Tigerhawk logo coming to Kinnick Stadium field

IOWA CITY — For the first time since 1980, Iowa's Kinnick Stadium will have a logo at midfield.

The school unveiled Monday that Iowa's Tigerhawk logo, which former football coach Hayden Fry brought to Iowa in 1979, will be featured at midfield when the Hawkeyes open the season Sept. 2 against Wyoming. New FieldTurf will be put in place in the coming weeks.

The Tigerhawk logo will be black with gold trim, and will face north to south between the 45-yard lines, so that television cameras will show the logo facing left to right. The Kinnick Stadium playing surface is being replaced this summer as part of the first phase of the Kinnick Edge project, which will see the entire north end zone stands eventually replaced.

'The passion for the Tigerhawk is amazing,' Iowa athletics director Gary Barta said in a statement. 'Wherever you go in the state, across the country, or throughout the world, when you wear the logo on your shirt, a friendly 'Go Hawks' shout is inevitable. The current Kinnick Stadium renovation provided an opportunity to add the Tigerhawk to the field. It will provide another great touch to an already iconic stadium.'

The stadium playing surface has not had a UI logo since a block 'I' on the center of the field from 1972 through 1980. Artificial turf was first installed before the 1972 season and the block 'I'appeared at midfield until a new surface was installed before the 1981 season without a midfield logo.

With the Tigerhawk at midfield, the north end zone will now feature the familiar 'Iowa' without the Tigerhawk. The south end zone will continue to display 'Hawkeyes' and won't change. The end zone surface will remain black, with the lettering in each end zone in gold featuring the Hawkeye font of Iowa athletics. Also in the Hawkeye font will be the yard line numbers on the east and west side of the field.

Fans who would like to get a glimpse of the Kinnick Stadium turf removal and installation can watch the live webcam on hawkeyesports.com/swarm17. The webcam is live and will be active throughout the process.

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