No one can deny the “Caitlin Clark effect” on the WNBA. But before entering the women’s league, Clark left a legacy as part of the Iowa Hawkeyes. This newfound surge in fame has certainly impacted the University, attracting top collegiate talent, including Lucy Olsen. However, according to Iowa’s new coach, the fanbase isn’t entirely due to Clark.

On October 19th, Jan Jensen joined forces with NBC Sports for the recent episode of their show “Big Ten,” where she discussed the Iowa Hawkeyes. How could she not mention Caitlin Clark? “A lot of people talk about the Caitlin Clark era and all the fans, but… I think it’s shortsighted to say the fans were just there for Caitlin,” she said.

For Iowa’s head coach, Clark’s fanbase isn’t solely due to her “effect,” but a product of the program’s growing popularity over the years. To emphasize her point, she gave examples of the notable players from Iowa. “We had Sam Logic, a player about 15 years ago who was our first-round pick.”

Jensen implied that it was Logic who began attracting fans to Iowa, but with Megan Gustafson, the fanbase grew to “10-12,000 fans.” She continued, “Then Kathleen Doyle came along during the COVID year, right when it was just starting, but our fans were there.”

During the 2015 WNBA draft, Samantha Logic was among the 12 players selected by the league, being the first from Iowa to attend the event. Then Doyle followed her as the No. 14 pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. Clark certainly added on to it when 55,646 fans showed up at the Kinnick Stadium, for the 2023-24 campaign exhibition game. It was double the previous NCAA’s single-game attendance record. So Jensen acknowledges the impact, but she believes it all goes era-by-era.

Jan Jensen is ready to move on to a new chapter for the betterment of Iowa

During Big Ten Women’s Basketball Media Day, Iowa’s head coach made it clear that the Hawkeyes are now focused on creating a better future. “The reason the fanbase is so amazing is because they appreciate everything that was, but they are really excited to watch everything that will be,” she mentioned. For Jensen, the need of the hour is to move on from Caitlin Clark’s era.

It’s because there are other top collegiate talents in the pipeline. “As a coach, everybody at this Big Ten media day understands that we have to turn that page. We usually get to the next chapter before anybody else. And I’m so excited about this chapter,” Jensen said, while pointing out Lucy Olsen.

The Hawkeyes are already steps ahead of where you might think they are. As soon as Clark, who had a field goal accuracy of 46.2%, bid adieu to Iowa, her jersey No. 22 was retired in front of over 8,000 fans in April. Now, the Hawkeyes are moving forward with Olsen, a former Villanova alum, and it seems she’s more than ready to lead.