“The Caitlin Clark effect”: WNBA fans amped as Indiana Fever dominate national airwaves after snagging 36 out of 40 games

The Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark will make 36 nationally televised appearances during the upcoming WNBA season. After Clark and the University of Iowa came up short in the March Madness finals, falling to South Carolina, Clark declared for the WNBA draft. With the draft order already set, and the Indiana Fever ready to draft Clark with the No. 1 pick, the Caitlin Clark effect is in full effect.

When it was announced that the Fever would be making the first pick of the WNBA draft, season ticket prices immediately skyrocketed. This, of course, was reflective of the expectation that Caitlin Clark would declare for the draft after the NCAA season.

Now, despite the fact that the WNBA draft hasn't taken place yet, this year's WNBA schedule has already been released. Given the hype surrounding Caitlin Clark, the Fever will see themselves play 36 of their 40 games on national TV.

The team will not only play 36 nationally televised games, they will notably do so across a range of networks. In Caitlin Clark's first four games with the team, they will play on ESPN2, Prime Video, ABC and ESPN, indicating her star power.

Indiana Pacers beat writer Scott Agness took to social media, sharing the news. With the WNBA schedule now out, fans and various members of the hoops community were quick to weigh in on the situation.

"The Caitlin Clark effect - Indiana hasn’t even had the chance to select Clark with its No. 1 overall pick yet, and this is the docket:" - Rachel_Nichols (Twitter)

"Yeah I’m sure the ratings are going to improve so much" - @DougDoodberg (Twitter)

"Lmao wnba team no one cares about gets more national tv games than the pacers have received combined in the last like 7 years." - @Diss303 (Twitter)

"what the hell is ION" - @Pacer2000 (Twitter)

"She should demand to only play for the Mystics." - @HBCU_

"The Caitlin Clark effect is real. Glad she is headed to Indy!" - @Kyle_Masengale (Twitter)

"I bought single game tickets to see Indiana at Seattle on a freaking Wednesday and the game was already nearly sold out. The effect is real and intense." - @Craig_Craker (Twitter)

"I live in Vancouver, Canada and have already bought tickets to see her in Phoenix vs DT on June 30th. Financial stretch for me, but I couldn’t miss it!" - @Hvybanananotes (Twitter)

Looking at Caitlin Clark's star power on the heels of NCAA March Madness loss

Last year, Caitlin Clark generated a ton of interest among the hoops community heading into the NCAA March Madness Tournament. While she and the University of Iowa ended up coming up short and falling to Angel Reese and LSU, the attention she brought to the tournament couldn't be denied.

This year, for the first time, the women's NCAA March Madness title game between Iowa and South Carolina drew more viewers than the men's final. While this could partially be attributed to the women's final taking place on Sunday, the numbers indicate the women's final drew in considerably more viewers.

The University of Connecticut-Purdue men's final drew an average of 14.82 million viewers on TBS and TNT according to AP News. In contrast, the South Carolina-Iowa game on Sunday for the women's final drew an average of 18.9 million viewers.

While Clark could return to Iowa for another year with the Hawkeyes given that the NCAA gave student-athletes an extra year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that isn't the plan. Clark will now land herself in the 2024 WNBA draft pool, where she's already making waves for the Indiana Fever.

With the WNBA draft set for Apr. 15, Clark will now have just days to prepare before the media storm that is to come as she takes the next step toward stardom.