A few tough public moments for Iowa athletics

IOWA CITY - No high-profile business is immune from public blunders, and Iowa athletics has had its share during Athletics Director Gary Barta's tenure.

Before the 2010 football home opener, the campus instituted a 'Think Before You Drink” campaign to curb excessive alcohol consumption during tailgating. Tightened procedures led to 146 alcohol-related citations and arrests that day. While the university loosened some restrictions, the backlash has kept many fans from returning.

'I don't regret launching the campaign, but what I do believe happened is it came on too strong the first year,” Barta said, 'and there's the perception from some is it's still that way.

'The thing that has remained effective - and we won't change - is walking the streets with an open container. I think that was something that had really strayed. And setting up postgame safety checks because I do think that's a deterrent. Whoever is driving shouldn't be drunk.”

In 2007, Iowa athletics received about $61,000 in advertising from the Iowa Lottery. A television commercial featured images of Carver-Hawkeye Arena and a reworded version of the 'Iowa Fight Song.” Estate attorneys for composer Meredith Willson - who wrote the 'Iowa Fight Song” and whose estate still holds the song's copyright - threatened legal action against the Iowa Lottery for intellectual property infringement. The lottery discontinued the ads and claimed responsibility remained with the athletics department. Barta later apologized for the issue, saying the commercial 'crossed a couple of lines ... I'm sorry.”

Last July, Iowa officials offered a promotion to give free tuition to selected Iowa students who buy season tickets. It was suspended a day later to verify its legality by Johnson County and state officials. The promotion later was amended to allow all students to enter the tuition giveaway, not just those who bought tickets.

A grass roots effort to honor Roy Marble came to fruition this March. Marble, the school's all-time leading scorer in basketball, was stricken with stage four cancer in summer of 2014. Instead of retiring his jersey or his number, Iowa chose a two-minute halftime ceremony without an accompanying video montage or letting Marble speak. Many fans voiced their displeasure vocally and on social media platforms.

In partnership with Iowa State and Iowa Corn, a new Cy-Hawk trophy was conceived in 2011. The top of the trophy featured a stereotypical farm family, and it immediately was panned by fans. The idea was shelved before their game, and the teams used an interim trophy.

On Nov. 2, 2013, Iowa issued red, white and blue poms to honor veterans during the Hawkeyes' football game against Wisconsin. The school also held its annual 'Blackout” game that day. The blue poms and black-colored clothing washed out, and the television audience saw mostly red and white poms.

'We can always do better,” Barta said. 'That red pom-pom concept, great intention. Red, white and blue, we're going to celebrate America and the red overwhelmed and it backfired. I was fully aware of what we were trying to do. It didn't work. I take full responsibility, and we'll try other things.

'What gets lost in it is how many great things have happened. When we've had the card stunts, when we've had the black-and-gold striping and some of the incredible environments, the same group of people that thought that the red, white and blue at the Wisconsin game was going to work have been responsible for putting together all the other great things. The flyovers. So every once in a while we're going to hit one that doesn't hit. It doesn't work out. So we regroup and try something else.”

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