IOWA CITY, IOWA — Few cities in America are feeling March Madness more than Iowa City. The Iowa Hawkeye women will host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament this week as the fifth-overall seed in the tournament. At the same time, the Hawkeye men are heading to Alabama where they hope to break a two-decade Sweet 16-less streak.

On campus this week, it is very quiet due to spring break. But for Hawkeye fans, the Hawk Shop is open. The shop has been selling Big10 Champion Iowa Hawkeye Women t-shirts, and on Tuesday the pile was getting smaller. A trickle of fans, and prospective students came in for Black and Gold apparel. At the start of the tournament, fans are optimistic.

“Anything can happen in the tournament so just hoping to get past the first round and then go on from there,” said Eric Davenport, of Iowa City.

 “It’s exciting, Caitlyn Clark is a greatest thing to watch, she’s a little firecracker,” said Marianne Davenport, of Iowa City. “She’s a great little role model for younger girls, and it’s getting old people excited to watch too, so it’s fun.”

For the community of Coralville, and Iowa City the spring break influx of fans is good for local hotels.

“With students gone it’s really quieter on campus,” said Nick Pfeiffer, of the local convention and visitors bureau called Think Iowa City. “Having full crowd on Friday, hopefully again on Sunday, assuming they win, It really opens up some opportunities for restaurants and shopping people to really enjoy the area.”