Nothing so far has stopped Caitlin Clark from supporting her boyfriend. When Connor McCaffery was with the Indiana Pacers, the two turned a practice session together into a date with the two teams sharing the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Now, with his assistant coaching duty continuing at the Hinkle Fieldhouse for the Butler Bulldogs, the reigning WNBA ROTY would attend his games. However, as her NCAA team Iowa Hawkeyes are on their way to turning all heads this season, Clark’s attention is split.

The Hawkeyes will be playing their fourth game on Sunday at 2 pm CST against Drake at Knapp Center in Des Moines. And guess what, the local star will be in attendance watching the much-anticipated clash. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and can be watched on HULU.

Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes are keen on showing their renewed potential of the post-Caitlin Clark era this season. When the No. 22 led them to the last two consecutive NCAA Championship Finales, the team’s success was credited to the former NCAA Queen. However, as she left for the WNBA, the Hawkeyes could not rank even in the top 25 AP preseason polls.

Many believed the program deserved a mention in the list despite Clark graduating, Lisa Bluder retiring, and Jan Jensen picking up the HC role. Hence, the Hawkeyes, after winning the first three games, are eager to continue making a difference in their fourth and remind all that they should have been ranked.

Another problem with Iowa this season is that their game viewership has taken a hit with the Des Moines-born’s exit. According to Programming Insider’s report (h/t: Sports Media Watch), the second game that the Hawkeyes played this season against Virginia averaged 209,000 viewers.

This was reportedly the first Hawkeyes Nielsen-rated game on TV this season. Compared to the last season’s numbers, the same game was broadcast on ESPN and got 583,000 viewers. This shows that the viewership has declined by 64%, and probably it’s due to Clark’s absence.  On another note, while she may have chosen to land in Des Moines for the game, she has been quite a considerate girlfriend throughout her relationship.

Caitlin Clark shows her care for Connor McCaffery

The Butler Bulldogs started their current campaign against Missouri State and played their fourth game against the SMU Mustangs. And throughout their brief journey of winning three games, the 22-year-old has been showing up for them, attending every game possible.

Moreover, she was also seen with McCaffery’s mother and younger brother Jack, who has already signed with Butler, during the Bulldogs’ clash against the Bears. On the other hand, the Las Vegas Aces stars Kate Martin and Liz Kitley attended Iowa’s clash against Virginia Tech, but the No. 22 was nowhere to be seen.

After that, she was also present on November 10th in a game for the Indiana Pacers. She was with McCaffery on what many called her date night, showing her love for Tyrese Haliburton. Even that day, her former teammates Martin and Gabbie Marshall attended a Hawkeye game. But the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer couldn’t make it.

But now that Clark has decided to pause her duties for McCaffery, it remains to be seen how long it will take for her to fly back to Indiana and give Connor some support.