Getting Straight A’s in College, Caitlin Clark Goes Against Her Mother Looking Forward to May 15: “Didn’t Do All This Work for Nothing”

Everyone knows about Caitlin Clark’s achievements on the court of basketball but very few are aware of her prowess off it. During her 4-year stay in Iowa, Clark broke numerous records and etched her name in the history books forever. The 22-year-old’s stunning feats left everyone wondering how she does that so effortlessly. Well, the answer to this confusion is simply in her tireless determination and competitiveness. She is so driven towards excellence that she has this effect in every aspect of her life, especially in her studies. That’s when she went against her mother’s wishes of slowing down a bit.

While her main focus has always been on basketball, that doesn’t mean she puts her education in the backseat. So, Clark stood firm against her mother’s wishes. During an interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe ahead of the highly anticipated WNBA Draft, she revealed, “My mom, like wants me to text my professors and say I’m not doing school anymore. I’m like, ‘No, that’s not how we’re doing this.’ I’m like, ‘I didn’t do all this work for nothing I can’t slack in my last semester.'”

Despite big things happening on the basketball court side by side, Clark aced her academics as a senior at Iowa, getting straight A’s in every subject. “My main focus is on basketball and like, still finishing college, like I still have to get my degree by May 15th. So there’s a lot of moving parts,” she added.

Clark opted for marketing as her major at the University of Iowa. Although she initially enrolled at the university without thinking about academics, things turned around after she attended a lecture by Nancy Abram, Tippie College of Business’s professor of associate marketing. As a result, she became inclined towards choosing marketing.

“[Abram] brought in a lot of students who worked at places like Amazon and Microsoft who talked about how they got where they are in their career, and a lot of former students who gave us a lot of guidance. The class focused on problem solving and I love her energy. She really engaged me with marketing,” Clark said as per the college’s official website in September 2023. But how does a major in marketing help a basketball player? The answer lies with Clark.

Caitlin Clark’s smart choice

Clark indeed made a smart choice in terms of marketing as she was able to analyze her real-life experience of her NIL deals, a path opened by the NCAA for student-athletes to make a profit from their name, image, and likeness.

“I’m working with executives, accountants and marketers, designers, and getting real-world experience strategically engaging with all these people. I should get internship hours for living my daily life running my business and brand,” she added, describing her real-time encounter with what she was studying and how she could make use of her skills.

Besides being a marketing major, Clark also pursued communication studies as a minor subject. So, it is safe to say that Clark will never be left to hang and dry if things ever go southwards on the basketball front.