Women's NCAA Tournament is March Madness' main attraction

Examine the NCAA men’s and women’s tournament brackets, envision dream matchups in the Final Four and consider something that has never before been remotely in play:

The women’s NCAA Tournament is the main attraction.

From South Carolina’s undefeated season and LSU’s quest to repeat as national champion to Caitlin Clark’s irrepressible offensive repertoire, the women’s bracket has monopolized the most compelling storylines. From Angel Reese and JuJu Watkins to Clark, it features a bevy of recognizable faces much like the men’s game did a generation ago.

This is Clark’s last dance. But now that the game is super-charged by more promotion across more platforms, this popularity surge could be more than a mere “One Shining Moment” for women’s hoops. The women’s game isn’t just having its moment.

“I think it is sustainable,” Neal Pilson, who served two stints as CBS Sports president in the 1980s and 90s as its coveted NCAA men’s tournament surged in popularity, told On3. “Women’s sports and the TV networks have finally seized on the promotion value of the athletes similar to how the NBA features its stars when promoting key games – ‘Lebron v. Steph,’ for example.

“Such promotion is very effective with the viewers.”

Ahead for the men’s tournament could well be an enticing buffet of captivating early upsets – likely more than in the women’s bracket – unexpected heroes and thrilling buzzer-beaters. But at least for this season, there’s no denying that the dearth of familiar men’s faces – other than Purdue’s Zach Edey – means the connective tissue between fans and the game is weaker.

Caitlin Clark is transcendent star in rare air

Meantime, the women’s event has a once-in-a-generation talent in Clark, the undisputed face of all of college hoops.

Amid the women’s tournament’s rise in appeal over the last several years, it has “broken through to a new level because of the phenomenon” of Clark, John Kosner, who led digital media at ESPN from 2003-2017 and is president of media consulting firm Kosner Media, told On3. 

“She is that most unusual of athletes who brings fans who might not care about the sport to watch,” Kosner said. “In my lifetime, that’s a short, short list – including Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.”

With the possibility of Clark starring in the national championship game on ABC, with the men’s game broadcast on TBS, could the women’s final rival the men’s in viewership?

If Clark reaches the championship, Kosner expects that rating to match that of the NCAA men’s championship on TBS, adding, “I believe it would exceed the men’s if ABC was carrying the game in prime time – like the men’s – and not at 3 p.m. ET.”

Last year’s LSU-Iowa women’s championship garnered 9.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched women’s game ever. The UConn–San Diego State men’s final attracted 14.69 million, making it the least-watched men’s championship in recorded history. 

Because of the perpetual promotional build-up for the men’s final throughout the tournament, Pilson still believes the men’s final will outrate the women’s by a “substantial margin.” But he noted we could still see a record rating for the women’s final with Clark or LSU matched against unbeaten South Carolina in the championship.

Brands well aware of Caitlin Clark’s broad appeal

Clark is a jaw-dropping sensation. Former NBA player Tim Legler said last week on “The Tony Kornheiser Show” that Clark is one of the five most entertaining basketball players he has ever watched at any level.

“She is must-see TV,” Legler said. “I never thought we’d ever see a women’s player shoot the basketball from the shooting distances she’s shooting it. And you can make an argument that her range, relative to her game, her sport, is better than even Steph Curry’s range.”

Brands are well aware that her appeal transcends the traditional sports audience. 

The Iowa star has the top-ranked women’s basketball On3 NIL Valuation at $3.1 million. The valuation trails just Bronny James, Shedeur Sanders and Livvy Dunne. With 1.4 million social media followers, Clark has endorsement deals with State Farm, Nike and Gatorade among others. 

According to a recent report, Clark’s State Farm ads are 46% more likely to generate engagement than other State Farm ads.

More broadly, Brand marketing expert Kyle Christensen – the chief marketing officer at Splash – said the difference in brand interest in the women’s tournament five years ago to now is like the difference between “midnight and noon on a sunny day.”

How high is that interest this March?

“As an advertiser,” Christensen said, “you’d be a fool if you plan to show up on the men’s side and not show up on the women’s side.”

Christensen said some male-targeted brands should absolutely explore spending in women’s college basketball. And he believes Pepsi and DraftKings missed an opportunity with its recent announcement on a creative “Zero Right Bracket Challenge.”

Why not take the idea and leverage it on the women’s side, rather than only the men’s side?

Women’s game deprived of ‘spotlight’ it has deserved

As Christensen and others stress, we don’t yet know the ceiling on the popularity of the NCAA women’s tournament. It is only now that it is being showcased and promoted and super-charged with the resources necessary to see it thrive.

It was only three years ago several athletes – led by former Oregon women’s basketball player Sedona Prince – took to social media to demonstrate the inequality between weight rooms, food and other amenities provided by the NCAA to athletes during the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. 

A report prepared by Roberta A. Kaplan and her law firm found that the organization’s “broadcast agreements, corporate sponsorship contracts, distribution of revenue, organizational structure and culture all prioritize Division I men’s basketball over everything else in ways that create, normalize and perpetuate gender inequities.” Kosner and fellow media consultant Ed Desser provided analysis for the Kaplan report.

The NCAA has since addressed many of the inequities with branding and resources. It also recently secured an eight-year, $920 million rights deal with ESPN for 40 championships, including the women’s tournament. And it is engaged in discussions, albeit belatedly, regarding awarding financial units to schools in the women’s tournament.

Now the event is thriving. Its stars and storylines are promoted, highlighted and showcased. At least for this year, the women’s tournament takes center stage.

“It hasn’t been given the spotlight it has deserved over time,” Christensen said. “It’s the dawning of a new day.”