Caitlin Clark posted about March Madness after UConn hit one of the greatest game-winners in college basketball history. She did not post even one time about Iowa during its historic run to the Elite Eight.
Hawkeyes fans are starting to turn against their most iconic hooper because of the deafening silence.
Professional athletes are not required to promote their alma maters after they graduate. However, the sequence of events that led to the ouster of Clark’s boyfriend’s father as the college basketball coach at her alma mater makes this awkward.
Connor McCaffery’s dad was fired.
Clark started dating Connor McCaffery in April 2023. They were both seniors on the men’s and women’s basketball teams at the University of Iowa when they met.
McCaffery’s father, Fran, was the head coach of the men’s program. He had been in that role since 2010 as something of an institution at the university.
And then he was fired at the end of last season. Fran McCaffery ended his tenure with a 297-207 record and made seven NCAA Tournament appearances with one Big Ten tournament championship but never made it past the second round of March Madness.
Ben McCollum took over as his successor. The Hawkeyes made it to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987 in his first season as head coach.
Dave Portnoy went so far as to say McCollum did more for Iowa in one year than McCaffery in 15 years. That did not go over well with Connor, who called his father’s critic to express his disappointment.
Connor McCaffery is crashing out so hard for Iowa's Elite 8 run.
— LJ Phillips SZN (@LPhillipsBurner) March 28, 2026
Calling Dave Portnoy to tell him he's disappointed in him? 🤣😭 pic.twitter.com/PDTmrBV1yB
Needless to say, the McCaffrey family is not super thrilled with how things went down over the last 12 months. Their father got replaced, lost to his replacement during the first round, and saw his former team go further than he ever did. It makes his tenure at Iowa look like a failure. That’s tough to swallow.
Caitlin Clark never posted about Iowa.
At no point during the Hawkeyes’ run to the Elite Eight did Caitlin Clark post about her alma mater on X, Instagram, TikTok or Facebook. She at no point reposted the official team account. She did not even say “congratulations.” Nothing.
Iowa fans were confused. Why did the most famous alumnus in school history (right now) refuse to acknowledge its historic season? They assumed Clark would at least post something. Anything, really.
But she didn’t. Does it have to do with her boyfriend?
Perhaps Caitlin Clark was asked by Connor McCaffery not to post about the coach hired to replace his dad. Maybe she came to that decision on her own to avoid any awkwardness.
Regardless of the reason, Clark at no point acknowledged the men’s basketball program. It was kind of weird but it’s not like she was contractually obligated to do so. That doesn’t change the optics.
Clark made the following post after UConn’s epic buzzer-beater against Duke on Sunday:
She did not post about the buzzer-beater that lifted Iowa over top-ranked Florida.
Strange, right? Hawkeyes fans took notice.
If we’re being honest — the theory that Caitlin Clark isn’t allowed to post about Iowa because of her boyfriend actually makes sense. It would be a real shame if the Connor McCaffery theory is true…