Ticket prices for Iowa-USC after Caitlin Clark announcement turn heads

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Owen Crisafulli | Last updated Dec 18, 2024 10:24 PM ET

The Iowa Hawkeyes have begun life after Caitlin Clark, and for the most part, they have gotten off to a decent start. Iowa has raced out to a 9-3 start, which has landed them as the No. 22 ranked team in the latest AP Top 25 poll. Not too bad considering how they lost the top player in the nation to the WNBA.

Clark's star profile shined bright during her time with the Hawkeyes, and that has continued as she's begun her career in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever. Clark immediately helped turn the Fever from one of the worst teams in the league into a playoff contender, and as she continues to improve, they figure to only get better.

While Clark has faded into the background during the WNBA offseason for the most part, it was announced on Wednesday that her No. 22 jersey would be retired on Feb. 2 when Iowa takes on the USC Trojans. And after that announcement came out, fans were shocked to see how high the prices for tickets to this game soared.

"These tickets were $250 20 mins ago. We are talking about the hottest tickets in the history of women’s basketball," @cc22report noted in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

These tickets were $250 20 mins ago

We are talking about the hottest tickets in the history of women’s basketball pic.twitter.com/KltAHzNNpb
— CC Report - on Campus (@cc22report) December 18, 2024

After news of Clark's jersey retirement came out, ticket prices soared up to over $1,000, with the cheapest not falling below that threshold. So if you want to see Clark's Hawkeyes jersey get retired, you are going to have to pay a pretty penny just to get into Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Beyond the fact that Clark will be returning to Iowa, her old team will be taking on the No. 7 ranked Trojans, who feature one of the most electrifying prospects in the game, JuJu Watkins. That only makes this contest more exciting, and is likely contributing to the incredibly pricey tickets.

There's a chance these ticket prices could drop over time, as this game is still a couple months away, but it's not going to be cheap to go see this game. That's just how big of a star Clark is, though, and her fans will be anxiously awaiting what figures to be an exciting return to Iowa.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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