Caitlin Clark’s career could have been very different if not for her ambition. After a headline-making high-school career, she narrowed her choices to Notre Dame and Iowa. And her parents were pushing for the former. “My family wanted me to go to Notre Dame,” Caitlin said. Her high school teammates were pushing for her to join the Fighting Irish, and Clark initially gave in to the pressure. 

She went on a campus visit and the next day informed Lisa Bluder to break the bad news. Iowa waited for the hammer to drop, but Clark surprised them “Yeah, I’ve changed my mind.” She told Bluder. A few days later, she committed to Iowa without informing her parents, which was sorted out later. That will be marked as the most significant moment in Iowa basketball history and women’s basketball by extension. Clark finished her Iowa career as arguably the greatest college player ever, becoming the D1 scoring leader and the Big Ten Assist leader. All while leading the Hawkeyes, which had never played in an NCAA final for 2 consecutive years. 

However, as high the rise is, the fall is just as hard. The Hawkeyes have not replicated that same success in the one season without her. The current Iowa coach, Jan Jensen, who was promoted from associate head coach following Bluder’s departure, would take over the program, had expected the drop.“I think it was really a success. Um, I think we did more than hold serve. I think a lot of people, after Caitlin had graduated, Kate Martin and Gabby Marshall, the two back-to-back final fours, and then certainly a Hall of Fame coach like Lisa Bluder stepping down.” Jensen said on The Dribble Drive Podcast. 

Marshal, Clark, and Martin were the only ones who started every game for the Hawkeyes in Clark’s senior year, forming the strong core . Marshal retired from basketball in 2024 and ended up focusing on her studies while Clark and Martin took the step to the WNBA. This exit was paired with the end of a 24 tenure of the legendary Bluder. The players eventually leave when it comes to the college basketball circuit, but your coach rarely leaves with them. After losing the best, the expectations were already limited. 

Jensen said further, “There was a lot of change, and um, I don’t think anybody was expecting a third, you know, run to a final four when you graduate that much. But I don’t know if they were also anticipating that we would have, you know, had a, you know, second round of an NCAA tournament team either when you’re losing that much.”

Factoring in those shifts, a 23–11 record isn’t a collapse—it’s a pivot point. With a “Clark-shaped hole” in the lineup, Lucy Olsen stepped up, delivering 17.9 points per game as the team stumbled after a 12–2 start. As the season unfolded, fans had a split reaction: some remained disappointed, expecting continued deep tournament runs, while others accepted the clean slate that Jensen’s tenure represented. It’s a rebuilding phase every program experiences, and Jensen’s leadership is already steering this one upward—notably, this second-round NCAA appearance matches Iowa’s pre-Clark postseason best this century.

Even Without Caitlin Clark’s Pull, Iowa Basketball Is Thriving 

Before becoming the most talented WNBA youngster, Clark became a national and cultural phenomenon in Iowa. She was proclaimed the “GOAT of TV Ratings” by the Wall Street Journal. Iowa’s consecutive runs to the NCAA final resulted in a nearly four-fold increase in viewership for the title game in two years, to a record 18.9 million. Clark brought that transformative energy to the WNBA, but her departure left Iowa struggling just as much off the court as on it. However, Jensen confirmed the support for their first Clark-less season was enormous. 

She said, “Our fan base held that we sold out season tickets. We sold them out in August. Um, so I feel like everybody that loved Iowa women’s basketball, they stayed loving it, and they fell in love with a whole new version.”

The Hawkeyes maintained average home attendance at about 15,000. But the drop in away-game attendance—falling from an average of 13,456 to just 6,166—underscores Clark’s away-game draw. That gap highlights the tangible impact she had beyond the court. Still, her legendary November 9 outing against Virginia Tech in Charlotte, with 15,196 fans—the largest-ever attendance for a women’s college basketball game in the state—remains a testament to her cultural power.

In 2023, Iowa held a preseason exhibition game against DePaul at Kinnick Stadium, which set the women’s basketball single-game attendance record at 55,646. Without Clark, the away fans dropped, but the Iowa fandom was hooked. They have continued the team with passion. That is the long-term impact of Clark’s immense popularity, she has inspired girls across the state to take up basketball and become a role model for them. 

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