Eternal Recognition: Iowa Pays Tribute to Caitlin Clark, Ensuring Her Iconic No. 22 Lives On
Caitlin Clark’s jersey, worn in the women’s national championship game three days after her last college game at Iowa, will live on in the annals of the university indefinitely.
Clark played for the Hawkeyes for four years, but her number, 22, is no longer in use, the university declared on Wednesday. Iowa women’s basketball players are not permitted to wear jerseys with that number on them. Clark will always be the owner of it.
“There will never be another 22,” the team wrote on social media Wednesday.
Over the course of four seasons at Iowa, Clark—one of college basketball’s all-time greats—rewrote the record books. In the end, Clark surpassed Pete Maravich’s record for the most points in Division I history, both men’s and women’s, to become the all-time best scorer in NCAA women’s basketball.
Two people will never again exist: Caitlin Clark22 and 2️⃣2️⃣.
The #Hawkeyes will retire Clark’s No. 22. pic.twitter.com/bTyWRXwJir
— Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) April 10, 2024
Clark was unanimously selected as the National Player of the Year for this season by The Athletic. In terms of points (31.8) and assists per game (8.8), she topped the nation.
Clark has significantly increased the amount of people that watch women’s collegiate basketball. Her tenure at Iowa ended with a loss to South Carolina in the national championship game on Sunday. According to ESPN, the record 18.9 million viewers watched the Iowa-South Carolina game, making it the most viewed basketball game (men’s or women’s, college or professional) since 2019.
Clark was a draw when she performed in her last season. Thirty of the Hawkeyes’ thirty regular-season games this season sold out or set records for the most spectators in a women’s basketball stadium. In thirty minutes, tickets for Iowa City’s Hawkeyes first- and second-round games were sold out.
The jersey of Clark is the third one to be retired by an Iowa women’s basketball player. Megan Gustafson (2015–2019) had her No. 10 jersey retired in 2020, whereas Michelle Edwards (1985–1988) had her No. 30 jersey retired in 1990.
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)