IOWA CITY, Iowa — Caitlin Clark got a final chance to say goodbye to University of Iowa fans on Wednesday, and of course there was a big crowd waiting for the 6-foot guard.
Clark, who became major college basketball's all-time leading scorer this past season on the way to being the consensus national player of the year, was honored along with her teammates in a celebration at Iowa's home arena commemorating the Hawkeyes' second consecutive runner-up finish in the NCAA tournament.
"I would say you've all inspired me as much as I inspired you," Clark said to the approximately 8,000 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. "And you allowed me to live out my dream every single day, and for that, I'm very thankful. It's been very special, and this place will always be home to me."
Clark, expected to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever in Monday's WNBA draft, totaled 3,951 points and 1,144 assists during her time with the Hawkeyes, an All-American in every season in a collegiate career that started playing in front of sparse crowds during her freshman year when attendance was limited because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clark received a standing ovation when Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz announced that her No. 22 will become just the third jersey number to be retired in program history.
"I think they like you," Goetz said to Clark after the announcement.
Said Clark: "It's super incredible, something I'm very thankful for. There's been a lot of good 22s who have come before me and played for this program, whether it was Kathleen Doyle or Sam Logic. That number holds a lot of weight, far beyond me. I'm really grateful, and it will be a special day when it happens."
Iowa coach Lisa Bluder called the team's back-to-back runs to the national championship game "special." The Big Ten's Hawkeyes lost to a Southeastern Conference program both times, falling to LSU a year ago and to undefeated South Carolina on Sunday.
"This year's was also special, because nobody thought we could do it," she said. "Nobody thought we could repeat what we did last year, except these women up here."
The attendance for the event wasn't surprising given the Hawkeyes' ability to draw big crowds this season.
With fans eager to see the sharp-shooting Clark, they sold out every home game, drawing 238,620 during the regular season, and that total doesn't include the 55,646 who showed up for the "Crossover at Kinnick" outdoor exhibition game in October at the school's football stadium that set the women's basketball single-game attendance record.
Iowa also sold out the two NCAA tournament games it hosted, with the weekend attendance of 28,764 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena the most of any site for the first two rounds in this year's tourney.
"Please come back next year," Bluder said. "Please fill Carver-Hawkeye Arena next year."
Fans were lined up outside of the arena more than two hours before Wednesday's event started, and they raced to find the best seats when the doors opened.
Angie Leyh brought her daughter Lana. They had been to one game this season, attending Iowa's NCAA tourney opener against Holy Cross, but when Angie saw this celebration was going to be held on her daughter's 10th birthday, they decided to make the three-hour drive from Atlantic to come back one more time.
"We were going to drop everything to make sure she could be here," Leyh said as her daughter held up a sign with her birthday wish list, asking for a chance to meet Clark, or at least get an autograph or a photo. "All of this is amazing."
Clark circled the arena floor to sign autographs after the event, as she has after games throughout her career. She spoke during the event about how she and her two brothers idolized athletes growing up.
"I wanted to be like them," she said. "Those were the people who allowed me to dream and be in moments like this."
Leyh knew what the Hawkeyes' recent success meant to her daughter, whose sign also said about Clark: "I want to be just like you."
"It's a dream come true," Leyh said, "and it's made her dream bigger."