REACTION: Lisa Bluder and the Hawkeyes talk 'Crossover at Kinnick'

Kinnick Stadium has seen a lot of three-pointers over the course of its 94 year history. It’s also had a lot of I-O-W-A chants over the years. Both of those took place this weekend, but Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes were in Madison. So who got the crowd going from the logo like Marshall Koehn against Pittsburgh in 2015? It was Caitlin Clark. Her three-pointer may have came from her hand instead of her foot, but the result was the same. An eruption from the crowd.

“I was like man, I hope this goes in because it could definitely be an air ball. I had to make one of those in this game,” said Clark. “Just had to pull up from the logo and make a deep three for the fans. It was pretty cool. Had a little celebration and probably ran back on a little too slow.”

it’s the roar of the crowd for me. 😤🔥 pic.twitter.com/hwTM7DY80E

— Dalton Conrad (@DJConradFilms) October 16, 2023

The I-O-W-A chant came in the fourth quarter with the Hawkeyes leading 77-51. It went on and on for the better part of ten minutes. DePaul managed to go on a 15-0 run while the chant continued to rain down from the stands. It was the first 15-0 run allowed by a Lisa Bluder coached team that wasn’t a big deal. The support from the fans outweighed the run from the Blue Demons.

“The chant went on forever and I could not communicate with our team during it, but I loved it. It was so much fun. I think I lost a little focus. I think the team lost a little focus during that time, but go for it.”

Back in 1929 when Kinnick Stadium was built, it would have been unthinkable that a basketball would ever be played there, let alone a women’s basketball game. In fact, at that point, the University of Iowa wouldn’t even have a women’s basketball team for another 45 years. Oh, how times change. On Sunday, the home of the Iowa Football team hosted Lisa Bluder and the Hawkeyes, as they faced the DePaul Blue Demons in an exhibition in front of a record-breaking crowd of 55,646 fans. Iowa defeated DePaul 94-72, but the game will be remembered for much more than what happened on the court.

“You can have an idea and it could fall flat, if nobody shows up, but Hawk fans showed up today. Getting to play outside in Kinnick, it was like a dream. It was just fabulous,” said head coach Lisa Bluder. “The most important thing for me to do is say thank you to every single person that came to this game today. They are a part of history and I can’t thank them enough.”

After nearly 10,000 people showed up in the Pentacrest to celebrate the Hawkeyes season that saw them compete in the national championship game, Lisa Bluder went to interim athletic director Beth Goetz with the idea to play a game at Kinnick Stadium. It was an idea that would have felt like a dream and only a dream back when Bluder took the job to be the head coach of the Drake Bulldogs back in 1990.

“I don’t think I could have ever dreamt this (at Drake). It’s unfathomable,” said Bluder. “We were probably playing in front of 55 people (in the first year)…Jan Jensen and Jenni Fitzgerald were both with me at Drake for eight years. I asked them to come over here. We had a dream that we wanted to go to a Final Four. We wanted to wanted to fill Carver…We did not talk about Kinnick at all, until last April.”

One person that was not in attendance that would have loved to be there is Dr. Christine Grant. Without Dr. Grant, who knows if an event like this could have ever even happened. Grant was Iowa’s director of women’s intercollegiate athletics from 1973 to 2000. Her impact stretched much further than Iowa City, as she was a national pioneer in the fight for gender equity in collegiate athletics.

“You know how many times I’ve thought about (her) last year during our Final Four run, how happy she would have been, how pleased she would have been?,” said Bluder. “Today would have been really special and I keep a picture of Dr. Grant and myself on my desk because I want to carry on her tradition. I want to carry on her legacy in every way I can.”

For Caitlin Clark, she has arguably been the most popular name in women’s college basketball for the last couple of seasons. However, she is still trying to wrap her head around, not only what they were able to be apart of today, but what she has done for the game of women’s basketball over her career at Iowa.

“It’s so hard. I struggled to wrap my head around everything that’s happening and I understand what we’re doing for women’s basketball and all of that, but just the way people are screaming my name…it’s hard to fathom and I’m really lukcy to be here and have a state that I grew up in really rally around me and this team.”

Clark joked that she always knows about things before the rest of the team and her teammates come to her for information. She even said that she may have known about the idea of playing at Kinnick before the rest of the team. However, that still did not prepare her for walking out of the tunnel to Back in Black like the football team does for every home game.

“You can imagine it, but it’s never the same until you’re actually in the experience enjoying it and living it,” said Clark. “Our team was kind of giddy getting ready to walk down the tunnel because we understand this is a once in a lifetime thing…Just a special experience in the amount of people just screaming for us, it just takes your breath away for a moment.”

Back in Black (Iowa WBB's Version)#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/ZTUJlYQp8O

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

For Kate Martin, she grew up an Iowa fan and grew up around football. Her father Matthew played at Western Illinois and has been a high school coach for the entirety of Kate’s life. She even played some football herself when she was younger. The game was a mix of three things Kate loves; basketball, football and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

“I was talking to Coach Abby (Stamp) and she was like, Kate Martin gettig to play basketball on a football field? That’s my dream, I love football,” said Martin. “I played, my dad’s a coach, so it’s pretty cool that I got to be a part of it, that we all got to do that. The crossover of the football traditions with basketball traditions and getting to the famous swarm run out of the tunnel to 50,000 people, it’s super special.”

Kate committed to play basketball at Iowa six years ago. The Hawkeyes were about to make a run to the Elite Eight with Megan Gustafson, but even then, a game at Kinnick wasn’t even a thought. She says that six years ago, she wouldn’t have put it past Coach Bluder.

“It’s almost like when people ask me, what did you think when Caitlin hit the buzzer beater against Indiana. It’s like, I’m not surprised, but like, oh my gosh, that is crazy,” said Martin. “I would never put it past Iowa fans or Coach Bluder or anybody to make something like this come to life. I would have never been like, oh, no , that’s not possible.”

For Molly Davis, she started her career in Mount Pleasant, Michigan at Central Michigan University. Over her three years with the Chippewas, the largest crowd they played in front of was 7,605 in a road loss at Louisville. Their largest home crowd was 4,324 in a win over Dayton. A crowd of over 55,000 would have seemed like a joke to Davis back then.

“Coach Raina and I were talking about that before the game. She said, would you have ever imagined two years ago being in this position? I said, absolutely not, but forever grateful for the opportunity and forever grateful that I’ve got to experience something like this.”

“I just didn’t know what it was going to be like this, I didn’t realize how filled the stands were going to be. When I walked out and I was like, holy cow, this is absolutely amazing. Definitely exceeded my expectations and it was an awesome experience.”