On a crisp September afternoon in 2017, 70,000 football fans in Iowa City did something unheard of. As the first quarter ended, they stopped cheering, turned their backs on the action and lifted their hands high in the air. They waved, not to the players or the scoreboard, but to a group of children watching from across the street. Those children were patients at the University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital, and in that moment, the stadium’s roar was replaced by a silent message of love that could be seen from twelve stories up. What began as a simple idea from a single fan would become one of the most extraordinary traditions in all of sport.
The View from the Hospital Windows
The Stead Family Children’s Hospital opened in early 2017, its gleaming windows rising high enough to offer a clear view into Kinnick Stadium. From the twelfth floor, children receiving treatment could see the field below, the players in black and gold, and the sea of fans. For many, that view was a rare escape from the routines of hospital life.
One spring day, Hawkeye supporter Krista Young saw a photo of a child gazing at the stadium from one of those windows. That image sparked an idea. What if everyone inside the stadium acknowledged the kids watching from across the street? She shared her thought on a Facebook group for Iowa fans, never imagining it would ripple across the state. By the start of the 2017 football season, her idea had caught fire among supporters and the university’s athletic department.
The First Wave
On September 2, 2017, the Iowa Hawkeyes hosted Wyoming for their season opener. When the first quarter ended, the public address announcer asked the crowd to turn toward the hospital. Thousands of fans stood, lifted their arms and waved. Players from both teams joined in, as did the coaches and referees. In the hospital, children waved back, some holding signs with messages for the team.
Observers said it was impossible to miss the smiles, both in the stadium and from the hospital windows. Even those seated in the highest rows of Kinnick Stadium felt a closeness to the children. The moment was powerful enough that television commentators predicted it would become a tradition. They were right.
From a Simple Gesture to National Fame
The gesture soon became known as The Hawkeye Wave. Every home game since that September day has featured the same ritual at the end of the first quarter. In the early years, the song “Wave on Wave” by Pat Green played during the moment. Starting in 2022, the soundtrack changed each game, with a “Kid Captain” from the hospital choosing the song. The Kid Captain program honours young patients, giving them a commemorative jersey, special recognition from the team and a behind-the-scenes experience.
The tradition has not gone unnoticed. In December 2017, ESPN presented The Hawkeye Wave with the Disney Spirit Award for its display of humanity in sport. In 2024, a national readers’ poll named it the best college sports tradition. The University of Iowa cemented its place in history that year by renaming an on-campus street Hawkeye Wave Way.
More Than a Game
For the children watching from the hospital, the wave is more than a brief distraction from treatment. It is a reminder that thousands of people see them, think of them and care. For fans and players, it is a pause in the intensity of the game to share in a moment of unity and empathy. The action takes less than a minute, but the effect lingers far longer.
Krista Young has often said she never expected the idea to grow so large. She simply wanted to see someone wave to the children. Today, her simple suggestion has created a lasting bond between a football stadium and a hospital. It has shown that sport can connect people in ways that reach far beyond the field.
The Lasting Impact
The Hawkeye Wave proves that extraordinary moments can be born from ordinary acts. It reminds people that kindness can travel across a street, rise twelve stories high and brighten the lives of those who need it most. Every time the scoreboard clock ticks to zero at the end of the first quarter, and thousands of hands rise together, Iowa City shows the world that some of the greatest victories happen off the scoreboard.
