Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Gators softball team in the Women's College World Series is a big draw for TV.

Florida's series-clinching win in Game 3 against Michigan in 2015 averaged 2.27 million viewers, the second-highest rated softball game in ESPN history. The Florida-Oklahoma championship series this week delivered big numbers, too. Oklahoma won both games to win its second consecutive national title.
 

Women's College World Series: Oklahoma-Florida's Marathon 17-Inning Game is Most-Watched WCWS Finals Game 1 Ever https://t.co/IGAV52yk0x pic.twitter.com/jPKHPzMl3m

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) June 6, 2017

The Gators' 7-5 loss to the Sooners in Game 1 on Monday night -- a 17-inning affair and now the longest game in Women's College World Series finals history -- averaged a total live audience of 1.68 million, the highest-rated Game 1 in WCWS history. The previous Game 1 record was in 2015 when the Gators faced Michigan.

The game peaked in the 16th inning with more than 2.1 million viewers tuning in according to ESPN.

Meanwhile, Tuesday night's Game 2 averaged 1.7 million viewers and a 1.1 final rating according to SportsMediaWatch.com. How popular are the Gators on TV in the WCWS? The Gators have played in five of the 10 highest-rated WCWS games in history since ESPN began televising the event in 1990.

While the Gators are a winning draw for TV audiences, the game's popularity is also on the rise. Five of the 10 largest WCWS audiences on TV have come in the past three years.

For perspective on how popular college softball has become, the average audience of 1.68 million for Monday's record-setting Game 1 ranked higher than more than 200 college football games from last season, including such matchups as Arizona-Arizona State (1.67 million), North Carolina-N.C. State (1.38), Kentucky-Louisville (1.56), Florida State-Boston College (1.15) Army-Notre Dame (1.52) and Tennessee-South Carolina (1.52).