Yep. In fact, Ted Turner (god rest his soul) said that the reason he made Braves games available on TBS for basically free was to create millions of futures Braves fans all around the world. And it worked (Sadly ).
To me, UH should be focused on filling the stadium and creating brand awareness. The best way to do this is to make the games as affordable as possible.
There should be game package where you get four tickets with a meal for $100. Imagine a family of four in this economy being able to watch big time CFB with a good meal for $100? I would do that in a heartbeat.
Also, they should do what pro teams do and give away t-shirts, bobbleheads, hats, etc. to the first 20K fans (other than the student section). The Hawks have done this and it has been a great marketing move.
UH is too busy trying to nickel and dime the fans who show up, rather than trying to build the UH brand so that we are more valuable. It is a huge mistake.
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Bultokid
("I've Done More With Less, My Whole Life")
83
Attendance Guy is going to have to find a new hill to climb up on
Very astute eye. There is SOME of that going on. It really only works in one direction tho. The reality on the ground gets a little in the weeds. I’ll break it down just for fun, because I’m waiting on the weather to clear up so im just being paid to sit here lol.
CULTURAL DIVIDE (less important, but still definitely a factor)
To your 1st point…Basically, if you have a DIRECT close close tie to agriculture, you’re more inclined to be an ISU fan than you would be otherwise… but this is hardly substantial enough to move the needle. Modern Ag employs fewer people than ever. However, statewide even most farmers and farm-adjacent professionals are still hok fans. I’ll explain why later.
The more common and meaningful cultural thing you’ll see is there’s many white-collar Iowans, (usually college educated) who really try to distance themselves from the farm-state/flyover state stereotype, and this is SUPER common amongst “metro” Iowans (particularly outside DSM metro, but you’ll get some of that there too. Although it’s recently changing in ISU’s favor due to competitiveness, exposure, geography, and investment by ISU) You may have seen some of this in the anecdotal family example you shared. If so, don’t worry i wont be offended. My entire extended family are hoks and I definitely get this all the time. The biggest ones are Illinoians who made their nut in and around Chicago. Biggest hok fans I know. iowa has a huge presence there which only reinforces this attitude, both in-state and abroad.
…and ironically the “iowa hokeyes” in friggin iowa city, IA has somehow completely cornered that market lol. Probably because the school itself is a Michigan-wannabe, is a serious medical, law, liberal arts etc school that has no tie to the state’s humble farmer roots whatsoever. It never has, quite the opposite. Many iowa fans legit get upset when national tv productions show images of corn and tractors for B-roll during their games. It’s always all over twitter.
On the flipside, ISU really embraces agriculture, for obvious reasons. But you’ll even see this from some Iowa State grads sometimes to an extent, and then they have to do this weird dance where they remind you they are a computer engineer every 10 seconds or something. That one’s weird, but even that happens.
AT THE SAME TIME iowa has also managed to corner the market on the dreaded low-sports-IQ casual T shirt fan. The State of Iowa is kind of unique because although it’s definitely a rural farming flyover state, we also have a long somewhat unique tradition amongst those types of places that traces back to what I’d call the “literate protestant yeoman farmer”. We’re not Arkansas, basically. So Iowans broadly have always highly valued public education, scholastic proficiency, public health, civil rights, women’s rights, civic participation, childhood development, etc etc.
So this one is kind of our fault, but ISU grads very much have an attitude of, “let the unwashed dregs be iowa fans then, with their walmart t-shirts and such…we don’t need or even want them, anyways!” This is a common insult, we call them tavernhoks.
This is more a defense mechanism, IMO. It’s just baked into the cake, but it definitely limits the size of our fanbase significantly. But it also kind of circles the wagons and rallies us together and makes us more fanatical and defiant in our Cyclone-ness. So it’s a double edged sword.
The REAL Reason
Iowa State Football has only been on TV now regularly for like a little over 15 years at this point. When I started my ISU career in 2008, like 2 games were even televised at all. the iowa and nebraska games. MAYBE one other random Big 12 game if you were lucky. This all changed with the ESPN longhorn network deal, ironically.
On the flipside, iowa started winning in the 80s and has remained on tv the entire time. Every tv set statewide and often nationally, every Saturday, every snap. ISU was bad and asleep at the wheel for most of that time and just kind of let it happen to an extent. When ISU finally started to get its on-field and investment act together, they were WAY behind.
In short, the ghost of Hayden Fry looms large. He won the hearts and minds of iowans state-wide and we live in the shadowy aftermath of that. Full stop. And them being in the big ten and us the Big 12 has only added a layer of challenge to overcoming that. But thanks for letting me do a nuanced deep-dive on it.
