Caitlin Clark has significantly and unquestionably changed women’s sports. Clark is a 22-year-old point guard for the Iowa Hawkeyes, breaking records with lightning speed. She scored the 3,528th point of her career in a February 11 game against Michigan, beating the famous Pete Maravich’s record of 3,667 points. “Caitlin Clark has broken records and won important games but that’s not what people are going to remember her for, they are going to remember her as the player who changed women’s basketball. She is a positive role model that kids look up to and she is growing the game as kids want to play and be just like her,” Sadie Murphy, a sophomore who played on the basketball team said.
She has been the player of the year on the Iowa women’s basketball team for the past two years. Clark has set the record for the most points in women’s NCAA basketball history and has become the main factor in women’s sports, generating $1 billion globally in 2024. Although women’s basketball has never reached the fame it deserves, with her outstanding talent, it has become known by people who are not only basketball fans and is finally getting the media attention it deserves.
But Clark isn’t only breaking records on the court. She had a record-breaking 10 million people go to watch her play. On average, 15,000 fans came to watch her in person, while over three million streamed each game. Clark’s name is becoming even more well-known than the men’s basketball players, with more people being able to pick her out of a crowd than some men. “Women’s basketball, specifically the NCAA, hasn’t been given the recognition it deserves until about two years ago. I think it needed someone like Caitlin Clark to bring the media attention to the sport giving all the female athletes the attention they deserve,” Samantha Tate, a senior who played on the basketball team said. Clark has turned over a new leaf, and has made women’s basketball something it has never been before.
Clark played in the Final Four against UConn, another very socialized team, as their head point guard is Paige Bueckers. Clark always dreamt of going to UConn, but they declined to recruit her. Now, both Iowa and UConn have gained a tremendous amount of popularity and are both some of the most well-known women’s basketball teams. They are both such strong teams, which causes them to be rivals. Clark has played against UConn many times now and the scores were close each time, but on Friday, April 5, for a spot in the National championships, Iowa took the win in a very close game. UConn was in the lead for most of the game, but Clark came along and secured a 71–69 win. Clark dropped 21 points and 7 assists in Iowa’s victory. Clark knew what she had to do, and she did exactly that. She proved her talent and showed UConn what they were missing out on.
After all the hard work Clark and her team put in, Clark had the chance to play one final game with her Iowa team. They made it to the next round and went against South Carolina. Unfortunately, Iowa lost, ending with a score of 87-75. Dawn Staley, South Carolina’s women’s basketball coach, has pointed out Clark many times. Staley has “thank[ed] Caitlin Clark for lifting our sport…….. Caitlin Clark, almost single-handedly, has elevated our game”. In 2022, the NCAA Division 1 women’s basketball championship game had 4.86 million views, while the men’s championship had 18.1 million viewers. The difference between viewers used to be so significant until Clark came along. With Clark, women’s basketball is getting 18.7 million viewers. That number is unheard of for women’s basketball, and this is all thanks to Clark.
Women’s basketball used to be one of the least talked about sports, and now due to Clark, a new light has been shining on it ever since she rose to fame. She is undoubtedly changing women’s basketball forever.
