended, red and black confetti rained down on the perfect season for the (38-0) South Carolina Gamecocks—the cameras, however, remained on Clark as she led her team down the tunnel, falling at the final hurdle of the national championship game for a second time in a row.
While the Hawkeyes season may have ended unceremoniously, Caitlin Clark’s impact on the women’s game is unlike anything we have ever witnessed before. The championship game alone had 18.9 million viewers, becoming the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever. The audience was greater than some of the most viewed sporting events this year, including every game of the 2023 World Series, 2023 NBA Finals, and last year’s men’s NCAA Basketball championship game. The game also had the highest average viewership of any televised basketball game in the previous five years. Not to mention, the game was played in a full-capacity American Airlines Center to around 20,000 fans, with ticket prices reaching an average of $2,900.
The championship game was the culmination of a season of broken records. Caitlin Clark became the highest-scoring NCAA basketball player, both men’s and women’s, ending a 50-year record set by Pete Maravich by over 300 points. But Clark was not the only woman breaking records this year, as USC freshman guard JuJu Watkins also cemented herself in NCAA history, having scored the most points in a freshman season. Clark and Watkins, along with NCAA stars Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, Cameron Brink, Hailey Van Lith, and Kamila Cardoso, have become household names over the past year, a definitive moment of fame in women’s basketball that has not been seen before.
One of the main factors for success in the women’s games can be attributed to the new ruling in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights. The 2021 bill allows collegiate athletes to profit from their personal brand by endorsing products, appearing in advertisements, or engaging in social media promotions. Not only have athletes been incentivized to continue their collegiate careers, but also the greater visibility and interest in the sport that NIL allows is evident at every level.
While the NIL ruling and increased popularity are elevating the women’s game at a nationwide scale, as an Ivy League Division 1 school, the Harvard women’s basketball team must continue to be supported by students and alumni investors to reach equivalent levels and continue competing with the best of the best. Notably, Harvard Athletics appears reluctant to conform to the new NIL rulings, which could be leading Harvard to fall behind in the recruitment and retention of elite athletes. While students are allowed to seek NIL deals individually, Harvard has yet to establish an NIL collective, which is an independent organization that fundraises money for college athletes through NIL agreement payouts. These collectives have begun to define collegiate sports, and while Harvard has always relied on prestige, not giving athletic scholarships, for example, this philosophy may no longer be viable.
In a recent interview with the Crimson, Prashanth Kumar ’21, who managed Harvard’s tennis team, said, “I’m just nervous that if Harvard doesn’t adapt, then we have the opportunity to lose these athletes.” This interview concerns Harvard’s freshman guard Malik Mack, who recently entered the transfer portal to seek more NIL and NBA visibility. Before Harvard faced Penn in Philadelphia, an NBA scout stopped by the press row and asked: “Are you here to figure out if Malik Mack will transfer? I mean, do you take $250,000 to go play somewhere else, or do you stay for the Harvard degree?” This is the exact reasoning that elite athletes at Harvard are currently struggling with, illustrating the necessity for NIL to maintain competitive parity.
Nevertheless, strides are still being made throughout the Ivy League. This year alone, for the first time since 2016, two Ivy League women’s teams have made it to the NCAA tournament. While Harvard finished third in league play and was defeated by the eventual Ivy League tournament runner-ups, Columbia, the women’s team will look forward to the spring season of 2025. By embracing NIL, Harvard could level the playing field and harness the momentum of this unprecedented surge in women’s basketball, securing its future at the forefront of collegiate sports and potentially returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007.
Vincent Honrubia ’27 (vincenthonrubia@college.harvard.edu) can name more female NCAA basketball players than male ones.