Rebecca Lobo highlights Caitlin Clark's magical impact on women's basketball ticket sales

Caitlin Clark has put more eyes on women’s college basketball than ever before — and it’s driving Iowa fans from across Hawkeye Nation to Iowa City to watch her play.

In turn, it has become fairly expensive to see the Hawkeye star live. ESPN College GameDay host and former WNBA All-Star Rebecca Lobo expects this to continue in the pros. And she has the numbers to back it up.

“It’s been pretty incredible to see the magic that she’s been able to make throughout the course of her career. I’m looking at one of the impacts that she has had simply on ticket sales,” Lobo said on Sunday from the set of College GameDay. “This is a young woman who has been a singular ticket-selling force since she entered the college realm, and what does that look like on the regular season? Average price of $130 for a ticket to an Iowa game. Today? $433, according to Vivid Seats.

“That’s already translated to what she’s going to do at the next level. A season ago, an Indiana Fever ticket sold for $60. It’s more than doubled. And now, it’s going to keep rising.”

The season for the $303 increase in average ticket prices for Sunday’s game against No. 2 Ohio State is the fact that Clark, who averages over 30 points per game this season, is just 18 points away from breaking “the “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s all-time scoring record in college basketball history.

Clark sits at 3,670 career points compared to ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich’s 3,667. She is expected to break the record and then some against the Buckeyes, and 15,500 people will be packed inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena to see it happen.

Sunday will also serve as Clark’s final collegiate game as a Hawkeye on her home court as she declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft earlier this week. Of course, the Indiana Fever won the WNBA lottery back in December and are the favorites to draft Clark. This will be the second year in a row Indiana has the top spot in the draft, selecting South Carolina‘s Alyiah Boston in 2023.

As Lobo explained, those ticket sales skyrocketed after the news and will be one of, if not the hottest ticket throughout the WNBA. Just as she has in college, expect the road venues to be packed — not to come and watch their own favorite team — but to see Clark in action for themselves.