So much for the argument that losses by UConn and Stanford in the national semifinals would take a bite out of the ratings for Tuesday's championship game.

The ratings for the Texas A&M/Notre Dame game were up 8 percent from last year's UConn/Stanford game.

According to a release from ESPN, an average of 3,831,000 viewers tuned in as opposed to 3,531,000 a year ago. The 2011 final drew a 2.8 rating, a four-percent increase from the 2010 championship game.

Overall, there was a 16 percent increase in viewership during the tournament.