This is your chance to participate in Iowa's Hawkeye Wave
(aka The Iowa Wave)
College football is defined at least in some part by its traditions, the beloved acts of ritual at various schools that add to the charm and pageantry of the sport. Many of those acts of lore date back decades. They’ve had time to become embraced by fan bases and the broader sport as beloved customs.
But one of college football’s youngest traditions is already one of its best, and most endearing: In short time, Iowa's Hawkeye Wave has become an indelible facet of the gameday experience at Kinnick Stadium since it first took place in September 2017. And it has quickly established itself as perhaps the most heartwarming tradition not only in the Big Ten, but all of college football.
What is the Hawkeye Wave?
At the end of the first quarter of every Iowa home game, 70,000+ football fans turn their attention from the field to UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital. In unison, they wave to the pediatric patients and their families watching the game. The patients and family members view this genuine act of kindness as life-changing, inspiring…a wave of hope.
Patients and their families can watch the game from the hospital’s floor-to-ceiling windows, including from the hospital’s top floor, appropriately dubbed the “Press Box” because of the view inside the stadium that it offers. A number of the families hold signs in support of the Hawkeyes.
Iowa's Kid Captain
Iowa’s Kid Captain program began in 2009 to honor Stead Family Children’s Hospital patients. For each home game, a selected Kid Captain gets a commemorative jersey, special recognition from the hospital and the Iowa football team.
Since 2022, for every home game, that week’s Kid Captain will be asked to help select a new song to accompany the Hawkeye Wave.
“We felt after five years it was time for the fans to choose the song for the Hawkeye Wave, and the fans suggested we extend that honor to the children. The children are the true heroes, so the choice is theirs. That is something we can all agree on, and I cannot thank our fans enough for their input, engagement, and generosity.”
Peter Matthes, vice president for external relations and senior advisor to the president
How did the Hawkeye Wave start?
The wave has an organic and uniquely 21st-century origin story.
In early 2017, the hospital opened its new, nearly $300 million facility just to the west of the building it replaced. That move placed it directly across Hawkins Drive from Kinnick Stadium. With the hospital’s 12-story design, it was tall enough to provide a view inside the Hawkeyes’ 94-year-old home venue.
That May, Krista Young posted on Hawkeye Heaven, a Facebook group page for Iowa fans, with a suggestion: After seeing a photo of a child looking out of one of the hospital’s windows at the stadium, Young thought of a way that a connection could be forged between the thousands gathered inside the stadium and the children bravely battling illnesses across the street.
University officials have said they discussed doing something similar to the wave as the hospital construction was nearing completion, but whatever plans they had were accelerated by Young’s idea.
“I think with the new U of I hospital addition open, Kinnick should hold a “wave to the kids” minute during every game,” Young wrote. “Can you imagine how neat it would be to have all of those fans, players, & coaching staff looking up at you sending a little extra inspiration?”
The post went viral, with many commending her for the idea and urging others to follow through on it once the season began. At the Hawkeyes’ season-opener against Wyoming, the moment for the wave arrived when the first quarter ended.
“People get lost in the game,” Young said in an interview. “I really didn’t have any expectations. I didn’t really think it would be that big of a thing. I just wanted to see somebody doing it.”
She saw more than that.
When the quarter ended and the action on the field drew to a halt, thousands of black-and-yellow-clad fans turned toward the hospital and waved.
Requirements for logging this virtual cache:
This is your chance to Wave to the Brave. Have someone take your picture while you are standing at the posted coordinates and waving at the Children's Hospital and post it with your found it log. The photo will need to include you waving with Children's Hospital in the back ground.
For ease of proof for the CO, please post a photo for each individual log even if you are with a group. Failure to meet these requirements will result in your log being deleted.
Feel free to wear your Hawkeye apparel or your favorite teams apparel. The kids won't care what you wear. It's the gesture that you care that matters. Feel free to spend some time around Kinnick Stadium and post other photos with your log.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.
