Although this year’s college basketball season does not officially start until November, it has not stopped fans of Iowa women’s basketball from buying tickets to support the Hawkeyes in their upcoming exhibition on Sunday against DePaul.
The Hawkeyes, the 2022 women’s college basketball championship runner-up, say they have sold more than 52,000 tickets ahead of their matchup against the Blue Demons on Sunday at Kinnick Stadium, the site for the program’s home football games in the fall. Typically, Iowa plays its home games at the 15,400-seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena during the season.
Kinnick Stadium holds 69,000 people. With record ticket sales and more still available with only days remaining before the contest, the Hawkeyes could capture a tremendous feat.
Currently, the women’s college basketball attendance record is 29,619 fans, which was set at the 2002 women’s national title game between Connecticut and Oklahoma at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Although the exhibition is not sold out at the moment, the Hawkeyes are on pace to shatter the record mark, and tickets are only going to keep selling considering the excitement around superstar Caitlin Clark.
In addition to the impressive sales numbers for the upcoming exhibition, Iowa also sold out its season tickets for the first time in school history ahead of Clark’s senior season.
In 2022, Iowa finished 31-7 and earned the program’s first appearance in the national championship game.