UCLA's First NCAA Title Drew 9.9 Million Viewers. Here's Why That Matters
By faNILy Team ·
Sunday in Phoenix wasn't close. UCLA beat South Carolina 79-51 to win the first NCAA women's basketball championship in program history, and a lot of people were watching.
How it happened
The Bruins came out on fire, scoring 21 points in the first 10 minutes, per NPR. That's more than they put up in the entire first half of their semifinal. South Carolina shot 17% in the first quarter, its worst quarter of the season, and UCLA blew it open with a 25-9 third quarter.
- Gabriela Jaquez: 21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists
- Lauren Betts: 16 points, 11 rebounds, and Most Outstanding Player
- South Carolina: Tessa Johnson led with 14, Agot Makeer added 11
UCLA finished 37-1, with its only loss coming to Texas back in November. Coach Cori Close, in her 15th season, got the title that had eluded the program in the NCAA era. The Bruins' previous national championship was the 1978 AIAW title, before the NCAA took over the women's postseason in 1982.
The numbers
ESPN released viewership on Tuesday, and it's another strong year for the sport:
- 9.9 million average viewers for the title game, peaking at 10.7 million
- Up 15% from last year's championship, and the third-largest title game audience since ESPN's exclusive rights began in 1996
- Viewership among women was up 25% year over year, and women made up 46% of the audience
- The semifinals averaged 5.2 million, the second-best since 1996. South Carolina-UConn drew 5.4 million (up 47%), and UCLA-Texas drew 5 million (up 19%)
Why fans should care about the audience
A big TV number isn't just a bragging point for the network. It's proof that people will show up for these players, game after game, without a single generational star carrying the whole tournament. That's a healthier market.
For athletes, it changes the math. NIL value comes down to attention: who's watching, who's following, and who wants more than a highlight clip. When nearly 10 million people tune in to watch Jaquez and Betts, a lot of them go looking for those players afterward.
The audience for women's college basketball is no longer a one-year spike. It's a pattern.
What's next
For the seniors on both rosters, this was the last college game. For fans, that's the bittersweet part of March and April: you get to know a player just as she's moving on. The upside is that the following comes with them, and the next class of stars is already on these rosters.
The final score also undersells how hard this was. To us, South Carolina has been the program everyone measures against, and UCLA beat the Gamecocks by 28 on the biggest stage. Wins like that create fans who stick around.
For UCLA, it's a breakthrough decades in the making. For the sport, it's another sign that fan interest is real and growing.