Geno Auriemma Cites $251 Billion Industry to Brush Off Caitlin Clark & Co.‘s Role in Women’s Basketball Boom

Geno Auriemma has always been a huge advocate for women’s basketball, famously saying that he doesn’t just coach women, he coaches basketball players who happen to be women. And recently, we saw how the landscape of women’s college basketball has completely transformed—something that was almost unimaginable just a few years ago. However, while the hoop world credits stars like Caitlin Clark for it, the Huskies head coach thinks quite differently.

To begin with, he expressed his happiness about the fact that the fandom has now shifted to ‘women’s basketball’ from ‘team-driven following.’ He reflected on the past, explaining how, if you were a UConn fan, you thought UConn was the best team in the country, and that was the team you followed, period. “If there was another game on that didn’t involve UConn, you were probably apt to not watch it,” he said.

But now, he noted, that’s changed. “people are becoming women’s college basketball fans, as opposed to just, I follow my team.” And if you ask any basketball fan today, they would say the reason behind it all is CC and stars like her. But Auriemma noted that there’s certainly not more stars than there were a few years back.

“You saw some of my teams, okay. There’s not more stars than there were back then, but there’s more attention paid to the stars that are out there,” he explained. The exposure these stars are getting through social media has certainly contributed to the larger crowds.

“Back when those other superstars, those Hall of Famers that I coached, when they played, it wasn’t social media,” he said. “Now, that picture, that clip is all over the world. And that’s made the game way more widespread than it used to be.”

Hene, with social media’s global market value of 251.45 billion dollars (per business research company), Auriemma believes the game’s growth isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. While he downplays individual contributions, one of his own players, Paige Bueckers, and many more believe the 2024 ROTY contributed big.

“Caitlin brought so much new attention to the rise of women’s college basketball and the WNBA and women’s sports in general,” Bueckers said. “I feel like the weight of the world is on her shoulders.” Indeed, it’s true, but Caitlin Clark’s rise as a global sensation has a lot to do with social media. People kept replaying her shots on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

Because honestly, in the earlier days, the audience was mostly local. But as Geno Auriemma pointed out, this massive, worldwide reach’s credit goes to social media. It’s not like everyone’s sitting courtside watching Clark’s games live, but through those viral clips, they’re still right there. And not to forget, Angel Reese brought attention to W for her bold fashion sense. Would she have reached this level of visibility without social media? Probably not.

Now that fans have access to behind-the-scenes glimpses, personal stories, and more.  It makes them feel so much more connected. The biggest difference between current and older times is that social media doesn’t just showcase the talent—it amplifies it and brings new attention. As Auriemma puts it, “I really truly believe it’s (WNBA growth) sustainable because social media won’t let it die.”

However, the coach made it clear that he’s not one to dwell on missed opportunities from the past, saying, “You missed Maya Moore in her prime, blah, blah, blah. You missed Stewie in her prime… Things happen for a reason, and they happen when they happen.” He went on to add that the biggest frustration would have been if these changes never happened.

However, despite this optimism, he does express concern about the rapid player movement across colleges due to the NCAA’s transfer rules. He worries that it could impact the connection fans have to teams and players. “They still want to have that connection to their school, and they want schools to have stars,” he asserted. But you know this concern isn’t just his; Caitlin Clark feels similarly.

Clark and Geno Auriemma share concerns on NCAA transfer portal

Clark, in her conversation on New Heights With Jason and Travis Kelce, shared her perspective on the transfer portal, saying, “The transfer portal is crazy—especially in football. That’s where I think it’s gotten the craziest. It’s kind of sad. You lost a little bit of that amateurism of college sports, but also, it’s the world we’re living in.” 

For Clark, who spent her entire college career at Iowa, the idea of constant transfers doesn’t sit right. She became the face of Iowa, achieving greatness and building a strong connection with the team, something Auriemma also appreciates and feels should be more common.

However, with the NCAA transfer portal changing, players are jumping from school to school, and Clark isn’t too fond of that. “Now we got people on their fourth school in their seventh year. It’s getting egregious,” she said.

Clark also acknowledged that the transfer issue is especially visible in football. But we just know that it’s creeping into basketball as well, where teams like Kentucky’s men’s basketball squad are relying heavily on freshmen and transfers this season. As Clark put it, “It’s kind of sad… but also, it’s the world we’re living in.” Let’s see if these big names speaking out leads to any improvements.