Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever will play the Brazilian national team in a preseason game in Iowa on Sunday, and the former Hawkeyes star hopes it will be the beginning of a new tradition.

Speaking to the media prior to the game, Clark said she is “really thankful” for the opportunity to return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where she spent four historic years playing for the University of Iowa, and would like to keep coming back.

“Yeah, I mean, I would love to be able to come back here every year,” Clark said. “I don’t know if that’s gonna happen or not, but, I’m just really, really thankful for W and for the Fever organization wanting to play this game here. And obviously the Brazilian national team had to agree to do it too, so you got to give them credit as well. I think it’s really good for our fans that might not have a chance to go see us play in the W at a certain city. The closest one to here is probably Chicago, and that’s still three hours, or Minnesota.’

“Not everybody has that ability to get to a city like that, so I think it gives them a great opportunity to come cheer for us and also see a team they probably watched on TV quite a few times. I told my teammates, you know, they’re going to be here cheering for me, yes, but they’re also going to be here cheering for you and our entire team. I think that’s what’s so great about these fans is they really rally around the entire team. It’s not just myself and that’s what I love about them.”

The Fever’s trip to Iowa City is part of a growing trend of WNBA teams playing preseason games on their stars’ former college campuses.

Already this preseason, the Dallas Wings and Las Vegas Aces faced off at Notre Dame to celebrate three former Fighting Irish: Arike Ogunbowale, Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young. In addition, the Chicago Sky played against Brazil at LSU in a homecoming for Angel Reese, as well as 2025 first-round pick Hailey Van Lith (who was drafted after the game was scheduled).

Such events are an easy way to draw interest in preseason games that don’t have much meaning and usually pass on by without much of a mention. It’s no surprise that all three of the aforementioned games were on national TV, marking the first year that multiple preseason games were broadcast nationally.

As Clark noted, playing preseason games in non-WNBA cities is also a great way to attract new fans and give those who don’t live near a team a chance to see their favorite players in person.

It’s unclear if these games will continue in the coming years, but considering how successful they’ve been this season, it would make a lot of sense for the league to ensure that they do.