Thank GOD for Basketball
First of all, this is great because I’m also a convert. This happens all the time. Once you actually have a reason to sample the good guy’s wares, ISU has a way of pulling you into their orbit.
Some of ISU’s biggest and best fans are converts.
Secondly, the geographic component of this anecdote really illustrates. On a level playing field, Ankeny and Waukee would be firmly ISU world. Ames is right up the road. It’s the same way EVERYWHERE tho. Where I’m from, iowa city is nowhere close. Ames is a short easy little car ride. Still mostly iowa fans tho, every single town, except for Ames itself. And in the eastern part of the state, its always 90%+.
Man ain’t no way I am letting this slide RezClone!!
Yes, The State University of Iowa (UIowa’s official name) is the designated flagship university for the state. It was created to provide a universal education to the people of Iowa, as well as to produce the professional class necessary to ensure the state’s future prosperity. So, while UIowa doesn’t educate people in farm science (although it has a top notch Biotech program, among others), it does educate the children of farmers, as well as the children of doctors, lawyers, cops, firemen, and even postal carriers (like me). Does Iowa view itself as a smaller Michigan? Sure I guess, but that is due more the fact that like UM, UIowa is the state flagship. Also, like UM, and unlike say, Minnesota and even Texas, UIowa is not part of some large scale university system. There is no U-Iowa Bettendorf or Des Moines (perhaps there should be).
The Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State’s official name) is a land grant college (like Michigan State, TAMU, MIT, Purdue, Cal, etc.) that was created to provide practical education for the general population, with the specific goal of creating a large base of technical workers skilled in engineering, agriculture, and mathematics. Iowa State does this quite well. That is the reason Iowa State has the Vet program, and Iowa has the Medical School, Law School, and Dental School, among many others.
You see the same thing here in Georgia: Ga Tech is the technical school that historically housed all of the STEM programs, while UGA focused on things like the liberal arts, law, business, etc. However, UGA didn’t even have an engineering program until 2012, and just opened a medical school in 2024! Hell, Mercer University, a private Baptist school in Macon, had engineering and medical schools way before UGA did.
Now that this is out of the way, I think there are two reasons why Iowa has more fans that ISU: Winning and BIG membership.
Iowa has simply been a far more successful football program than ISU has. Heck, historically, Iowa has a had a better basketball program too (although ISU has definitely caught up recently).
Being in the BIG has also helped because Iowa gets to compete against OSU, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, USC and Illinois while ISU gets to play Okie State and Kansas. Heck, even the bigger attractions in the old Big 8 like OU, Mizzou, and Nebraska are all gone.
With all this said, ISU is a great university and I want it to do well, except when they play UH and Iowa of course
Ya know, when I lived in greater DC (Arlington), I went to Orioles and Nats games.
Actually liked he Nationals’ ballpark more, but I guess that’s just me.
Camden Yards seemed a bit too green.
I saw the Guardians (then known as the Indians) play their first season in what was then called Jacobs Field as a graduation week event for my undergrad college back in 1994.
Your right. I don’t think the athletic dept is doing all they can . Just find a way to get upper decks full by selling cheap tickets/ family packs and we still make money on concessions etc.
Lol i wouldn’t expect you to and was waiting for the ECC response!
It’s not because they benevolently agree it shouldn’t be, tho. If they could do it, they would!
Accurate. Scoring one for the little guy since 1858!
In a nutshell, yeah I’d agree with that.
At the time that actually matters is the major caveat. Mid 80s to realignment. But yes, 100%
To the extent that basketball matters at all in this conversation, which is debatable and the fact that it is debatable favors iowa, of course…I’d take exception to this. To say ISU basketball merely caught up recently is a gross understatement.
Same time frame applies (sorry old timers). Yes, iowa got off to a great start in the 80s, but even then Orr ISU wasn’t far behind. And iowa completely fumbled the follow up. Tho baldy can coach, that building over there (and the attitudes surrounding it) has turned into a monument to indifference and he’s not uprooting that w/ his NW Mo St blueprint any time soon. Bennett Stirtz’s dont grow on trees, and ISU has grown into a nationally respected and arguably even beloved brand in every way with juice for days.
In totality, ISU basketball has surpassed iowa during the relevant timespan in every way. Except for, YES, your stupid elite 8 I have to live with now. Thanks.
But i acknowledge for the purposes of this discussion, not sure that fact matters all that much.
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