Next Monday, Caitlin Clark will be the first overall pick in the WNBA Draft and will join the Indiana Fever. She'll have two monumental tasks ahead of her once it's said and done.
There's no denying that the now-former Iowa Hawkeye is the most popular female athlete on the planet at the moment. Women's sports have been yearning for someone with her star power for a long time. Now that the WNBA has her, they are striking while the iron is hot.
The WNBA released its 2024 season schedule and announced that it will be putting the Fever in the spotlight all season long.
Clark and the Fever will be featured in 36 national broadcasts. The back-to-back reigning champions of the WNBA, the Las Vegas Aces, will play 35. A WNBA season is 40 games long.
Eight of those games will be featured on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, four on Prime Video and two will be on CBS.
Clearly, the WNBA has high hopes that the same attention Clark brought to women's college basketball can be replicated at the professional level.
Of course, the Fever hasn't been very good for some time. Last year Indiana went 13-27, which is considerable as the franchise has posted single-digit wins in five of the last seven seasons. Still, Clark will be paired with 2023 Rookie of the Year, and former South Carolina Gamecock, Aliyah Boston.
The preseason for the WNBA will begin on May 3 with the Fever taking on the Dallas Wings on League Pass. The regular season will tip off on May 14 with four games, one of which will be the Connecticut Sun hosting the Fever on ESPN 2.
As for the moment Clark joins the WNBA, the 2024 WNBA Draft will be held April 15 at 6:30 CST on ESPN. All eyes will be on Clark as she receives her new colors, and how she impacts the ratings.
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