BRISTOL, Conn. — LSUwin 102-85 first Iowa Sunday’s national championship game was the most-watched NCAA women’s basketball game in history, with 9.9 million viewers on ABC and ESPN2, according to Nielsen’s national snapshot.
Total audience is a 103% jump from last year, when South Carolina defeated UConn and averaged 4.85 million on ESPN and ESPN2. Sunday audience peaked at 12.6 million.
LSU’s first national title in women’s basketball is its first on network television since UConn’s win Tennessee in 1995. That game averaged 7.4 million on CBS.
ESPN took over the rights to the entire league the following year. The previous record for a women’s national championship match was in 2002, when UConn beat Oklahoma State.
The record ratings come as the NCAA is deciding whether to split the women’s tournament or keep it as part of a championship television package that includes at least 24 sports. That contract is set to expire next year, with the NCAA expected to decide on next steps in negotiations in the fall.
