Iowa-LSU Is The Most-Watched Women’s College Basketball Game Ever

Those reading this most likely watch Monday night's Iowa-LSU women's basketball game. The game Elite 8 game was a rematch of last year's national championship game and a game women's basketball needed.

The reason you, the reader, most likely watch that incredible game is because that game shattered a viewership record. It not only became the most-watched college basketball game on ESPN, men's or women's, but the most watched women's basketball game of all-time.

I mean it when I tell you that women's basketball and women's sports needed that game Iowa-LSU game on Monday. The reason I saw that is because of the attention it is bringing to the talented athletes like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Hailey Van Lith, Flau'jae Johnson, Gabbie Marshall, JuJu Watkins, Kate Martin, Hannah Stuelke, Paige Bueckers, Cameron Brink, and the entire South Carolina women's basketball team, to name a few.

READ MORE: Which States Were Also Cheering for Iowa On Monday?

Whether you like Kim Mulkey (the LSU head coach) or not, she is now part of 4 of the 5 most viewed women's college basketball games in history. She played in two and has coached in two. Maybe those crazy outfits aren't so crazy after all.

How Many People Watched The Iowa-LSU Game?

A lot. Not I'll give you the number. ESPN's parent company, Disney, gave us the official numbers on Tuesday following Iowa's 94-87 Elite 8 winner over LSU.

In the release, Disney announced that the ESPN (men's and women's) and the all-time most watch women's basketball game record had been broken. The game delivered a record 12.3 million viewers on Monday night making it the most-watched women’s college basketball game on record. Viewership peaked at 16.1 million viewers at one point in the game.

In fact, it is ESPN’s best audience for a college basketball game, men’s or women’s, ever and ranks as the second most-watched NCAA Tournament game of 2024 so far.

The Iowa-LSU game is ESPN’s highest audience for any basketball game since the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, and the second best for the network in over a decade, according to the release.

Monday night's game The 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament is pacing up in viewership by 127% year over year for ESPN, averaging 1.5M viewers through the completion of the Elite Eight.

Who Has Been A Part Of The Most-Watched Women's Basketball Games?

Kim Mulkey. The LSU head coach has been a part of 4 of the top 5 most view women's college basketball games in history.

Before Monday night, the most-watched women's basketball game in history dates back to 1983. That year, the women's national championship game had 11.84 million people watch USC defeat Louisiana Tech, according to Sports Media Watch. It was Cheryl Miller's first national championship win and Kim Mulkey was a junior playing for Lousiana Tech.

These are now the top 5 most-watched women's basketball games in history:

1. 1982 final, Louisiana Tech def. Cheyney State (CBS): 8.79 million (Kim Mulkey - player)
2. 2023 final, LSU def. Iowa (ABC and ESPN2): 9.92 million (Kim Mulkey - coach)
3. 1986 final, Texas def. USC (CBS): 11.22 million
4. 1983 final, USC def. Louisiana Tech (CBS): 11.84 million (Kim Mulkey - player)
5. 2024 Elite 8, Iowa def. LSU (ESPN): 12.3 million (Kim Mulkey - coach)

Iowa will take on UConn in the NCAA Women’s Tournament on Friday in Cleveland, Ohio with the Final Four. That game will be on ESPN.