How is life after Caitlin Clark at Iowa? Just ask the sellout crowds for every home game

IOWA CITY, Iowa — On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, most of Iowa‘s students had gone home for the holiday break. And yet more than two hours before tipoff of the women’s basketball game against Washington State, the line at the gates of Carver-Hawkeye Arena was already spilling into the hundreds.

Trenton Mendoza and his 9-year-old daughter, Riley, were among those who arrived early. The Mendozas live in Atlanta but were in Iowa to visit family for the week. During the past couple of seasons, Riley fell in love with Caitlin Clark‘s patented step-back 3-pointers. So the day before, Trenton surprised Riley with tickets.

“We were watching the [Hawkeyes] before bed one night,” Trenton said. “[Riley] rolls over and says, ‘Dad, we’re going to be in Iowa. What if the girls are playing while we’re there? We’ve got to go!’ I already had the tickets. It was hard not to say anything and keep the surprise.”

Clark has moved on — she was drafted by the Indiana Fever in April — but it was at Carver-Hawkeye that she emerged into one of the biggest stars in all of sports. She dazzled with limitless 3-point range and crafty passing. A two-time national player of the year and three-time unanimous All-American, Clark shattered scoring marks and television ratings. During her final postseason run with Iowa, more viewers tuned in to watch the women’s NCAA tournament than the men’s. Later this season against a Big Ten opponent to be announced, the Hawkeyes plan to retire Clark’s No. 22 jersey, with her in attendance.

The momentum and magic Clark helped create in women’s college basketball hasn’t waned, especially in Iowa City. Last year, at the height of Clark mania, the Hawkeyes sold out their 15,000-seat ticket allotment for the first time. This year — with Clark in the WNBA and the Hawkeyes entering the season unranked for the first time since her freshman year in 2020 — Iowa sold out again.

“I still have people wanting to borrow my [season] tickets,” said Ashleigh Determann, of DeWitt, Iowa, who brought her niece, Addison, to the WSU game. “As you can see, it’s carried on this year.”

The transition to life without Clark running the show hasn’t been seamless. The Hawkeyes committed 30 turnovers — their most in a game in 22 years — in Saturday’s 78-68 loss to Tennessee in the inaugural Women’s Champions Classic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The Lady Vols scored 42 points off those turnovers to pull away in the fourth quarter, handing Iowa its first loss of the season. Still, the nationally televised doubleheader, which also featured Louisville against second-ranked UConn and Paige Bueckers — the favorite to succeed Clark as national player of the year — sold almost 10,000 tickets.

Wednesday, the No. 21 Hawkeyes (8-1) will try to bounce back in an instate showdown against No. 18 Iowa State in what’s already another Carver-Hawkeye sellout.

“Caitlin brought new eyes to the game and the attention they deserve,” Ashleigh said. “It’s only going to keep going.”

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TEN MINUTES BEFORE tip against the Cougars, fans stood and chanted, “Let’s go Hawks.” Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen has taken over for Clark running point guard for Iowa. After finishing third in the country in scoring last year with the Wildcats, the 5-foot-10 senior is leading the Hawkeyes with 18 points per game, despite suffering a gash on her knee following a fall in practice that required stitches and forced her to sit two games.

Inside, 6-foot-4 senior forward Addison O’Grady has emerged in her first season as a starter, giving Iowa another post threat alongside junior Hannah Stuelke. She and Stuelke — one of the only key holdovers from last year’s squad — have combined to average 29 points and 13 rebounds.

Behind Olsen, Stuelke and O’Grady, the Hawkeyes built a 15-point halftime lead over WSU, then got a raucous ovation as they dashed to the locker room.

Lisa Bluder, who retired in May after 24 years coaching the Hawkeyes, including the last four with Clark, watched from the bleachers with pride of a program she built into an epicenter of women’s college basketball.

“The excitement of the last few years has rubbed off, and it’s now become a part of life here in Iowa City — and that’s how it should be,” said Bluder, noting that Clark “changed the game” for Iowa. “You see all these little girls running around with their jerseys on. But quite honestly, you see a lot of grown men running around with those jerseys too. That’s awesome.”

Zach Hayworth, from Washington, Iowa, was one of those men sporting a Clark jersey. He and his wife, Stefanie, brought 5-year-old daughter, Stella, for their first Iowa game. Stella, donning a Clark jersey as well, now relentlessly shoots baskets at home, either on her Little Tikes hoop upstairs or on a pop-a-shot in the basement.

“What [Clark] has done for the sport is tremendous,” said Zach, who added he’s begun watching the WNBA — and not just Fever games — as much as he watches football. “What she did for the state and for the sport is incredible.”

Eleven-year-old Gianna has traveled from Chicago with her father, Pete, to see the Hawkeyes. Last season, also during the Thanksgiving break, they watched Clark score 35 points and dish 10 assists in a 113-90 victory over Drake. Gianna called it “so inspiring” she decided to try out for her school’s basketball team. Pete never went to one Iowa women’s basketball game during college. Now, he’s on a text chain with college buddies where they talk more about Iowa women’s basketball than Hawkeyes football or men’s basketball.

“It’s a phenomenon,” he said. “I would’ve never guessed in a million years that this is where we’d be, coming here for the [women’s] basketball games. … This has taken top billing.”

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WITH 5 MINUTES remaining against WSU, first-year head coach Jan Jensen, an Iowa assistant during Bluder’s entire Hawkeyes tenure, emptied her bench. The crowd erupted when Iowa native and reserve Jada Gyamfi entered the game and nailed her first 3-pointer of the year.

Stuelke grew up in nearby Cedar Rapids and began coming to Iowa women’s games when she was little. Stuelke remembered curtains hanging down from the rafters blocking off the empty seats. Now, she’s in awe of the energy and excitement she feels from the crowd.

“We make it fun for the fans,” Stuelke said. “I think a lot of people are getting into women’s basketball and it’s new and exciting. All the hype we’ve had, it’s carried over. … And we’re still reaching a lot of people.”

Steve King and Chip Haney stuck around until the final buzzer in Iowa’s 72-42 victory over the Cougars, along with most of those in attendance. King moved back from Illinois and immediately bought season tickets for Clark’s senior year. His two seats are located on the back row, though King prefers standing behind them on the railing anyway. He also has the best view of the crowd every game.

“It’s funny, sitting up here, you can see all these big dudes all ripped — and they’ve got the Clark jerseys on,” said King, of Cedar Rapids, who invited Haney to this game. “It’s just awesome.”

Kevin Pearce, of Rockwell, with his 13-year-old daughter, Ava, said he’s also now an Iowa women’s hoops fan for life. He just started watching the WNBA too.

“That just took off,” he said. “It’s huge now.”

Craig and Heather Labath, of Coralville, Iowa, bought WNBA League Pass so they can watch all the Fever games with their two daughters, Olivia, 6, and Adeline, 9, who saw Clark hit the deep buzzer-beating 3 that beat Michigan State last year.

The WSU matchup was their second game this season. And they’re planning on coming to many more.

“It’s so nice to see women’s sports selling out,” Craig said. “We never had that before Clark. Now, we have it without Clark.”