As she sat down for her postgame press conference on March 24, soaked after a locker room celebration, Colorado head coach JR Payne couldn’t help but express her appreciation for the fans in Manhattan, Kan.
“The environment was incredible,” Payne said after her Buffaloes defeated Kansas State 63-50 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. “Shout out to Manhattan, Kansas. The entirety community has welcomed us this week, and that’s great. That’s a great basketball environment.”
From Manhattan to Boulder, to Iowa City and Albany, N.Y., and all over the country this season, there were a lot of great environments for women’s basketball.
On Sunday, the top two teams in the final Associated Press poll released last month, No. 1 South Carolina (37-0) and No. 2 Iowa (34-4) will meet in Cleveland for the national title game to cap what has been perhaps a landscape-changing year for women’s basketball.
Attendance is through the roof. TV ratings are setting new records – as are the players – and the game is getting more attention than ever before. Friday’s national semifinals were the most-viewed on record, including 14.2 million tuning in to ESPN for Iowa’s win against Connecticut. On Saturday, 19,000 fans attended the Iowa and South Carolina practice sessions in Cleveland.
Certainly much of the attention is because of Iowa star Caitlin Clark, who is must-see TV, has families traveling across the country to watch her play and will leave school as the greatest scorer in the history of the game. But, the attention is not only because of Clark.
“I mean, obviously, people want to watch her but it does definitely bring awareness to the sport in general,” CU junior Kindyll Wetta said before the Buffs began their NCAA Tournament run last month.
Clark might be the leader of the revolution, but players at CU and around the country have felt the impact and enjoyed being a part of a new age in the sport.
“It’s just special to be a part of, but I also think it’s just gonna grow even more,” said CU star Jaylyn Sherrod, an All-American honorable mention this season. “When you also have the stars in college going pro next, I think that now transfers to the (WNBA), as well, in terms of your Cameron Brinks and Caitlin Clarks carrying that on to the next level. So, I think it’s pretty cool.”
Clark is projected as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft on April 15, while Brink, a star at Stanford, is the projected No. 2 pick.
LSU’s Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith, USC’s JuJu Watkins, Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers and many other players around the country have become household names, as well, to the point that celebrities are expressing their appreciation for the game.
Even Hall of Famer and NBA analyst Shaquille O’Neal said on his podcast this week he’s not even really following the men’s college game.
“I’m definitely following the girls,” the former LSU star said. “Actually, women’s basketball is kicking (butt). … Last week was like the first time I watched all girls’ games. Like, I’ve never done it before, ever. It was crazy – JuJu Watkins, Caitlin, my girl Angel Reese – they just killed it. I don’t think I even know any men’s (players).”
This season actually began with O’Neal in the stands on Nov. 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to watch his LSU Tigers – the defending champion and preseason No. 1 – take on the Buffaloes.
CU upset the Tigers, 92-78 and O’Neal was so impressed with Buffs center Aaronette Vonleh that he paid a visit to the locker room after the game to meet her.
Iowa has made headlines all year for selling out games at home and on the road because so many fans want to watch Clark. When the Buffs lost to Iowa in the Sweet 16 on March 30 in Albany, MVP Arena was sold out with 13,878 fans – the second-largest crowd for any game in CU’s history.
The growth of the game has been felt even when Clark isn’t playing, though.
Last year, CU had a Sweet 16 team and averaged only 1,660 fans for home games. This year, ranked in the top 20 all season – and in the top 10 for much of the year – CU set attendance records. The Buffs’ average attendance at home was 5,543, edging their previous record of 5,538 in 1994-1995. The Buffs also had a single-game record 11,338 fans in the stands on Jan. 19 against UCLA. It was CU’s first sellout in 29 years.
“I’ve loved it because I’ve been coming to see women’s basketball games since I started being recruited by them in eighth grade,” said Wetta, who is from Valor Christian High School. “Just to see like the fan section increase and the students start coming and just the Boulder community start getting more and more involved in women’s sports and women’s basketball in general has been an incredible.”
Around the country this year, 28 teams averaged at least 5,000 fans at home, up from 18 last year and only 12 two seasons ago.
Even South Carolina saw a dramatic spike. The Gamecocks typically lead the country in attendance, but the average jumped from 12,942 last year to 16,067 this year.
When the Buffs played Kansas State in Manhattan, on March 24, a sold-out crowd of 10,692 showed up – the largest crowd for a women’s game at Bramlage Coliseum since Dec. 11, 2016, when the Wildcats hosted defending champion UConn, which won its 84th consecutive game that night.
K-State, South Carolina and several other schools set attendance records during the opening rounds of the tournament.
“I think it’s fun and it’s great for the sport of women’s basketball,” CU’s Maddie Nolan said. “It’s so cool to see, and the growth of women’s basketball in general. … You grew up and you watch these teams and you watch the star power and now you’re kind of in that and you’re a part of it.”
They’ve been a part of it like never before, though, and there is gratitude among players at CU and around the country to be riding the wave.
“Women’s basketball, it’s amazing that it’s finally getting some recognition,” said Drake star Katie Dinnebier before her team played CU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. “People are watching women’s basketball’s more than men’s college basketball right now. I think that’s really cool. … It’s cool to be part of it.”
Clark will conclude her sensational college career on Sunday in the national title game, but players are hoping the newfound attention on women’s basketball will continue.
“It’s really just taking off now,” Wetta said. “These are the early years of that and so just being a part of that is really cool.”
Sherrod has no doubt the wave will continue as she marvels at the young talent just getting started in college basketball, including Watkins, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and South Carolina’s Milaysia Fulwiley.
“I think it’s gonna get even crazier with the JuJus and the Hannah Hidalgos, Milaysia Fulwiley,” Sherrod said. “This freshman class is sick. This is a brand of freshmen that you don’t really see.”
