Crossover at Kinnick: Iowa Women’s Basketball Hosts Exhibition Game in Kinnick Stadium
The 6th Annual Awards
- Best Women’s Sports Partnership
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
- Building on the tremendous growth and momentum currently happening in women’s sports, the Iowa Hawkeyes Women’s Basketball team set out to execute a first-of-its-kind event, hosting a women’s college basketball game in a football stadium.
- More than 55,000 fans attended the outdoor event, more than doubling the previous single-game NCAA record for women’s college basketball game—'29,619 fans attended the 2002 NCAA Women’s National Championship between UConn and Oklahoma—and becoming the most attended women’s basketball game ever.
- Not only did the event generate an economic impact in Iowa City of $8.4 Million, but proceeds generated from Crossover at Kinnick were donated to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital which has strong connection to Iowa Athletics—inspiring the Hawkeye Wave (the best tradition in college sports).
How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?
The October 15 affair combined all the pomp and circumstance fans enjoy on football Saturdays and home basketball games in-side Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The band, cheerleaders and fans welcomed the team as they arrived on the south side of the stadium and crossed Krause Family Plaza for the “Hawk Walk”—a tradition typically reserved for home football games.
The team participated in The Swarm, a traditional Kinnick Stadium entrance, which saw the team take the court in all black to the sounds of AC/DC’s “Back in Black.”
Krysty Bujakowska, a 12-year-old Coralville girl battling an aggressive bone cancer being treated at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, served as the honorary Kid Captain for the game.
At the end of the first quarter, fans, players coaches and staff participated in “The Wave.” A moment when everyone turns to wave to the pediatric patients and their families watching the game from University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
Objective
Building on the tremendous growth and momentum currently happening in women’s sports, the Iowa Hawkeyes Women’s Basketball team set out to execute a first-of-its-kind event, hosting a women’s college basketball game in a football stadium.
The Crossover at Kinnick was a monumental tip-off to the Division I Women’s College Basketball season done in a unique way that further exemplified the ever-growing energy and excitement around women’s basketball and women’s sports as a whole.
More than 55,000 fans attended the outdoor event, more than doubling the previous single-game NCAA record for women’s college basketball game – 29,619 fans attended the 2002 NCAA Women’s National Championship between UConn and Oklahoma—and becoming the most attended women’s basketball game ever.
Strategy & Execution
Tickets were sold via Iowa’s official digital ticket and marketing platform provider Paciolan. Multiple ticket options were available, however, given that this event was in benefit of the Iowa University Stead Family Children’s Hospital, ticket prices were kept intentionally low. Demand for the event was high with 36,000 tickets selling in the first three days.
Sponsorships for Crossover at Kinnick were managed by athletics multi-media rights holder Learfield’s Hawkeye Sports Properties. Many longtime sponsors had a presence inside Kinnick Stadium including DeWalt, Mediacom, Kum & Go, Hy-Vee, Nissan, Old Dominion, US Cellular and Coke.
Presenting sponsor State Farm has a substantial foothold in the collegiate basketball space. As part of the sponsorship, State Farm was also the presenting sponsor for a dynamic three-part series documenting the lead-up and execution of the event. Crossover at Kinnick Presented by State Farm highlighted the team’s meteoric rise to the top of the women’s basketball landscape, gave a glimpse into how they plan to continue building on last year’s success, as well as documented the community’s buy-in to the program and the positive effect these student-athletes have on the Hawkeye family. The series resulted in more than 3 million impressions, 1.4 million views & 80,000 engagements.
Organizations
- University of Iowa Athletics
- State Farm
Links
Featured
- Molly Davis
- Taylor McCabe
- Sydney Affolter
- Kylie Feuerbach
- Kennise Johnson
- Kate Martin
- Caitlin Clark
- Jada Gyamfi
- Gabbie Marshall
- AJ Ediger
- Ava Jones
- Sharon Goodman
- Addison O'Grady
- Hannah Stuelke
Credits
Matt Henderson
Deputy Director of Athletics for External Relations
University of Iowa
Kelsey Laverdiere
Associate Athletics Director, Marketing & Multimedia
University of Iowa
Gabe Aguirre
Vice President & General Manager
Iowa Sports Properties
Kyle Seay
Producer
Learfield Studios
David Brand
Executive Producer
Learfield Studios
Grant Jones
Executive Producer
Learfield Studios
John Perry
Executive Producer
Learfield Studios
Brian Ducoffe
Executive Producer
Uncommon Heights
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 6th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 6, 2024 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
