Caitlin Clark effect in WNBA has Tolly Carr drawing parallels with Colorado HC: "This reminds me so much of Deion Sanders arriving at Jackson State"

Caitlin Clark has been, for much the the year, one of if not the most talked about person in sports. The former Iowa Hawkeye has transformed women's basketball and is currently bringing in large numbers to the WNBA, a league that had struggled to stay relevant.

This level of both success and notoriety has led Clark to be compared to other sports stars who have done similar things in their sports.

On Friday's edition of Thee Pregame Show, host Tolly Carr compared Clark to another famous athlete who has been able to transform the college football world.

"This reminds me so much of Deion Sanders arriving at Jackson State.” (13:10)

Deion Sanders' arrival at Jackson State was a massive turning point for both the program and historically black universities as a whole. Before Sanders, the Jackson State program was struggling.

The team had not had a winning season since 2013, and their following three coaches had a combined losing record. But Sanders turned everything around, leading them to two consecutive SWAC championships and putting the program in the national spotlight.

Deion Sanders is now with the Colorado Buffaloes and is again putting the program in the national spotlight, albeit with less success than he had with the Jackson State Tigers.

How is Caitlin Clark similar to Deion Sanders?

What Caitlin Clark has done for women's college basketball can easily be compared to what Deion Sanders did for Jackson State.

Like Sanders, when Clark arrived at the Iowa Hawkeyes, women's basketball was widely ignored and struggled in comparison with its male version in terms of popularity.

But through her on-court performances, Clark gained a following and brought media attention to the Hawkeyes. This attention went supersonic after their 2023 national championship defeat to the LSU Tigers, which included a now-historic moment between Clark and Angel Reese, another player who has helped with the transformation of women's basketball.

During the most recent season, all of the attention was on Clark, in a similar way to Deion Sanders having a lot of media attention in college football. This was for a very good reason, as Clark became the all-time NCAA record point scorer, further cementing her legacy and popularity.

Caitlin Clark was able to turn women's basketball into a game that is far more similar to the men's game. She is now trying to do the same with the WNBA, and with only around 15 games played, she has already brought many new fans to the league.