When Caitlin Clark scored 41 points to help Iowa upset defending national champion and previously undefeated South Carolina in the 2023 Final Four, ESPN averaged 5.5 million viewers for the game. It was a record for a national semifinal. Iowa lost to LSU in the championship, but the game registered 9.9 million viewers. Another record. Eight months after the 2023 tournament, the NCAA announced a new media rights deal with ESPN for sports including women’s basketball. The NCAA president said the deal pegged the worth of women’s basketball at $65 million per year —10 times the value of the current contract that ends in 2024. Thank you, Caitlin Clark. Another example of how big of a game-changer she was came early in the 2023-24 season. Iowa staged an exhibition against DePaul at the Hawkeyes football stadium. The event dubbed “Crossover At Kinnick” pulled in 55,646 fans. The previous attendance record in women’s basketball was 29,619 for the 2002 NCAA title game between UConn and Oklahoma at the Alamodome in San Antonio. In 2021, after years of legal turbulence, college athletes were allowed to earn money for their name, image and likeness. Clark was the right player at the right moment to capitalize on opportunities with blue-chip brands including Nike, Gatorade, Bose, State Farm and Buick. In Caitlin Clark: The Future of Basketball, we follow the evolution of how a women’s basketball player from West Des Moines, Iowa, became a national phenomenon.
THE CAITLIN CLARK EFFECT • WHEN FANS STAND IN THE COLD FOR HOURS IN HOPES OF SCORING A TICKET TO SEE HER PLAY, THAT’S ROCK-STAR STATUS
FROM WEST DES MOINES… • THE BUZZ ABOUT CAITLIN CLARK’S BASKETBALL EXPLOITS STARTED EARLY. HOW EARLY? A COLLEGE COACH WENT TO WATCH HER GAME IN MIDDLE SCHOOL
TOP OF THE LIST • EVEN BEFORE SHE BECAME THE NCAA’S CAREER LEADING SCORER, CLARK WAS ALREADY HAVING AN IMPACT ON THE GAME THE WAY SOME OF GREATEST PLAYERS OF ALL TIME DID
ABOVE THE REST • The top 5 women’s college basketball leading scorers as of Feb.15, 2024
ONE NIGHT IN ANN ARBOR • AFTER THIS GAME AS A SOPHOMORE, NO. 22 TRANSFORMED FROM A COLLEGE STANDOUT TO A NATIONAL SPORTS PHENOMENON
THE MAGIC OF MARCH • IOWA HADN’T REACHED THE FINAL FOUR IN 30 YEARS, BUT CLARK LED THE HAWKEYES ALL THE WAY TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
HOOPS PIONEERS • THE STATE’S UNIQUE HISTORY WITH GIRLS’ BASKETBALL IS A BIG REASON WHY CLARK’S SUCCESS HAS BEEN ALL THE MORE MEANINGFUL TO FANS IN IOWA
IOWA SPORTS LEGENDS • CLARK HEADS A LIST OF THE STATE’S GREATEST ATHLETES, WHICH INCLUDES A SUPER BOWL MVP, A TWO-SPORT OLYMPIAN AND A BASEBALL HALL OF FAMER
CAITLIN CLARK IN REVIEW • SHE HAS EARNED PRAISE FROM THE LIKES OF STEPHEN CURRY, LEBRON JAMES, KEVIN DURANT AND PATRICK MAHOMES
Caitlin Clark - The Future of Basketball
PHOTO CREDITS