Iowa Hawkeyes star player Caitlin Clark has garnered mass media attention from her recent success during Women’s March Madness.
Clark recently became the highest scorer in college basketball history for both men and women. Her success has resulted in a growing interest in women’s basketball.
Interest in women’s sports often lags far behind men’s sports in the media, but Clark is changing the narrative. Ticket prices for her games alone increased by nearly 200 percent, and women’s sports are expected to make over $1 billion in global revenue for the 2024 season.
A star player like Clark is what women’s sports need to gain the same respect and financial benefits as men’s sports.
ESPN has made a huge step forward in lessening the pay gap between women’s March Madness and men’s March Madness. The NCAA and ESPN agreed on a deal with an average of $115 million per year for March Madness. $65 million of that deal goes towards broadcasting the women. Other programs, like CBS, are still offering much higher pay for men.
Big3, a basketball league co-founded by Ice Cube, confirmed they offered Clark a $5 million dollar contract. “Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3,” Ice Cube said.
Clark’s dad, Brent Clark, recently made headlines during the Iowa and Holy Cross game on Mar. 24, 2024. After being filmed yelling at his daughter for her attitude towards the officials, Brent Clark was heard saying, “Take her out, my gosh.”
Caitlin Clark cleared the air by saying that her dad’s behavior was aimed at keeping her head in the game. “Yeah, I mean, my dad is literally one of my biggest supporters, and he honestly hasn’t missed one single college basketball game of mine,” she said.
All teams have aimed to take down Iowa, none of which have been successful thus far in the tournament.
Iowa took on their toughest competitors thus far on Apr. 1. Louisiana State University (LSU) beat out Iowa last year in the final to claim the March Madness title. The Hawkeyes got their revenge in the end, beating out LSU and advancing to the Final 4. It was a close game, with a final score of 94-87.
The Hawkeyes will take on UConn for a chance to enter the finals on Apr. 5, 2024.