How Much Is Caitlin Clark Worth to the University of Iowa?

Caitlin Clark has been a walking highlight reel this season. The women’s basketball phenom is unassuming, yet fiery and supremely talented. She regularly finds the bottom of the net from 30 feet away, and this year broke the all-time career scoring record while leading all NCAA Division I players in assists per game. She’s unlike any basketball player the women’s college game has ever seen. And now she has the Big 10-champion Hawkeyes poised for a second consecutive deep March Madness run — and win or lose, the University of Iowa is poised to reap the benefits.

Clark has been called the female Stephen Curry, a supernova and the face of college basketball — men or women — among other things. At Iowa, she might as well be called one of the school’s best investments of all time, worth at the very least $15 million in added revenue, TV exposure and marketing.

A Des Moines native and graduate of Dowling Catholic High School, Clark was the university’s highest-ranked women’s basketball recruit ever when she joined the program in 2020. Somehow, she’s managed to accomplish much more than live up to the incredible hype. Record attendance, skyrocketing alumni donations and spiking enrollment are just a few of the countless ways “Clark Mania” has impacted the university for the better.

Still, her presence may reach an all-time crescendo during the coming weeks, when Clark and the Hawkeyes take the court for her final run in the NCAA Tournament, starting this weekend. The annual playoffs for men’s and women’s college basketball are traditionally the most viewed games of the year for both sports. Clark, a senior, has already said she’ll forgo her final year at Iowa to enter next month’s WNBA draft.

As Clark and Iowa prepare for the final chapter of her illustrious Hawkeye career, Volt spoke to Iowa professors and sports media experts to examine Clark’s impact along with her lasting effect on the school going forward.

A Big Name on Campus from the Beginning

Clark became a household name among sports fans during last year’s NCAA Tournament, when she led Iowa to the school’s first appearance in the Final Four since 1993. The Hawkeyes’ matchup against LSU in last year’s national championship game was the most-watched women’s basketball final ever, shattering the previous record with nearly 10 million viewers. But according to those on campus, she’s been a superhero — the University of Iowa’s Wonder Woman — pretty much since the moment she arrived.

Nancy Abram, a long-time marketing professor at Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, had Clark two years ago as a sophomore in her Introduction to Marketing Strategies class. Abram said when the university’s athletic department submitted the list of student-athletes enrolled in the class, Clark’s name immediately stood out. That’s even considering Abram’s course of more than 200 students always includes players from Iowa’s football, men’s basketball, softball and baseball teams. 

“I was like ‘Wow, Caitlin Clark is in my class’,” Abram recalled in an interview with Volt. “Her fame came really quick here.”

As Clark’s profile continued to grow, so did attendance at her games and, in turn, revenue for the athletic department. Notorious for empty stands and being a money drain at most universities, women’s basketball at Iowa last season doubled the sport’s previous record for annual revenue — from $1.9 million to more than $3.8 million — and stands to turn a profit for the first time in 2023-24 if revenue can exceed its estimated $8.5 million operating budget. 

Attendance reached record highs this season with average home turnout likely to exceed 13,000 (up from record tallies of just over 11,000 per game last year), according to a university spokesman. An AP report found Clark’s impact contributed to spectator attendance growing by 150% at Iowa’s away arenas.

Eighteen of Iowa women’s basketball’s 20 all-time sellout crowds at its home Carver-Hawkeye Arena have taken place during Clark’s time at the university, according to the school’s athletic department. Iowa also became the first Big 10 team to endow its women’s basketball head coaching position, during Clark’s sophomore season.

“All of that combined has just really transformed the program and turned Iowa into a truly national brand,” Abram said.

Beyond that, the number of prospective student applications and alumni donations at the university has grown. According to school data, Iowa welcomed its fourth-largest freshman class in its history, with 5,064 students this past fall, and enjoyed its largest number of applicants since before the pandemic. University spokesman Steve Schmadeke said in an email that Iowa also is seeing a record level of admission applications from prospective students for Fall 2024, though final tallies won’t be available until the end of the summer.

Alumni donations in 2022, the most recent year available, hit $438 million, dwarfing the previous annual donation record of $266 million.

