On July 18, 2025, Sandy and your humble author (see pic below) had a wonderful opportunity to take in one of the Iowa PBS Kinnick Stadium Insiders’ Tours. Having a long history with Kinnick Stadium – my first Hawkeye game (at the then-called Iowa Stadium) was in 1956, when I was but five-years-old – this was a a unique chance to see, up close, some of the inner workings of this iconic structure in Iowa City.
Our tour starts with a delicious lunch held in the decorative mezzanine of the new North End Zone addition, which opened to the public in 2019…
Below left: the North End Zone in 1939 and 1956, Below right: the North End Zone in 2019.
As you can see from the pics below, there really are no bad seats in the North End Zone, unless, of course, the Hawkeyes are looking to score from the 5-yard-line near the south end zone!
Next up, we take the elevator to the top floor of the Paul W. Brechler Press Box, which opened in 2006. When Iowa Stadium first opened in 1929 (see below left), there were two small enclosed press areas perched atop the 79th row of both the east and west stands. In 1958, a new five-story press box (see below right) was built atop the west stands, and it stood proudly in place until its demolition in December 2005.
1928-1929: From Iowa Field To Iowa Stadium. Our good friends at The Johnson County Historical Society posted a beautiful montage of iconic photographs featuring the first SUI football stadium – Iowa Field (1895-1928) and the creation of Iowa Stadium (1928-1929). Here are twenty of those JCHS pics – ranging from 1923 to 1929. Enjoy the journey! On Iowa! Go Hawks!
The view of Kinnick Stadium from the fourth floor of the Brechler Press Box is breath-taking, indeed…
The top floor of the Brechler Press Box is the home of the President’s Suite (above), Iowa Sports Network Broadcasting (below left), and the Big Ten Conference Media Suite (below right)…
Read more about: The Big Three Radio Voices Of The Iowa Hawkeyes. In the days before multiple television networks, the only way to keep up with the Hawkeyes was to either 1) be at the game in Iowa City or 2) listen to the game on radio. From the late-1940’s well into the 1990’s, there were three major sportscasters who became the Voice of the Hawkeyes. Come hear the stories of Jim Zabel, Bob Brooks, and Ron Gonder – three giant names in Iowa Hawkeye radio.
As we head off to the elevators, a look out the windows on the west side of the Press Box offers a spectacular view of the Iowa Football Complex and UI Recreation Center…
Next up, a walk beneath the West Stands (below left) brings us to the South End Zone addition – which was completely re-designed and re-built in 2005. This massive project included new locker rooms, a training room, and media facilities for the Hawkeye football team on game days…
The South End Zone of Kinnick Stadium has changed drastically over the decades (see 1940 & 1980 below left). When I attended my first Hawkeye football games in the 1950’s and early 1960’s, the large grassy areas surrounding the south bleachers became the comfy place where kids with “knothole” $1 tickets could enjoy the game.
Since the renovations of 2005, the south entrance – which in the 1970’s hosted the UI Tennis Courts – has become the “main entrance” to Kinnick Stadium, with the impressive statue of Nile Kinnick welcoming Hawkeye fans to each Game Day.
Now, the PBS Insiders’ Tour takes us into the lower levels of the South End Zone addition, opening up for us the Hawkeye Football Locker Room and Training Room.
One large lower-level room (below left) celebrates past players who have excelled in the football program, while also featuring plaques for every Hawkeye who has gone on to the NFL during the Kirk Ferentz era…
Above right: Kinnick Stadium scoreboard graphics just couldn’t run without help from the Tech Room located in the bowels of the South End Zone addition.
Of course, a trip to the South End Zone wouldn’t be complete without seeing the ‘infamous” Pink Locker Room that’s reserved for all visiting teams…
Finally, it’s “game-time”, so, from the locker rooms, we hit The Hawkeye Tunnel that leads directly to the Kinnick Stadium playing field. Time for “Back in Black” and The Hawkeye Swarm…
Finally, we reach the entryway, and out we go onto the hallowed ground of Kinnick Stadium…
Duke Slater – Iowa’s All-American Trailblazer. In 1921, Iowa had an All-American football player from Clinton that single-handedly took the Hawkeyes to a mythical national championship. A man cut from the same fabric as Nile Kinnick, Duke Slater has largely been forgotten over the last century, primarily because of his skin color. But no more. Beginning in 2021, the Hawkeyes began playing on Duke Slater Field in Kinnick Stadium. Come read this amazing man’s story.
All in all, July 18, 2025 was one amazing day. Here’s a BIG THANKS to Iowa PBS for a wonderful experience at Kinnick…
Kinnick Stadium (Iowa Stadium) opened in 1929 and is unique, in that it is the only college football stadium named for a Heisman Trophy winner. If you want to read more about Nile Kinnick and the 1939 Iron Men – click here.
As renovations occurred (2006 and 2019), two amazing bronze art pieces were created and displayed at Kinnick Stadium. Below left: just inside the South End Zone – Nile Kinnick is featured as he scored the winning touchdown against Notre Dame in 1939. Below right: In 2019, as the north end of Kinnick Stadium was being remodeled, an amazing sculpture by Brett Grill was created using Fred W. Kent’s photograph of Duke Slater from the 1921 Iowa/Notre Dame game.
Kudos to the amazing resources below for the many quotes, photographs, etc. used on this page.
Kinnick Stadium, The Home of the Iowa Hawkeyes, Hawkeyesports.com
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