Courtesy of Markus Spiske
Women’s collegiate sports have changed drastically over the past year or so. With an increase in viewers and fans, women across the country are now getting more attention within the media and in households from the East to the West coast. Caitlin Clark, a now famous Iowa Hawkeye basketball player recently drafted by the Indiana Fever, can be credited with the inspiration for this movement. This transformative wave has been dubbed the “Caitlin Clark Effect,” demonstrating her strong presence and powerful impact on women’s basketball, collegiate sports, and the beliefs of young children from all over.
Clark is originally from West Des Moines, IA. Growing up, she picked up basketball around age five. She competed in a boys’ basketball league, as there was not a girls’ league for her age and continued to build her passion for the sport. Proving to be quite talented from an early age, Clark played all throughout middle and high school. Upon her senior year she had a wide collection of schools who were interested in signing her for her collegiate career. At the end of the day, Caitlin chose to take her academic and athletic achievements to the University of Iowa, knowing that she wanted to remain close to home and her lifelong connection with the Midwest. In an interview with the Des Moines Register during her freshman year in college, Clark shared that one of the main reasons why she chose to play for Iowa was the fact that the team had never won the national championship. This served as a challenge for her, and this was certainly a challenge that she was prepared to tackle head on.
Clark’s career at Iowa was beyond impressive. She is arguably one of the best college basketball players of all time. While most fans tend to reflect on her junior and senior seasons, Clark was named to the First-Team All-Big Ten every year of her career. She entered college with one goal in mind and did not let off the gas pedal until the very end. In her 103rd game, she became Iowa’s all-time leading scorer, with 67 career double-double games. Shortly thereafter, Clark proceeded to break Kelsey Plum’s all-time scoring record for women. However, that wasn’t sufficient for the star. About one week later Clark became the NCAA’s men’s and women’s all-time leading scorer by surpassing “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s previous record of 3,667 points.
Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes had a magical run late into the 2024 March Madness tournament. Alongside fellow teammates Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall, Hannah Stuelke, and Molly Davis, Clark and the Hawkeyes were topped by the South Carolina Gamecocks on April 7th in the National Championship Game with a score of 87-75. With 30 points and five assists. Caitlin Clark’s collegiate career came to an end that night. Despite the upsetting loss, Clark reflected upon the experience with nothing but appreciation and gratitude for her teammates, head coach Lisa Bluder, and the 24 million fans who tuned in to watch the game. “To be honest, after last year I was kind of like how do we top doing what we did last year? Somehow, some way, every single person in our locker room believed. To be honest, this year was probably more special than last year,” shared Clark in her post-game interview.
College basketball, however, is not the end for Caitlin Clark but arguably only the beginning. Leading up to the 2024 WNBA draft, the Indiana Fever, the team projected to pick first in the first round, reported a “swell of excitement for their upcoming games” and a spike in ticket inquiries in hopes that Caitlin Clark’s future home would be in Indiana. Sure enough, with about 2.45 million viewers tuning in to the draft, Clark was selected by the Indiana Fever as the first overall pick in the first round of the 2024 WNBA draft. Having just signed a four-year, $338,000 contract with the Fever, Clark is gearing up for the start of her upcoming rookie professional season. Fans are frantically rushing to purchase tickets in hopes of getting to see Clark in person. Teaming up with the reigning Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, Clark’s career with the Indiana Fever will be nothing short of exciting.
Ending her collegiate career with a total of 3,951 points, Caitlin Clark cemented her legacy into the history of both the sport and the way women are viewed in a sports setting. She has “set a new standard for what female athletes can achieve.” Women’s sports have changed and for the better. Little girls are now privy to Caitlin Clark, who serves as a figure and role model for endless possibilities.
Urging girls to shoot for the stars and to not take “no” for an answer, she has altered the history of women in sports. Throughout the history of sports, we have watched greatness from many. However, it is rare that this greatness unfolds without being told that it is happening. But with Clark, you can turn on an Iowa basketball game, mute the sound, and still know that something great is happening. Caitlin Clark is the definition of greatness. She is the beacon of inspiration that young girls and women in sports need, and she will forever be remembered as a pioneer and a representation of possibility. Clark has successfully rewritten women’s sports and truly showed how the possibilities can really be endless. What was once more of a glass ceiling has been shattered by her phenomenal efforts and the powerful “Caitlin Clark Effect” that has swept across the country throughout the past year.
