Iowa, Caitlin Clark perform The Hawkeye Wave during Crossover at Kinnick

The Hawkeye Wave is a tradition that only the football team and its fanbase usually get to experience in Iowa City. However, the women’s basketball team at Iowa got to do their own version of it today inside Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa hosted DePaul today in a scrimmage titled the ‘Crossover at Kinnick’. During a stop in play at the event, the program took a moment and waved to the Stead Family Children’s Hospital, a staple of football games at Iowa.

Bigger than basketball 💛#Hawkeyes

pic.twitter.com/3KLYmlCVo1

— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) October 15, 2023

The wave meant even more considering what the game represented to the hospital. All of the net proceeds from the crossover will benefit them as a donation.

With the event being so unique and one of the first of its kind, over 50,000 Hawkeye fans came to Kinnick Stadium to watch the women’s team, one that’s fresh off a program record of 31 wins and a national championship appearance last year.

This tradition is well-known in college athletics and is distinct because of the stadium’s location. Now, the girls got to do it for themselves on a special day both for Iowa’s athletic department as well as the patients at the university’s children’s hospital.

Caitlin Clark explains outdoor game is a ‘historic moment’ for women’s sports

As Caitlin Clark and Iowa made a run to the national championship last year, women’s basketball drew record viewership numbers. It was the most-viewed championship in history and showed a growing interest in women’s sports.

Women’s sports are growing quickly, and Clark said even though people are new to the game, it’s great to see them taking an interest.

“I think that’s one of the coolest things is to see the amount of attention, amount of people we have brought to the game,” Clark said on SiriusXM College at Big Ten Media Days. “And maybe they haven’t watched women’s basketball their entire life. But, now, they’re watching and, to me, that’s a good thing rather than a bad thing. I don’t see that as a negative. I see it as we brought them to the game. The game’s growing, they want to stay, they want to continue to watch.

“We get to play in front of 50,000 people outside in Kinnick Stadium. And, hopefully, that number continues to grow as we continue to approach that game. That’s basically three Carver-Hawkeye Arenas. Actually, more than that that we’re playing in front of. So 15,000 feels like a lot. I can’t imagine what 50,000 is going to feel like. But just a historic moment for women’s basketball in general, and really the women’s sports world.”

With growing interest in the scrimmage, Clark said it proves women’s athletics is in a strong position to keep growing.

“I think it just shows — whether it’s Nebraska volleyball, whether it’s the World Cup, whether it’s our game in Kinnick Stadium — people want to watch it,” Clark said. “When you allow them to have an opportunity to thrive? People go. The product’s great and really is going to continue going up and up from here.”