The Pied Piper of women’s college basketball is coming to Hertz Arena for Thanksgiving weekend and wherever she goes the state of Iowa follows.
The University of Iowa, with Caitlin Clark, the reigning Women’s College Player of the Year, headlines this year’s eight-team Gulf Coast Showcase Classic at Hertz Arena November 24-26. FGCU could play Iowa in a semi-final game November 25.
Clark was also named to the preseason AP All-America women’s NCAA college basketball team, which was revealed Tuesday.
North Carolina, ranked 16th in pre-season polls, Kansas State, ranked just outside the Top 25, Delaware, Vermont, Western Kentucky and Purdue Fort Wayne round out the field.
Iowa, last year’s NCAA runner-up, is ranked third in pre-season polls. The team drew a record crowd of 55,646 in an exhibition game, October 14, in the school’s football stadium. Clark scored 34 points.
Clark wowed the basketball world last year with her skill and showmanship. She was called “Steph Curry in a ponytail,” because of her long-range shooting and her creative passing.
“We saw what Caitlin was doing and wanted her in our event,” said Glenn Phister, executive director of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
“Did we target them? Absolutely.”
This is the 11th year BDG Sports has put on the tournament. Some of the best teams in the country, from the University of Connecticut, Stanford, Baylor, South Carolina and Notre Dame, have played.
BDG started courting Iowa about 16 months ago, Phister said.
Iowa plays in a holiday tournament every year. Last year it played in Portland, Oregon.
“The coaches wanted to take the players on a fun trip and this is where they landed,” he said.
A large contingent of Iowa fans will land here, too. The three sections of tickets behind the Iowa bench are sold out, Phister said.
He expects this year’s tournament will break the attendance record set in 2014 when the University of Connecticut played at the arena.
Hertz Arena holds 8,000 for basketball.
“We are constantly looking to add additional seating,” Phister said. “We’ve looked at adding bleachers in the end zone because we are playing in a hockey rink, and we have that dead space in the end zone.”
Clark draws more than Iowa fans. Attendance at Iowa away games last season drew between 2,500 and 3,500 larger than usual, said Bailey Turner, assistant director of communications at the University of Iowa.
Some of the increase was from basketball fans who wanted to see Clark play, he said.
Adding FGCU to the field only increases local interest. FGCU was the final school invited. It’s allowed to play in the tournament once every four years.
“I was searching around for that last team, and I reached out to coach (Karl) Smesko and his staff to see if there would be interest in being that final team in the field, and there was,” Phister said.
“I think the opportunity for Coach Smesko to get a team like Iowa on a neutral floor right in his backyard was very appealing.”
HOW TO GET TICKETS
Tickets are available at https://hertzarena.com/events/2023-womens-gulf-coast-showcase/ or
https://gulfcoastshowcase.com/ and resale sites like stubhome.com. Ticket prices begin at $24.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.