WVU's thrilling Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship win shatters viewership record

WVU women's basketball had an absolutely historic run in the Big 12 Women's basketball Tournament.

The Mountaineers captured the Big 12 Tournament Championship last weekend with a win over TCU, likely earning a chance to host during the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. The win was already historic in one way, as it was the first time a No. 2 seed knocked off a No. 1 seed in the tournament championship game. But WVU also helped set a new viewership record for the event.

According to the data released this week, the Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament Championship between the TCU Horned Frogs and West Virginia Mountaineers averaged 853,000 viewers on Sunday. Not only was that a 12% year-on-year increase in viewership for the game, but it also makes it the most-watched women's Big 12 Championship game on record.

This likely doesn't come to much of a surprise to West Virginia fans, who understand well how deep the fanbase's loyalty runs, particularly when teams are finding success.

And while women's basketball is historically not the viewership draw that football and men's basketball are, the popularity of the sport grows each year, and the Mountaineers have established themselves as a consistent NCAA Tournament contender under head coach Mark Kellogg.

As former WVU men's basketball star Erik Stevenson once said about the school's fan base, "we're everywhere." It can be seen when WVU packs large crowds into holiday and postseason tournaments at neutral sites, and even during random road games. And WVU fans sent a loud and clear message with this latest viewership record – WVU women's basketball is a draw, and they have the full support of Mountaineer Nation.