‘Can’t Get Much Bigger Than This,’ ‘GOAT’s HOME’ – Sports World Buzzes as Caitlin Clark Joins College GameDay’s 1st Iowa Visit in 20 Years for Ohio State Clash

Caitlin Clark is heading back to Iowa City, and she is doing it for one of the biggest football weekends the Hawkeye community has seen in years. The Fever star will serve as the celebrity guest picker on ESPN's College GameDay when No. 14 Iowa hosts No. 5 Ohio State on Saturday.

Clark's appearance comes days after her WNBA season ended with Indiana Fever's playoff loss to the Las Vegas Aces, giving the Iowa legend a chance to return home almost immediately. Needless to say, the CC fanbase was hyped by the news.

Caitlin Clark's College GameDay Appearance Has Iowa Fans Buzzing

ESPN's College GameDay announced Clark's appearance Friday evening, calling her a "Hawkeye legend" and confirming that she will join the crew for Saturday's broadcast in Iowa City.

As a guest picker, Clark will give her own predictions for the day's marquee matchup alongside the GameDay panel.

The show begins at 9 a.m. ET and runs until 12 p.m. ET, with the GameDay set at the Pentacrest. The football game between Iowa and Ohio State is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.

Clark will join a stacked GameDay panel featuring Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pete Thamel, and Pat McAfee. The visit is also a notable one for the show itself, as this will be College GameDay's third football trip to Iowa City.

The announcement immediately sent Iowa fans into a frenzy.

Hawkeye insider David Eickholt summed up the excitement simply, writing , "Can't get much bigger than this."

Barstool Iowa kept its reaction shorter, proclaiming , "GOATS HOME."

247Sports' Eliot Clough also felt the energy building, acknowledging , "That's a big one. Caitlin Clark mania is returning back to Iowa City."

Another Clark supporter pointed out that the timing could hardly be better. Nike's three-day Caitlin 1 pop-up block party is running in downtown Iowa City through Saturday, right near the Pentacrest, where GameDay is set up, making her guest-picker appearance feel like a natural fit for a weekend already centered on her.

"I had guessed this and she may have done it even had they won last night. The crossover promotion is just too good with her big shoe event in Iowa City extending thru Saturday," the fan wrote .

"The opportunity to do College Gameday and drop in on her shoe celly is simply too perfect to pass up. Gonna be a zoo there tomorrow and lord do I wish I were there."

Hawkeye Sports columnist Chad Leistikow made clear that Clark's presence takes an already major weekend to another level entirely, commenting, "The weekend in Iowa City just got even bigger."

Another reaction came from former UNCO point guard Molly McGrath, who wrote , "The rumors are true!!!!"

One excited CC fan simply posted , "Omggggggg."

Clark's return carries plenty of meaning for Iowa fans. She led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back national championship games and became one of the biggest stars in college basketball before entering the WNBA.

Iowa announced in 2024 that it would retire Clark's No. 22, and she finished her college career as the NCAA Division I scoring record holder for men's or women's basketball.

Now, she gets to return to the place where that rise began for another major Iowa sporting event.

Clark's visit to Iowa lines up perfectly with Nike's launch of the Caitlin 1. The shoe officially launched Oct. 1 and is being rolled out in roughly 5,000 stores, reportedly giving it the largest retail footprint for a Nike Basketball signature debut.

The Caitlin 1 pop-up block party in downtown Iowa City is also running through Oct. 3.

So while Iowa prepares for one of its biggest football games of the season, Clark has plenty going on around it. The Fever star gets to return to her old college home, soak in the buzz around her first Nike signature shoe, and pick a winner on College GameDay.

And judging by the early reaction, Iowa City is more than ready to have its Hawkeye legend back home.