Caitlin Clark reacted to the Iowa Hawkeyes’ tribute video for their longtime coach Lisa Bluder. Her former teammate, Golden State Valkyries’ Kate Martin, also shared her reaction to the tribute.
The Hawkeyes made a compilation video in honor of Bluder, who coached the team for 24 seasons before she decided to retire last May. It was under her mentorship that Clark grew to become a national basketball sensation.
The video posted on the Hawkeyes’ X account on January 5 also featured a clip of Caitlin Clark hugging Bluder in one of their games. The Indiana Fever star reacted to the video using three emojis: a black heart, a crying face, and a goat, signifying her heartfelt emotions for who she thinks is the greatest women’s college basketball coach of all time.
— Caitlin Clark (@CaitlinClark22) January 5, 2025
Kate Martin also reposted the video to her Instagram story with a caption, “Tear jerker. So thankful for Lisa Bluder.”
In her coaching career that spanned 40 years, Bluder remains the winningest coach in Big Ten history. She has a 528-254 win-loss record with the Hawkeyes and 884-396 overall.
Lisa Bluder responds to controversy surrounding Caitlin Clark
Even as a college basketball player, Caitlin Clark was arguably the biggest name in America when it comes to the sport. She had everyone’s eyes when she was leading the Iowa Hawkeyes, and her stardom carried over to the WNBA when she played for the Indiana Fever, bringing them to the playoffs for the first time last season since 2016.
Earlier in December, TIME Magazine honored Clark with the Athlete of the Year Award, and many opposed the recognition, including Washington Mystics co-owner Sheila Johnson. She said it should have been the entire WNBA that was honored instead of Clark alone.
Clark’s former coach at Iowa, Lisa Bluder, said in an interview that Johnson’s remarks were silly, adding that Clark was making an impact in women’s sports across the world.
“It’s silly to me that anybody’s trying to take away from something that’s so good in your sport right now,” Bluder said. “I mean, this is a person that’s really helped athletics, helped women’s sports in a way that nobody has helped women’s sports, maybe since Billie Jean King.”
Bluder added, “So, let’s get on the bandwagon and help her out, make her life a little bit easier because she is helping all of us.”
The winningest women’s basketball coach also reminisced on her time as the Hawkeyes’ coach when she addressed other players on her team when it seemed apparent that Caitlin Clark was receiving all the attention.
“Sometimes, you know, we used to tell our team, ‘Listen, when Caitlin’s light shines on her, it shines on all of us,'” Bluder said. “And I think everybody else needs to embrace that a little bit better.”
coach bluder speaks nothing but the truth, “when caitlin’s light shines on her it shines on all of us” pic.twitter.com/bYVZ4Tj9nP
— #22caitlinthegoat (@ccthegoat22) December 17, 2024
Clark’s impact in the WNBA was evident in her rookie season. 23 of the games last season had over a million in viewership, and 20 of those featured the Fever star.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
