UI to start charging students to attend women’s basketball

The UI Athletic Department announced Wednesday that the changes aim to boost attendance.

Cooper Worth, Pregame Reporter

October 17, 2023

Iowa guard Kate Martin dribbles the ball past DePaul guard Anaya Peoples during Crossover at Kinnick, a women’s exhibition basketball game between Iowa and DePaul, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. The Hawkeyes enter the 2023-24 season after advancing to the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history last year and winning a program-best 31 games in a single season in the 2022-23 season. (Grace Smith/The Daily Iowan)

University of Iowa Athletics updated its ticketing model for winter sports, charging students for tickets to women’s basketball for the first time.

The UI Athletic Department announced Wednesday in a statement that the new model “aims to provide flexibility, boost attendance, and increase opportunities for students to attend games.”

Tickets will go on sale Oct. 19 at 9 a.m. Students can purchase single-game tickets to men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and men’s wrestling for $5 per event on hawkeyesports.com/studenttickets. Previously, students could buy a season pass for men’s basketball for $75.

Roughly 1,800 student tickets are available for men’s basketball games, 1,000 for women’s basketball games, and 1,000 for men’s wrestling meets, according to the press release.

The general admission tickets at Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the women’s team have already sold out for the 2023-2024 season.

The change in price for the Iowa women’s basketball games comes after a historic season for the team, in which Iowa advanced to its first NCAA National Championship behind star guard Caitlin Clark, who averaged 27.8 points and 8.6 assists per game.

Head Coach Lisa Bluder and her team recently broke the women’s basketball attendance record, drawing 55,646 fans to Kinnick for an exhibition game.

The Hawkeyes wrestling team won the national title in 2021 and finished runner-up in 2022 and 2023. Iowa has had 33 straight seasons with a national title finalist and at least five All-Americans in 10 consecutive seasons.