55,646 fans filled Kinnick Stadium for the exhibition, breaking the NCAA’s previous women’s basketball attendance record

Caitlin Clark greets fans before the record-breaking Crossover at Kinnick on Oct. 15, 2023. 

The Iowa women’s basketball team just made NCAA history!

Led by National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark, the Hawkeyes set the tone for their 2023-24 season on Sunday, securing a 94-72 victory against DePaul on Sunday afternoon — and making history in the process.

Instead of the team’s usual home turf of Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the preseason game against the Blue Demons was held at Kinnick Stadium, making it the first-ever women’s basketball game played outdoors in a football stadium.

55,646 fans filled the seats at Kinnick Stadium on Oct. 15, 2023, breaking the NCAA women’s basketball attendance record. 

The “Crossover at Kinnick,” a charity exhibition for the neighboring Children’s Hospital, also had the highest attendance of any game in NCAA women’s basketball history, per the association.

The stands were filled with 55,646 fans, a figure that shattered the NCAA’s single-session attendance record by over 26,000 people.

The previous record was a tie earned during the 2002 NCAA tournament when the Final Four teams — Tennessee, Duke, UConn, and Oklahoma — collectively filled 29,619 seats at The Alamodome in San Antonio, and the latter two teams drew the same size crowd days later for the finals, per the NCAA’s website.

Caitlin Clark (22) led the Hawkeyes to victory during their record-breaking preseason game on Oct. 15. 

In the record-shattering Crossover at Kinnick, Anaya Peoples led the Blue Demons with 19 points, and Clark — who was just added to the 2024 Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Watch List — emerged with a triple-double (34 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists).

In a video shared by the Hawkeyes on X (formerly known as Twitter), Clark warmed up for the historic exhibition by signing posters and shirts for young fans, including one little girl who told her, “You’re my idol.”

“Women’s Sports Matter 💛,” the team captioned the clip.

Caitlin Clark (left) and Anaya Peoples (right) were the highest-scoring players for their respective teams at the Crossover at Kinnick on Oct. 15, 2023. 

Money raised by the historic Iowa-DePaul matchup went to the University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital, which overlooks the stadium, per Hawk Central. The event raised $250,000, which Iowa’s athletic department then presented to the hospital at the game.

After the first quarter, the teams, referees and fans also participated in a Kinnick tradition usually practiced by the football team — pausing the game to wave up to the window of the children’s hospital.

In a video shared by the team, several kids and adults inside the hospital, some of whom sported foam fingers that read, “Keep Fighting,” waved back.

The Hawkeyes’ record-breaking game comes a little over a month after Nebraska’s women’s volleyball team made headlines for breaking the world record for women’s sports attendance.

On Aug. 30, more than 92,000 fans packed the stands at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, to watch the Cornhuskers take on the Omaha Mavericks.

The historic volleyball game ended with the home team securing a 3-0 win in front of the record-breaking crowd. (NCAA volleyball matches typically take place in arenas seating 10,000 to 20,000 spectators.)

When the unbelievable attendance record was announced to the crowd, which was filled with Cornhusker-red, fans cheered wildly.

“Husker Nation, you’ve done it. The WORLD RECORD for a Women’s Sporting Event lives in Lincoln,” the team’s X account posted on Wednesday. “Today’s attendance: 92,003. There is NO PLACE like Nebraska.”