October 15, 2023 – Setting Hawkeye Herstory!

A 21-year-old attendance record was broken on Sunday, October 15, 2023, when 55,646 fans packed into Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City to watch the Iowa Hawkeye Women’s Basketball Team take on the DePaul Blue Demons in an exhibition game.

The first women’s basketball game to be played outdoors in a football stadium – set an NCAA single-game record for the largest attendance in women’s basketball history! The previous attendance record had stood since the 2002, when 29,619 witnessed the national title game between Oklahoma and UConn at Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

The Hawkeyes – led by a triple-double from their star player Caitlin Clark – took down DePaul 94-72 in the Crossover at Kinnick game. Clark, the reigning National Player of the Year, tallied 34 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, shooting 13-of-26 from the field as she put on a show for the mammoth crowd. Read more about Caitlin Clark here.

The Hawkeyes followed the pregame routine of the football team, with the Hawk Walk outside of the stadium. Pregame warmups ensued like normal, but the setting was anything but normal. Introductions included fireworks, while the national anthem had a flyover. Caitlin Clark was also presented with the Honda Cup Women’s Collegiate Athlete of the Year Award prior to the game.

“It’s hard to really wrap your head around everything that’s happening,” Clark told the media after the game. “Our team was kind of giddy getting ready to walk down the tunnel because we understand that this is a once in a lifetime thing.”

“What a day for our state and the game of women’s basketball, 55,000 people in attendance is crazy,” Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder said after the game. “I appreciate our administration for backing my idea and not giving any push back on the idea. Today was everything we could’ve imagined and I’m happy for our girls, because they got a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

All net proceeds from the event were donated to The University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, which overlooks the stadium. At the end of the first quarter, players, coaches and fans alike all turned to face the hospital and waved for over a minute, participating in what is known as The Wave – The Greatest Tradition in Sports.

Just as the Hawkeye football team does for every home game in the fall, the Women’s BB team named a Kid Captain – Krysty Bujakowska (below) – a 12-year-old Coralville girl battling an aggressive bone cancer at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

We lost Krysty to cancer in November 2024 – see our tribute here.

Here’s the “official” Iowa Women’s Basketball video – Crossover At Kinnick.

Did you know that the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and the state of Iowa have a long “herstory” of being progressive when it comes to giving women an equal opportunity to succeed? Here’s just a few Her-ky Hightlights…

1855. Classes begin at the State University of Iowa, admitting both men and women on an equal basis. The 1856-57 student body numbered 124 – 93 men, 41 women. Read more here.

1862. The Sisters of Mercy (BVM) open St. Agatha’s Women’s Seminary in Iowa City and over the next fifty years (1862-1911) offer women one of the nation’s finest opportunities in equal education. Read more here.

1869. Iowa Supreme Court rules that women may not be denied the right to practice law in Iowa and admits Arabella B. Mansfield to the bar – the first woman in the United States to be granted a law license. Read more here.

1870. The State University of Iowa opens a Medical School and admits both men and women. Read more here.

1873. The State University of Iowa becomes one of the first colleges in America to award a law degree to a woman – Mary B. Hickey Wilkinson. Read more here.

1875. Emma Haddock of Iowa City becomes the first woman admitted to practice law before the United States federal courts. Three years later, the Iowa Supreme Court appoints Haddock to examine law students for admission to the bar.

1876. Jennie McCowen becomes one of the first women to graduate from the University of Iowa Medical Department.

1895. Business college owner Elizabeth Irish (above) becomes the first woman in the Iowa City Commercial Club – a forerunner to the Chamber of Commerce. Read more here.

1918. Mildred Whitcomb, of Ottumwa, Iowa, is named editor of The Daily Iowan, becoming the newspaper’s first female editor and one of the first women to head an American college daily newspaper.

1913. A new women’s gymnasium (below left) opens. Renamed Halsey Hall in 1975, the building is located just west of Calvin Hall at the corner of Jefferson & Madison Streets. Read more here.

1926. The new Iowa Student Union was opened, and just to the west, an open area – named Union Field (above right & below) – was utilized as the Women’s Athletic Field. Read more here.

1941. Lulu Merle Johnson (above) becomes the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. from an Iowa institution and among about a dozen black women in the nation to achieve such status at that time. Read more here.

1973. Dr. Christine Grant (below) becomes the University of Iowa’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women – a national pioneer and influential voice for gender equity in collegiate athletics. The journey wasn’t easy, and sadly, Dr. Grant didn’t live long enough to be at Kinnick for this special event. But all loyal Hawkeyes know that her spirit was there – cheering all the way! Read more here.

“**February 3, 1985** was a very, very special day for our program and our state,” said Christine Grant, former UI director of women’s athletics — despite the fact she got an official reprimand for breaking fire code. “So many said that people weren’t interested in women’s basketball, and this proved them absolutely wrong.”

February 3, 1985. C. Vivian Stringer (below) & the UI Women’s Basketball Team made her-story when Stringer envisioned a sell-out crowd in Carver-Hawkeye arena for the Hawkeyes’ home game against Ohio State. Stringer filmed local commercials urging fans to turn out and the campaign was a wild, almost criminal success. Two hours before the 1:30 p.m. tip-off, cars were backed up to I-80. Officially, 14,821 paid for tickets, but kids were granted free admission and turned out in droves. The turnstile at Carver counted 22,157 — far more than the 15,500 seats could accommodate, or the fire marshal advised (see letter below right). By the time the Hawks emerged from the tunnel, the sound was deafening. Both head coaches beamed as they shook hands, Stringer with tears on her cheeks. “I wish I could turn out the lights and freeze that moment in time,” she told the Gazette.

December 11, 2022 – Lisa Bluder became the winningest women’s basketball coach in Big Ten history with the Hawkeyes’ 87-64 victory over Minnesota. This win marked her 234th Big Ten victory, surpassing the previous record held by Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer. Bluder went on to coach through the 2023-2024 season, retiring with an overall record of 528-254 and a conference record of 262-145. Above right, on September 13, 2025, Lisa was there to congratulate Iowa Football Coach – Kirk Ferentz – for becoming the winningest coach in Big Ten history with 206 victories! Read more here.

***Click here to read more about The Caitlin Clark Effect.***

Yeah, you shouldn’t be surprised that three generations of the Boller family were at Kinnick on October 15, 2023 for this historic event. And even with long wait times for Cambus to get us from Hancher to Kinnick and back again – a good time was had by all! On Iowa! Go Hawks!

Here’s a ten minute video overview from The Big Ten Network

Read more about Caitlin Clark and her Iowa experience.
The Caitlin Clark Effect.
Caitlin Clark From The Logo In Coralville.
Remembering Krysty.
The Bollers & The 2023-2024 Women’s Basketball Season.
2/2/25 – Caitlin Clark – Forever 22.