The Caitlin Clark effect has reached the preseason.
ESPN will broadcast what is believed to be the WNBA’s first nationally televised exhibition game when Clark returns to Iowa for the Indiana Fever’s game against Brazil’s national team on May 4, sources briefed on the network’s scheduling said.
The 5 p.m. CT tipoff will be on ESPN unless the network has a Game 7 in the NBA playoffs. In that case, the Fever-Brazil game would shift to ESPN2.
ESPN declined comment.
Iowa retired Clark’s jersey in February, but her return with the Fever will be her first game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena since graduating last spring. Tickets for the exhibition sold out within 45 minutes of being listed.
“Countless Hawkeye fans have become Fever fans, and we consider them family,” Fever president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf said in a statement when the game was initially announced. “That’s what will make this preseason matchup so special for us.”
The lack of accessible preseason broadcasts has become a pain point for fans in recent seasons, as many have clamored to have network partners air those games. Last season, an exhibition between the Chicago Sky and the Minnesota Lynx was unavailable on a broadcast but totaled more than two million views through a fan’s phone stream…
