Iowa Hawkeye Wave Officially Named Best College Sports Tradition

I literally have tears in my eyes as I begin writing this.

As I've become a parent, you realize just what your children mean to you. You realize just how strong you become and how strong kids truly are. What's hard as a parent is imagining the worst of the worst happening. Counting your blessings becomes easier especially when you realize just how bad it could be when it comes to your kids.

But again, kids are tough. Kids are even more tough when they have people to fight along with them and support them. Not just their friends and family, but a stadium of 70,000 people and countless more waving at their televisions from home.

Dubbed "the greatest tradition in college football" by several sports and news outlets across the country, the Hawkeye Wave has become a staple at every Iowa Hawkeye Football home game at Kinnick Stadium.

Now, the Iowa Hawkeye Wave has officially been given that name.

Hawkeye Wave Officially Named The Best College Sports Tradition

At a Big Brothers, Big Sisters' Big for a Day event, the leader of that event, Alexander Richie with the Mississippi Valley group, said something that really resonated with me. He said, "No kid has ever met a stranger." What he meant by that was that kids never treat anyone like a stranger. They share who they are, how many siblings they have, where they are from, etc.

After the first quarter of every home game at Kinnick Stadium, the kids at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital meet some new friends. They don't get to talk to them, shake their hand, or get to know their name, but the 70,000 Iowa faithful that turn to them and wave all become their new friends and biggest supporters in their fight.

It's the tradition that makes many of us overcome with emotion. Whether you're at home or at Kinnick Stadium, and whoever you're cheering for that day, if you're watching Iowa play at home, you start waving to those kids just like everyone else does.

The tradition that began in 2017 and has quickly become one of the most beloved college sports traditions across the nation, has won the honor to call itself just that. That's right, the Iowa Wave was officially announced by USA Today as the 2024 Reader's Choice Best College Sports Tradition recipient.

The University of Iowa, along with the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital have collaborated on initiatives supporting young patients long before the distinguished Wave.

In 2009, the Kid Captain program was introduced to honor these patients and share their inspirational stories. Each home Iowa football game features a Kid Captain, who receives a commemorative jersey, special recognition from both the hospital and the football team, and opportunities for behind-the-scenes experiences. Along with that, each Kid Captain chooses what song is played in Kinnick Stadium during the Hawkeye Wave.

There were several honorable mentions, including the Army-Navy Game, Purdue's Big Bass Drum, Wisconsin’s Jump Around, Texas A&Ms The 12th Man, Virginia Tech’s Enter Sandman, and Script Ohio.