Iowa’s Clark first two-time winner of AAU Sullivan Award
Add another award to the collection Caitlin Clark built at Iowa — and another first.
The former Iowa women's basketball star, who went No. 1 overall to the Indiana Fever in the WNBA draft, took home the 94th AAU James E. Sullivan Award in New York on Tuesday.
She is the first two-time winner of the award, which has been handed out every year since 1930 to the nation's best athlete at the Olympic, collegiate or similarly elite level. Clark also took home the honor in 2023. Former Iowa wrestler Spencer Lee is the only other Hawkeye to win the award (2019).
The Sullivan Award recognizes leadership, citizenship, character and sportsmanship on and off the field.
Wrestler David Taylor, speed skater Emery Lehman, gymnast Frederick Richard, Texas volleyball player Madisen Skinner and para swimmer Noah Jaffe were the other finalists for the award.
Voting on the award opened to the public on Tuesday, March 12, and closed at 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 19, ahead of Iowa's run to the national championship, led by Clark. Past winners include Bobby Jones (1930), Bill Walton (1973), Carl Lewis (1981), Janet Evans (1989), Peyton Manning (1997), Tim Tebow (2007) and Missy Franklin (2012) among others.
Clark was selected as the recipient of the 2024 Wooden Award on April 10. The award is presented annually to the most outstanding women's basketball player who achieves tremendous oncourt success. Clark has also been honored by The Sporting News, the Associated Press, Women's Basketball Coaches Association (Wade Trophy), United States Basketball Writers Association (Ann Meyers Drysdale Award) and Naismith Trophy, among others.
Clark is the all-time leader in scoring in NCAA basketball history, men's or women's, finishing with 3,951 career points. She led Iowa to the NCAA title game for a second consecutive season in 2024, marking just the third Final Four trip for the program in school history.
Clark also reportedly signed an eightyear, $28 million contract with Nike, marking the highest-paid sponsored contract for a women's basketball player.