The Economics Behind the Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark
Caitlin Clark has certainly captured the nation’s attention. A West Des Moines, IA native, Clark is the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer. During her four years with the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team, she has collected a vast array of the top collegiate basketball honors. In 2023 and 2024, she was named the Naismith College Player of the Year as the nation’s best female basketball player.
But her influence has extended far beyond the hardwood floor of a basketball court, especially from an economic standpoint. Dubbed “Clark-onomics”, her growing popularity has driven higher TV ratings, sell-out crowds, merchandise sales and even a rise in sports betting. Clark has already inked sponsorship deals with Gatorade, Nike, State Farm, Buick and Xfinity, among numerous others.
According to the economic research organization Common Sense Institute of Iowa (CSI), in the year before Clark arrived at The University of Iowa, the women’s basketball team averaged 6,563 fans per each home game. By her senior year in 2023-24, home attendance soared to 16,498 per game. CSI reports this “Caitlin Clark Effect” of increased attendance has generated an estimated $82.5 million in additional consumer spending to the Iowa economy over the past three years.
Clark also drives higher attendance on road games. The Associated Press reports that schools that host the Clark-led Hawkeyes have seen their attendance surge by over 150% on average. When the Hawkeyes visited the Northwestern Wildcats on Jan. 31, Northwestern reported it was their first sell-out ever for a women’s basketball game. According to online ticket seller Vivid Seats, the average price to see an Iowa women’s basketball game this season – whether home or away – has risen 224% since 2020, the year Clark first joined the team. Vivid Seats also reports the average distance a fan would travel to watch Iowa play has increased by 34% from last year’s season.
The Apr. 7 NCAA women’s championship game between Iowa and South Carolina, which was broadcast on both ABC and ESPN, drew a record-setting television audience. The game averaged a record 18.7 million viewers, the most ever to watch a women’s college basketball game. The previous record was the 14.2 million viewers who watched the Iowa vs. Connecticut game on Apr. 5. The third most-watched women’s college basketball game was the Apr. 1 matchup between Iowa and LSU, which averaged 12.3 million viewers. That’s three consecutive games that Iowa set a record for the most-watched women’s college basketball game in television history.
For you historians, the all-time record for a men’s college basketball game is 35.11 million set back in 1979 for the NCAA championship game between Michigan State and Indiana State. The iconic game featured future NBA Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
Clark’s popularity has also benefited the gambling industry. Caesars reports the number of bets on women’s college basketball games is up 190% over last season while 153% more money has been wagered. According to the American Gambling Association (AGA), just 26% of legal sports betting comes from women. However, it’s been a rapidly growing segment.
Currently, legal sports betting is allowed in 38 states plus the District of Columbia, including Illinois and Iowa. One can legally place their wagers in-person at casinos or through online betting platforms called sportsbooks.
Last year, according to the AGA, Americans legally wagered $119.84 billion on sporting events, up 27.8% from 2022. Those bets translated into $10.92 billion in revenues for the gaming industry. The AGA expects $2.7 billion will be legally wagered on this year’s men’s and women’s NCAA tournament basketball games. Total wagers – which include non-legal bets made with bookies, casual bets between friends and via illegal offshore sportsbooks – are expected to exceed $15 billion.
DraftKings, BetMGM, FanDuel and many other sportsbooks all reported Iowa’s game versus South Carolina was the “most-bet” women’s sporting event in history. Though all declined to provide specifics on the total dollar-amount of wagers they accepted, FanDuel reported the money wagered exceeded the amounts wagered on that day’s individual NBA, NHL and MLB games.
Without question, Caitlin Clark’s legacy on the basketball court has been one for the record books. But the broader impact she’s had on the Iowa and national economies has also been equally impressive.
Mark M. Grywacheski, Investment Advisor
Quad Cities Investment Group is a Registered Investment Adviser.
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