A special limited-edition bobblehead commemorating the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball teams’ historic 2022-23 season was unveiled this morning.
The bobbleheads, created by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee, are priced at $40 each, plus $8 for shipping per order, and are individually numbered to 2,023.
The Hawkeyes’ record-breaking season included a program-high 31 wins and the team’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament national championship game.
The bobblehead features Iowa’s mascot, Herky the Hawk, holding up a copy of the sports section of a newspaper titled “Iowa News.” The front page proclaims, “HAWKEYES MAKE IOWA PROUD!”. Herky is standing on a stack of newspapers with the headline “IOWA WOMEN’S HISTORIC 31-WIN 2022-23 SEASON IS ONE FOR THE AGES WITH FANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY CHEERING FOR THE HIGH-FLYING HAWKEYES!”
Each bobblehead is individually numbered to 2,023 and available only through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s online store. The bobbleheads are expected to ship in July.
Under 23rd-year coach Lisa Bluder, Iowa finished as the runner-up in the Big Ten Conference with a 15-3 record, finishing just behind Indiana. Following the regular season, the Hawkeyes won the Big Ten Conference Tournament title for the second consecutive season. Iowa earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 with victories over 15th-seeded Southeastern Louisiana, 95-43, and 10th-seeded Georgia, 74-66, in the first two rounds. They then beat sixth-seeded Colorado, 87-77, and fifth-seeded Louisville, 97-83, to advance to their first Final Four since 1993.
In the national semifinals, Iowa knocked off defending champion, previously undefeated and top-seeded South Carolina, 77-73, before a sellout crowd of 19,288 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, in one of the most anticipated matchups in women’s Final Four history. All-American junior point guard Caitlin Clark scored 41 points to set the record for the highest-scoring NCAA Tournament semifinal as the Hawkeyes snapped South Carolina’s 42-game winning streak and advanced to their first-ever national championship.
Facing another SEC team in the final, Iowa’s magical run fell short in a 102-85 loss to third-seeded LSU to finish 31-7 overall. The 31 victories were the most in school history for the Hawkeyes, and the national championship game was the first for the women’s basketball program.
“The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team’s remarkable 2022-23 season is well-deserving of a bobblehead to commemorate all of the accomplishments,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said in a release. “We think this bobblehead will be one that Hawkeyes alumni, students, faculty, staff, and fans will really enjoy.”
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, located at 170 S. First St. in Milwaukee, opened to the public in February 2019. The HOF and museum also produces customized bobbleheads for retail sale as well as for organizations, individuals, and teams across the country.
