Lisa Bluder Lauds Caitlin Clark's Iowa Loyalty Amid NCAA Transfer Era

Former Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Lisa Bluder spoke about Caitlin Clark's loyalty in a college landscape where transferring feels like the norm.

Feb 15, 2024; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts with head coach Lisa Bluder after the game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena against the Michigan Wolverines. During the game Clark would break the NCAA women's all-time scoring record. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are playing a WNBA preseason game at the star guard's old stomping grounds on Sunday, as they take on the Brazilian National Team at the University of Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

This has brought Clark's iconic four-year run at Iowa back to mind, which included her taking the Hawkeyes to two consecutive NCAA national championship games. Clark's college career took place during the NCAA's NIL era, which has prompted an absurd amount of transfer portal entries in all sports.

Lisa Bluder was Clark's head coach for all four seasons and then decided to retire once Caitlin left for the WNBA. And in a May 4 article from Chloe Peterson of IndyStar, Bluder praised Clark's loyalty to the Hawkeyes instead of ever looking to transfer elsewhere.

“That’s not Caitlin,” Bluder said about Clark even considering a transfer out of Iowa. “Caitlin is a loyal Iowan, and it never entered my mind that she would leave, never. And we never had that discussion. I just don't even think it was on the radar. I just think that would have hurt her brand a little bit, but I don’t think that’s why she did what she did (in staying). She really enjoyed playing in Carver, being a Hawkeye, and representing our state.”

Lisa Bluder will be among the 15,000 fans that pile into Carver-Hawkeye Arena this afternoon to cheer on Caitlin Clark.

How the former coach remembers seeing CC become a star: https://t.co/ib1TqXo02k

— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) May 4, 2025

Clark is one of the most beloved figures in all of Iowa sports history. It's hard to imagine her wearing another college team's jersey than the Hawkeyes, and luckily for fans, they'll never need to.