That didn’t take long.
On Wednesday, Iowa women’s basketball revealed it will be retiring Caitlin Clark’s No. 22 jersey into the Carver-Hawkeye Arena rafters when it welcomes in JuJu Watkins and USC on Feb. 2, 2025. Clark will be in attendance for the ceremony.
It’s the perfect star-studded opponent on the perfect date to honor Clark and her iconic No. 22 Iowa jersey. It should make for a raucous environment and big-game feel from inside Carver.
Fans were already fired up for the big game between No. 7 USC and No. 22 Iowa. But, with the news that Clark is set to be honored with her jersey retirement, ticket prices have gone skyrocketing upwards.
The cheapest get-in price for a pair of tickets is now $582 and pairs are reselling for as much as $2,243.
It’s the latest illustration of Clark Mania for Hawkeye fans.
In the span of 40 minutes, the cheapest ticket to Iowa WBB vs USC went from $200 to $784, with a bunch of tickets listed for over $1,000.
Incredible.
— Kyle Huesmann (@HuesmannKyle) December 18, 2024
“I’m forever proud to be a Hawkeye and Iowa holds a special place in my heart that is bigger than just basketball,” Clark said of her jersey retirement. “It means the world to me to receive this honor and to celebrate it with my family, friends and alumni. It will be a great feeling to look up in the rafters and see my jersey alongside those that I’ve admired for so long.”
During her illustrious Hawkeye career, Clark set all sorts of Iowa women’s basketball and Division I records.
Just some of Clark’s achievements include the all-time Division I men’s and women’s scoring record (3,951 career points), the most points in a Division I women’s college basketball season (1,234 points), the highest career points per game average in women’s Division I basketball history (28.4 points per game) and the most career 3-pointers in women’s Division I history (548).
After being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, Clark was recognized as the WNBA Rookie of the Year following a sensational first season with the Indiana Fever.
Clark averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 41.7% from the field, 34.4% from 3-point range and 90.6% from the charity stripe.
Like her time at Iowa, Clark continued her record-breaking ways during her rookie season with the Fever. Clark set the new WNBA single-season record for assists with 337 and its new single-season rookie scoring record with 769 points.
For her many incredible accomplishments, Clark was recently honored as the TIME Athlete of the Year.
In its encore act minus Clark, Iowa (9-2, 0-1 Big Ten) is off to a strong start and well positioned to make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions.
Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF