The Caitlin Clark effect is recruiting The Pat McAfee Show to Iowa City for a live broadcast this Friday, March 22, 2024.
Last week, McAfee announced his show will head to Iowa on Friday for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament and he’s bringing Roman Reigns with him. Reigns will be in Milwaukee later that night for WWE Friday Night SmackDown.
🚨ANNOUNCEMENT🚨
We will be LIVE from the Field House in Iowa next Friday with @WWERomanReigns #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/sGWMRf8gXF
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 13, 2024
“We are very thankful that this relationship with ESPN has afforded us an opportunity to be able to go back to Ty Schmit’s school,” McAfee said. “During a time in which Iowa is experiencing a once in a generation type run that will catapult the Iowa Hawkeyes into a successful organization for the next 20 years, probably, because of what Caitlin Clark is doing.”
Schmit, a producer and on-air contributor to The Pat McAfee Show, graduated from the University of Iowa in 2014. The initial plan was for the show to broadcast from the University of Iowa Field House. But with Iowa set to play their first game of the tournament Saturday afternoon, The Pat McAfee Show might be do their Friday show from the arena.
“This is a cool thing, this is a cool moment,” McAfee added. “We want to support women’s March Madness as well because we watched last year, it is electrifying.”
McAfee’s show goes on the road a lot and it’s not always newsworthy. But this is just the third year that the women’s basketball tournament is even allowed to use “March Madness” branding. McAfee heading to Iowa for the NCAA Tournament further proves how popular women’s basketball has become.
Usually, if The Pat McAfee Show, or any national show on ESPN for that matter, is heading to a college campus, it’s because a football game lured them there. But while the Caitlin Clark effect might be the reason ESPN is sending their early afternoon show to Iowa this week, McAfee was covering and championing women’s basketball long before the Hawkeyes captured fans across the country.
