Does Iowa Have Any Popular Sports Teams?
In Iowa, sports fans are eager for college sports teams, as they dominate the whole sports action in this state. It is true that for many years, Iowa did not have any major sports teams, but that is about to change.
For years, eyes were put on the two most prominent schools in the state: the Iowa State Cyclones and the University of Iowa Hawkeyes.
So get ready to wear red and gold to cheer for the Cyclones and black and gold whenever you decide to go to the stadium and cheer for the Hawkeyes. Here are some of the best Iowan sports teams, according to the list of Iowa’s best sports teams by ClutchBet.
Iowa State Cyclones
The Iowa State Cyclones are the college team that represents Iowa State University, located in Ames.
Iowa State University has 12 different sports, 6 for men and 10 for women: basketball, cross country, football, golf, gymnastics, soccer, track and field, wrestling, softball, swimming and diving, volleyball, and tennis.
A little bit of history
The name of the “Cyclones” goes back to 1895 when the state of Iowa lived a season of devastating cyclones, not frequent in the region. Back then, they were called tornadoes. Months later, the Iowa football team faced as a visitor the Northwestern University team, and Iowa was victorious by a score of 45-0.
This was an opportunity for the Chicago Tribune, a daily newspaper in Chicago, to publish an article titled “Struck by a Cyclone: It Comes from Iowa and Devastates Evanston Town.” And this is how the nickname stuck.
On the other hand, Cy, the mascot, came many years later. In 1954, a group of students decided the Cyclones needed to build more school spirit. And Cy, a cardinal-like bird with red and golden colors, was born after a long brainstorming session to pursue the creation of a new catchy mascot.
The basketball team
The basketball team at Iowa State University is for both men and women. They both play at the Hilton Coliseum, which is located on the university campus.
The men’s basketball team competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I athletics. Since March, 2021, the head coach is T. J. Otzelberger. His first victory was on March 2022 when the Cyclone played against Texas Tech, one of the Cyclones’ biggest opponents, and won with a score of 20-12.
The football team
The Iowa State Cyclones football team is also another team representing Iowa State University. The Cyclone football team was made an official sport in 1984, even though the team has existed since 1892.
The Cyclone team plays NCAA Division I FBS football in the Big 12 Conference and is also a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member of the NCAA. Unlike the basketball team, the football team is only masculine.
The games are played in the Jack Trice Stadium, located in Ames. The stadium received its name in honor of Jack Trice, a football player who died of a fatal injury while playing in a game against Minnesota in 1923. Fifty years later, the stadium was named after him to honor that he was Iowa State’s first African American athlete and also the first athlete to die during a Cyclone competition. Until that day, the stadium was known as the Cyclone Stadium.
In 2015, the stadium suffered several renovations, which included the creation of the Sukup End Zone, adding 3,000 seats. Today, the Jack Trice Stadium has a capacity of 61,500 people.
Currently, the head coach of the team is Matt Campbell. He has been the coach since 2016. When last season ended, the Cyclones finished ranked #9 in both the AP and Coaches Poll; their highest final ranking ever.
Iowa Hawkeyes
Located in Iowa City, the University of Iowa has the Iowa Hawkeyes to represent them. The Iowa Hawkeyes represent 22 sports teams (8 for men and 14 for women): basketball, cross country, baseball, hockey, football, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, track and field, wrestling, swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball. It has been announced that a 15th sport will be added to women’s sports in 2023.
The current athletic director of the university is Gary Barta.
Both female and male sports play in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and participate as members of the Big Ten Conference.
A little bit of history
The University of Iowa was founded in 1847. The name Hawkeyes dates back to the university’s beginnings. As stated by the university, the name Hawkeye was originally borrowed from a fictional novel character; “The Last of the Mohicans,” written by James Fenimore Cooper.
After the novel was published, people living in the region adopted the nickname “the Hawkeyes.” As the years passed by, the nickname was popularized until it was formally made official.
In 1948, the nickname “Hawkeye” gained more strength with the introduction of a cartoon character named Herky, the Hawk. Since its birth till the day, Herky has been the symbol of the Iowa Hawkeyes; becoming the university sports team mascot with a black head and golden feathers.
The basketball team
Throughout history, the men’s basketball team has reached the NCAA Final Four on three occasions; the most recent was in 1980, while the women’s has done it once, in 1993.
The men’s team have won eight Big Ten regular-season conference championships and three Big Ten tournament.
Since 2010, Fran McCaffery has been the head coach of the basketball team. McCaffery has a career record of 424–308.
The 2020-2021 season ended with the Hawkeyes ranking at 3rd in the Big Ten rank.
The football team
The Hawkeyes football team competes in the West division of the Big Ten Conference and participates in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), and is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Football games are played at the Kinnick Stadium, which has a capacity of 69,250 people.
The current coach is Kirk Ferentz, who has been around since 1999; making him the longest-tenured head coach in NCAA Division I FBS. He has led the team to many Bowl appearances; including two Orange Bowls in 2003 and 2010, respectively, and the 2016 Rose Bowl.
Historically, the Hawkeyes have won 10 conference championships in the Top 25 and 2 Big Ten West divisions in 2015 and 2021.
