The Caitlin Clark effect has a proven shelf life, and a stunning new NCAA statistic shows it’s much longer than anyone could have predicted.

According to a recent Nielsen metrics list shared by On3 reporter Talia Goodman, Clark’s former collegiate team, Iowa, is the most popular women’s collegiate basketball team this season. The Hawkeyes have outranked National Championship-contending teams like UConn and South Carolina, who, in turn, finished 2nd and 6th, respectively. Reports suggest that Nielsen has taken several factors into consideration while curating these rankings.

Linear TV viewership, social media handles, and prominent TV networks, including ABC, CBS, ESPN, and NBC, have contributed to the data used to determine these metrics. “The ‘most popular’ women’s college basketball teams, per Nielsen,” the post’s caption wrote.

But how does this affect Clark’s impact on the program, given that she bid goodbye to it in 2024?

In her four years at the Hawkeyes, Clark was like what Michael Jordan was to the NBA in the ’90s. Whenever CC took the court, the arenas filled, and people jumped in just to have a glimpse of her, leading to greater ticket sales. Even an exhibition game for the Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium drew around 55,000 people, suggesting the fandom she created through her performances.

Iowa’s broadcasting numbers were even more significant. As part of the so-called CC effect, the Hawkeyes have been involved in some of the most-watched college basketball games in the sport’s history. For instance, Iowa’s 2024 NCAA Championship game against South Carolina drew around 18.9 million viewers. In the same tournament, their final four game against UConn, which the Hawkeyes won 71-69, was the second-most-watched game with 14.2 million viewers.

Even after Clark moved to the Indiana Fever for her pro career, she is transcending that legacy, selling out stadiums and skyrocketing viewership. Yet despite this, Iowa has maintained that top spot, indicating that it isn’t just the Caitlin Clark effect that has carried the Hawkeyes to the pinnacle; there’s more to it. The credit for it goes mainly to Jan Jensen and the way she has carried the team in the post-CC era.

It was an open secret among the Hawkeyes that, after Clark left, the program would have to go through a rebuilding phase. After all, you have lost the single most important player in the history of the program, a two-time Naismith College Player of the Year, who led the team to its only two Championship game appearances. But Jensen just changed the narrative.

She helped the team qualify for two National Championship tournaments, instilling confidence and zeal in the fanbase. Even in Clark’s absence, the Hawkeyes have been able to draw fans to the arenas, with their upcoming NCAA tournament opener against Fairleigh at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena sold out. This quietly suggests that the program isn’t bogged down as ‘just another team’ in the Big 10 and is building on the foundation that CC laid during her four years in the program.

While the Iowa Hawkeyes keep shining with these Nielsen metrics, Caitlin Clark also wins big in her first senior national team appearance.

Veteran Analyst Zeroes In on Caitlin Clark Winning MVP at the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers

After nearly 8-10 months, we finally got to see Caitlin Clark hoop. The Indiana Fever guard made a return to the court for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup qualifiers in San Juan, and boy did she come back in style. Clark recorded 11.6 points per game while dishing out 6.4 assists. She led the scoring and playmaking in her first senior national team appearance, winning the tournament MVP.

Veteran sportscaster Robin Lundberg decoded Clark’s performance in the tournament, remarking on a few areas where the Indiana Fever guard needs to work for better all-around development.

“She plays great, wins a deserved MVP, and there’s crashes on social media,” Lundberg said. “I mean, obviously, she was the most impactful player in her minutes for Team USA. Led the team in total points, led the team in total assists. It was apparent she was out there.”

“Caitlin still has stuff she needs to work on. I think she needs to get better off the ball. I’m glad she got some reps off the ball. It looked like she put some work on her mid-range game and stuff like that. Defense, people will go, “Oh, her defense that’s the new turnover,” but come on, you saw it was apparent, she was confident with her shot,” he added further.

Of course, there have been debates over CC’s defensive skills on the court. To be fair, Clark does struggle while defending the court, and it’s not something new. It has been prevalent for a few years now, with her repeatedly facing the ire from fans on occasions. That’s not even the whole point. The key here is the flawless skill set Clark showcased upon her return to the court, and she does what she does best: score and take care of the playmaking.

The timing matters too. With a new CBA agreed on Wednesday, a new WNBA season is clearly on the horizon. Thus, with this momentum, there’s no doubt that Caitlin Clark is in for a historic season with the Indiana Fever.