Cha-Ching! The Caitlin Clark Effect: It's Gonna Cost You More Than $1k To See The GOAT Of Women's Basketball Play In Person

Want to see Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark, arguably the GOAT of the women’s college game, play in person?

Better check to see if your bank account can withstand a hit comparable to a mortgage payment.

Clark, often compared to Larry Bird for her sneaky-good skills and assassin-like shooting, is the high-scoring guard who was National Player of the Year last season.

Caitlin Clark and Larry Bird (Getty Images)

Fans, Television Networks, Ticket Departments Can't Get Enough Of Caitlin Clark

Not only is Clark the best female player in the college game once again, she has also become a one-woman sales and marketing juggernaut, unparalleled in the history of women’s college basketball.

Some people are calling it the “Caitlin Clark Effect.”

Tickets for games featuring Clark, the No. 1 scorer in the nation (30.9 ppg) and the No. 1 playmaker in the nation (7.9 apg), are a hot commodity – and crazy expensive.

Caitlin Clark Is A Big Money-Maker

Like as much as $1,700 per head in some cases. That’s the projected cost of seats behind the Iowa bench when the Hawkeyes, 17-1 on the season and ranked No. 2 in the country, visit Northwestern on Jan. 31.

That would be $6,800 for a family of four. For a women’s college basketball game! Yikes!

Get out your Benjamins to watch Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark play in person. (Photo by HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Normally, tickets to a Northwestern women’s game are $12 apiece. Lower mid-court tickets for the defending national champion, LSU, are $30.

Upcoming Iowa games at Ohio State, Maryland, Nebraska and Indiana are also expected to fetch as much as $1,000 to $1,350 per ticket.

Attendance Skyrockets When Caitlin Clark Is In The House

Iowa, the national runner-up to LSU last season, has sold out every game it has played on the road this season, upping attendance at opponents’ arenas by as much as 359 PERCENT! You read that right: 359 PERCENT!

For instance, when Iowa played at Wisconsin on Dec. 10, the attendance was 14,252. Normally, the Badgers draw an average of 4,536 fans to home games.

"Whenever we go on the road, it's going to be an intense crowd, and that adds a bit to the game," Clark told reporters after Iowa’s 96-71 win over Purdue last Wednesday in which the Boilermakers recorded just their fourth sellout in program history with 14,876 fans. That’s three times their average attendance this season.

"That's a whole other factor we have to deal with.” Clark added. “But I think it's something we're going to face in the Big Ten for the rest of the year."

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes against the Purdue Boilermakers in a sellout at Mackey Arena on January 10. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

This is major news here, folks. No other women’s college basketball player has been able to single-handedly inflate ticket prices and attendance numbers like this. EVER.

Clark even has her own cereal, for Pete's sake! Caitlin's Crunch Time.

“She’s just great for our game, but I’m (also) ready for her to get the hell out of here as well,” Purdue women’s basketball coach Katie Gearlds laughed when asked about the ‘Caitlin Clark Effect.’ “No, she’s just been so great for our game and when you talk to her off the court, she’s a really, really good young woman.”

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Fans hold up a sign for Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes during a game against Rutgers at Jersey Mike's Arena on January 5. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes takes the court before a game against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second round of the 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 19, 2023. (Photo by Rebecca Gratz/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Guard Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes signs autographs after a game against the Minnesota Gophers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on December 30, 2023. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark Is An Iowa Icon

While fans flock to see Clark on the road, they absolutely eat her up at home. She has legendary status in Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes are averaging nearly 15,000 fans per game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Members of the Iowa women's team enter the court before a game in November of 2023 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

And remember, they also set the all-time women’s basketball attendance record earlier this season when they hosted DePaul in a gimmicky October exhibition game on a court that was placed inside Iowa’s football home, Kinnick Stadium.

Gimmick or not, 55,646 fans crammed inside. That’s not happening without Clark.

And for those fans who can’t get to a game (or afford to get to a game!) to watch Clark in person? Well, they’re watching on TV in droves, too.

Must-See TV: Ratings Hit Record Highs When Caitlin Clark Is On The Small Screen

Last year’s Women’s Final Four, which featured Clark and Iowa against 2022 champ South Carolina in the semifinal and then against LSU for the title, set all kinds of broadcast records for women’s basketball.

The Iowa-South Carolina game drew 5.5 millions viewers, with a peak of 6 million at one point. Then, the championship game between Iowa and LSU attracted 9.9 million viewers and peaked at 12.6 million.

DALLAS - Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the semifinals of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four at American Airlines Center on March 31, 2023. (Photo by Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The previous most-viewed women’s basketball national championship game was the 2002 matchup between Connecticut and Oklahoma. That drew 5.7 million viewers.

No wonder networks such as Fox and ESPN/ABC, which has rights to the Women’s Final Four, give Clark so much face time. She’s money. Cha-ching.

Rare College Air: Catch Clark While You Can (If You've Got The Cash!)

“Obviously Clark is an incredible draw for our game and no matter where (the Hawkeyes) go, they probably have really good crowds,” Gearlds said. “It’s not just her. There have been a lot of people who have helped elevate our game. I think she’s probably at the forefront of all of it, and rightfully so. She’s probably the most skilled offensive player we’ve seen or witnessed in a really long time. I don’t know if we’ll see someone better.”