Iowa Hawkeyes Retire Caitlin Clark’s #22 Jersey

It’s the end of an era for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The past two seasons have been an incredible time to be a Hawkeye fan. The Iowa Women’s basketball team made it to the national championships two years in a row.

This year, the women faced off against one of the best teams in college hoops for the 2023-2024 season, South Carolina.

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The undefeated powerhouse took the title and defeated our beloved Hawkeyes.

While the season didn’t turn out exactly as we wanted it to, there was still something special about it.

This group of basketball players reignited an interest in women’s sports all across the country.

According to reports, the viewership numbers for that Iowa versus South Carolina matchup were the highest for any women's basketball game EVER.

And of course, we’ve got to talk about the Caitlin Clark of it all.

The senior guard smashed through several NCAA records this season. She first became the top women’s scorer in NCAA basketball history and THEN she became the all-time NCAA scorer in college basketball.

Now, the phenom is headed for the WNBA draft. She is predicted to be the first draft pick for the Indiana Fever.

It’s good that she might be staying on the Midwest!

To honor her amazing accomplishments and all she has done to make women’s sports mainstream, the University of Iowa is doing something incredible.

On Wednesday, April 10th the Iowa Women’s Basketball Facebook page announced that the Hawkeyes would be retiring Clark’s jersey number.

She will be the last Hawkeye player to wear #22. 

The news was made official at the team’s end-of-the-season celebration in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

Obviously, the star athlete was honored by this.

“Something I am very thankful for and, obviously, I have had some incredible teammates over the course of my four years here,” Clark said in an interview.

The senior will be the third Hawkeye Women’s Basketball player to have her number retired.

Michelle Edwards (#30, 1985-1988) and Megan Gustafson (#10, 2015-2019) are the other former Hawkeyes from the women’s basketball team who have their jerseys hanging from the rafters.

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