A resolution honoring the Iowa women’s basketball team for hosting the Crossover at Kinnick passed the United States Senate unanimously on Tuesday.
The Hawkeyes drew 55,646 fans to Kinnick Stadium as they hosted DePaul in a game to benefit the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. The Crossover at Kinnick was the first NCAA women’s basketball game played outdoors in a football stadium.
The event on October 15 raised more than $250,000 for the kids at the hospital.
The resolution, which “recognizes and celebrates the impact of this record-setting event on young women athletes across the country,” was introduced by Senator Joni Ernst and Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa.
“The accomplishments of Hawkeye women’s basketball are an inspiration to female athletes everywhere,” Ernst said in a news release. “I am beyond proud of their team and all Iowans who contributed to making the Crossover at Kinnick a slam dunk. Hawkeye women are rightly being recognized for their dedication to the game.”
The previous record for a women’s basketball game was 29,619, set at the 2002 national championship game between UConn and Oklahoma.
Iowa women’s coach Lisa Bluder came up with the idea, and it surpassed even her expectations.
“I don’t think I could’ve ever dreamt this,” Bluder said after the game. “It’s unfathomable… truly. We were probably playing in front of 55 people sometimes. Basketball is basketball and we tried to play with as much joy then as we do today.”
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, the reigning national player of the year, put up a triple-double of 34 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the Hawkeyes’ 94-72 win.
“It’s pretty incredible,” Clark said after the game. “It’s hard to kind of imagine yourself playing basketball in front of 55,000. I was looking at some of the pictures … and even the backdrop, seeing people react to your shots and stuff is just really cool. Just the way people support women’s athletics here in the state of Iowa is pretty incredible as a whole, but obviously women’s basketball especially.”
Clark also references the Crossover at Kinnick in her Gatorade commercial, which was released earlier this month.
“If we can draw 56,000 fans, you can draw 57,000,” Clark says as part of a series of stats she hopes the next generation of women’s basketball players will clear.
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