Coincidence? Or a result of “Clark Mania?” Although athletic revenue and attendance are “undoubtedly” related to Clark’s stardom, according to Abram, neither she nor Schmadeke would commit to quantifying Clark’s impact on donations and applications. 

What’s certain, though, is the legendary player’s significant role in promoting the Iowa brand to young women.

“She’s a hero for young girls that are 8, 9, 10 years old right now, and she’s going to live in their hearts and minds for many years,” Abram said. “I always say brands aren’t made by the companies. Brands live in the hearts and minds of the people that consume them. That’s something that will last a pretty long time, especially for people she’s making an impression on during their younger years.”

NIL Helps Clark Bring in Fans

In a new era in which college athletes can leverage their name, image and likeness to ink sponsorship deals and promote themselves outside of sports, Clark’s marketing footprint is significantly larger than star women’s ballers of the past. That’s according to Bob Boland, professor at Seton Hall University’s law school, who’s spent the past half-decade working on the forefront of the new program that lets student-athletes make money for the first time in the NCAA’s more than 110-year history.

Boland explained that the pre-NIL marketing impact of former college basketball standouts such as Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart, Brittney Griner and countless others before Clark lay mostly in the hands of the universities and TV networks. Sports fans would hear plenty about these icons while watching ESPN or reading the sports section of their newspapers, but the exposure was extremely limited beyond those spheres.

Clark, meanwhile, has sponsorship deals with Nike, State Farm, Gatorade, Goldman Sachs and Buick, to name a few. It’s not uncommon to see her singing the “Like a Good Neighbor” jingle during commercial breaks on news and entertainment channels — not just sports. Earlier this month, Nike featured a mega-billboard of Clark in the heart of Times Square, where more than 50 million tourists visit each year.

“It’s a win-win-win for the athletes, the schools and the sport,” Boland said. “Clark wins because she gets the attention; the brands and the school win because they’re affiliated with her; and our interest in the competition increases so the enterprise wins.” 

“NIL is absolutely helping magnify the marketing impact of Caitlin Clark and drawing in more fans to both the University of Iowa and women’s college basketball as a whole.”

One NIL valuation website that ranks the top-earning college athletes lists Clark as the fourth most lucrative—which includes men and women in every sport. Valued at $777,000 as of December, Clark jumped to $3.1 million shortly after breaking the women’s NCAA Division I scoring record on February 15.

That value, and her impact on the higher-ed landscape, will almost certainly peak when Iowa plays in the annual NCAA Tournament, starting Saturday. Boland said if the top-seeded Hawkeyes make it to the Final Four on April 5 and play in the championship game on April 7, this year’s television ratings could again break records for women’s college basketball. Especially if juggernauts South Carolina, USC, UConn, LSU and Stanford also advance as expected to the later rounds of the tournament.

“It really depends on how the bracket plays out,” he explained. “As much as basketball fans love first-round upsets, the women’s game depends much more on its top teams and players to drive ratings.”

A Lasting Legacy?

For both Iowa and the entire women’s college hoops enterprise, one of the most challenging aspects of watching Clark rewrite the record books over the past four seasons is figuring out how to keep up the momentum when she leaves. Especially in a sport with volatile ratings that depend perhaps disproportionately on big names. Although last year’s final neared 10 million viewers, others in recent years have dipped under 3 million.

Sure, the next group of star players are waiting in the wings for their chance to shine. But as Boland notes, Clark isn’t easily replaceable. Her skill set is unlike anything the women’s game has ever seen, and her wholesome personality complements her on-court prowess in a way that makes her an ideal spokeswoman for just about any organization she represents.

Abram believes that Clark will continue to serve as an Iowa ambassador during and after her time playing in the WNBA. And while her future impact on the university won’t be as significant as now, when she’s adorning the black-and-gold uniform on the court, she’ll likely be remembered more as a college player than a pro. Especially because women’s college basketball now dwarfs the pro game in viewership.

“I think it’ll also depend on whether Iowa has a program that competes,” Abram said. “Most schools in the Big 10 have up and down years in every sport, but Iowa really has the chance to establish itself as a popular name in women’s basketball if it can continue to qualify for the NCAA Tournament on a yearly basis.”Regardless, the entire enterprise will have a few more weeks to experience Clark Mania at its peak. Abram, Schmadeke, and others at Iowa say they’re just appreciative and enjoying the ride.