Caitlin Clark brought all the attention to the Iowa Hawkeyes: That was the narrative set. Iowa’s win over Nebraska in the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament final averaged 3.02 million viewers on CBS—that made it the most-watched women’s basketball game on CBS since UConn-Tennessee in 1999. In fact, last season’s NCAA finale between the South Carolina and Iowa Hawkeyes averaged about 19 million viewers. So when Clark moved ahead to join the Indiana Fever in the WNBA, people expected the ratings to drop. Is that the case?

Well, Clark’s ex-teammate and Iowa Hawkeyes star Hannah Stuelke doesn’t believe so. In an interview on November 6, she set the record straight. Meghan McKeown and Zora Stephenson from NBC Sports questioned her, “Every single time we come to Iowa city, it is sold out. For the second straight year, tickets are sold out again. Can you put into words for women’s basketball, you play in front of a sold out crowd every single night: What is that like?”

Stuelke responded, “It’s amazing. Iowa fans are loyal and they’ll always be there no matter what. No matter who’s there. Caitlin’s gone. We’ve already sold out again. So it wasn’t just about her, but they’re so loyal to us. And they always show up for us. So I think it’s just amazing. It’s like a family. A really really big family.”

There were speculations about interest in Iowa dropping after Clark’s exit but Stuelke clearly disagrees. It could be the case that people want to see how the team manages itself without Clark.

Well, their exhibition game against Missouri Western on Oct. 30, turned out to be the second exhibition sellout in Iowa women’s basketball history (14,998: Carver-Hawkeye Arena’s full capacity). It was the largest crowd in program history for an exhibition game. Then their Nov. 6 game against Northern Illinois marked the second season opening sellout in Iowa women’s basketball history (14,998). But what more can we expect from Iowa ahead? Stuelke had the answer for this.

Meghan McKeown: “What’s something that we might not know about this team that you want people to understand, now that we are in this post-Caitlin, Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall era?”
Hannah Stuelke: “I think, just kike, it’s going to look different. It’s not going to look the same, we are not going to score the same. We are going to score just as much, but it will be in a different way. So, I think just look forward to a little bit of change.”

Interesting Fact: Junior Hannah Stuelke was the fifth athlete since 2009 to have recorded 650+ points and 350+ rebounds by the end of their sophomore season. Previously, Ally Disterhoft, Caitlin Clark, Megan Gustafson, and Jaime Printy have achieved this.

In September end, the Hawkeyes announced that they had sold out all 15,000 season tickets for the second consecutive year. This means that the Hawkeyes fans will keep an eye on Jan Jensen’s first year as the head coach.

This year, student tickets are still available, priced at $65 for 15 games. They can also buy single-game tickets priced from $5-$10. Last year’s ticket sales were anticipated since it was Clark’s probable (at that time) final run with Lisa Bluder & Co. But surprisingly, Jensen & Co. has maintained the same standards.

Well, it will be interesting to see how much attention they attract further. Iowa Hawkeyes’ next game is on Nov. 10 against Virginia Tech. But not only Iowa, even the LSU Tigers have maintained the hype.

After Iowa Hawkeyes, LSU Tigers too live up to the expectations

Whether Kim Mulkey & Co. have sold out season tickets or not isn’t known, but prior to their game against Eastern Kentucky in the season opener, the arena was completely sold out, as Mulkey herself revealed. This again showed that despite Angel Reese’s absence, the Lady Tigers maintained their standards from last year. This could also signal that women’s basketball is now at a new stage.

“I’ve just heard today that we have now sold out the arena. And that’s just so good. It’s so good for our players and school and our program. It’s gonna be fun, I’ve got a lot of depth at the guard spot. And got just enough post to create a little havoc. And we’re still relevant and that’s what I came here to do,” Mulkey stated.

Meanwhile, LSU won the season opener against EKU by a 95-44 margin.

Hence, fans will be expecting that even their rivals, the Hawkeyes, won’t disappoint them. Although Iowa emerged victorious in the game against Northern Illinois by a 91-73 margin, it remains to be seen how they perform in the long run. What do you think?