Hawkeye Wave voted best college sports tradition

Iowa City, Iowa – USA Today revealed on Tuesday that the Hawkeye Wave has won the 2024 Readers’ Choice for Best College Sports Tradition.

At Kinnick Stadium, the Hawkeye Wave tradition was inaugurated in 2017.

At the conclusion of the first quarter, spectators, players, and coaches from both college football teams pause to wave to young children and their families inside the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, which has a view of the stadium.

Additionally, the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital and the University of Iowa work together on the Kid Captain program, which was launched in 2009 with the goal of honoring and sharing the narratives of pediatric patients.

In addition to receiving a commemorative jersey and an opportunity to meet the Hawkeyes football team behind the scenes, each Kid Captain also gets to select the music that will be played at the stadium during the Hawkeye Wave.

The University of Iowa chose to let the Kid Captains make the final decision about what song should be played during the wave instead of asking fans to vote on it initially.

This year, the Army-Navy Game, Purdue’s Big Bass Drum, Wisconsin’s Jump Around, Texas A&M’s The 12th Man, Virginia Tech’s Enter Sandman, and Script Ohio are among the other collegiate sports customs that were recognized with honors.