Clark’s Hawkeyes are the hottest ticket in town wherever they travel.
Caitlin Clark has been breaking multiple personal records and was the key reason Iowa sold out all its home games for the first time in program history before the season even started.
However, the senior’s stardom has not only been beneficial to her school and home state: She is lifting other women’s college basketball programs in the process.
Watching Clark play is an experience even non-Iowa fans are clamoring for.
When Iowa travels, home attendance for opponents has been shooting up significantly.
Purdue’s average attendance this season has been 4,826, but during Wednesday’s game against the Hawkeyes, the Boilermakers had 14,867 fans at Mackey Arena.
Those in attendance were certainly in for a treat because, although Purdue suffered a 96-71 loss, Clark put on a show with her second consecutive triple-double.
“Whenever we go on the road it’s going to be an intense crowd and that adds a little bit to the game,” Clark said after Wednesday’s game.
“That’s a whole other factor that you kind of have to deal with.”
Moving forward, all of Iowa’s remaining regular-season games have officially sold out, although tickets are still available on the secondary market.
Clark is one of just four college basketball payers whose jersey was launched by Nike this season, along with USC men’s basketball player Bronny James and women’s basketball stars JuJu Watkins of USC and Paige Bueckers of UConn.
There are plenty of Clark jerseys around whenever she plays, and she always takes time to sign autographs and take pictures with fans.
“It’s honestly hard for me to wrap my head around. It’s crazy the way people scream my name and really support us,” Clark said.
“I try to make time for as many of them as I can.
Whenever I walk off the court after we win, it’s so special just the way people scream our names and are so excited for our team.
That’s something that never gets old.”
Clark is on track to break the all-time women’s college basketball scoring record this season. The star guard has 3,244 career points, putting her in fifth place.
She needs 3,528 points to break the record WNBA star Kelsey Plum set when she played for the Washington Huskies.
The Hawkeyes will be back at home Saturday when they host the No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers at 8 p.m. ET.
