Caitlin Clark optimistic on sport's continued growth after she's gone: 'None of this is going away'

With Caitlin Clark set to head to the WNBA Draft as the likely No. 1 overall pick, the question surrounding women’s basketball at the college level is simple: Can it continue to thrive?

The numbers have been downright jaw-dropping.

The women’s title game drew 18.7 million viewers this year, almost four million more than the men. The viewership is one thing. The buzz seems to be at an even higher level. But can it remain so when Clark and other superstars like LSU‘s Angel Reese and South Carolina‘s Kamilla Cardoso move on?

Clark herself seems to think so.

“I think the biggest thing is I think the reason I’ve been able to have so much success and have this platform is, first of all, the people that came before me and laid the foundation of what women’s basketball is and what it has been,” Caitlin Clark said Tuesday on ESPN’s SportsCenter. “I obviously think NIL helps, I think social media helps.

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“I think being on nationally televised programs, whether it’s ESPN, you go down the list of every national TV channel we played on, you saw the numbers. And I think that’s the biggest thing, when you give women an opportunity they really thrive in sports.”

The sport will likely take at least a small, temporary step backward going forward. After all, Caitlin Clark’s superstar status wasn’t born overnight. She was a four-year veteran, one who had already had some legitimate battles with the likes of the sport’s other juggernauts like LSU and South Carolina going into this year’s final. That created compelling storylines for the myriad fans following her journey.

Still, the momentum is undeniable. And seeing the numbers, sports execs are likely to only push forward harder with plans to get the sport more viewership.

Clark thinks that’s what matters most. Opportunity.

“Sports has taught me so much in my life, so I hope we continue to give women those same opportunities,” Clark said. “None of this is going away. It’s going to stay the same at the college level. The WNBA is already thriving and will continue to grow, and to me that’s what excites me the most.”

Caitlin Clark herself plans to be back around the college game whenever possible, supporting the apparatus that gave her so much support.

“I think the young talent in the college game, obviously as I leave I’m going to be their biggest fans,” she said. “And lucky enough I’ll be able to come back and go to a lot of different college games, so it’s not stopping now and I think that’s the biggest message I have for everybody.”