Caitlin Clark has affected women’s sports all over. Her significant accomplishments at the collegiate level have marked a turning point for female athletes who have been looked over for years, especially those who compete in sports that women and men both share.
Clark is a current senior at the University of Iowa and has played women’s basketball at the Division 1 level for the past four years. She has become the all-time No.1 career scorer in women’s basketball history in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Clark has been hailed as the person to watch these days; she has made a massive impact on the attendance and watch rate of the sport. When people could not attend these games, they watched them on platforms like NBC, Fox, and ESPN. The 2023 Division 1 women’s basketball championship had a tournament record of 357,542 fans in the past year, which some attribute to Clark.
Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes have been selling out stadiums and playing in front of thousands of people every game. She has also brought in the interest of many known names across the internet—in the process of growing the support for women’s sports and inspiring their love for the sports they share.
Clark has even made an impact in Stoughton. At Stoughton High School, the athletic director, Andie Alexander, hopes the athletic program will continue to grow positively and help grow the girls basketball team and other girls sports at SHS.
“I hope girls involved in sports are inspired by her success, which increases participation in girls basketball,” Alexander said.
In the past few years, there has been a decline in many girls’ sports, especially basketball, and attendance at girls’ games is less than Alexander hoped. She feels the environment needs to show what school spirit is all about.
Alexander worries that dropping out of sports, or not being a multi-sport athlete in high school, will not benefit high schoolers. She feels it’s important to grow through sports, even if you don’t plan on taking it to the next level.
“I hope this encourages athletes to continue to participate in sports they enjoy. It is important to be a multi-sport athlete,” Alexander said.
The most crucial part of sports is the environment it creates for the athletes and the crowd. The crowd is what gets the athletes excited to perform and encourages them. These parts of the environment make it easier for athletes to want to continue and to have fun.
Clark’s recognition through basketball has created suspense and excitement for many people, especially young athletes and fans.
“I would love to see equal support from students, community, and staff to our girl’s athletic teams,” Alexander said. “Like other athletic teams, we can support all of our programs, not just the ones that have the most success.”
Football and boy’ basketball are some of the sports at SHS that get a lot of recognition. This has created a lack of interest in girls’ sports at SHS, which Alexander feels needs to be more fair to many female athletes who put in countless hours of practice and effort.
Caitlin Clark’s achievements will likely positively affect SHS in the future.
“I hope to see more girls participate in multiple sports and, more importantly, support one another to help grow Stoughton girls sports programs,” Alexander said.