The state of Iowa and a national audience saw a great battle on the football field between two Iowa college rivals.  Iowa won the game 18-17 in a game that saw two weather delays.

Unfortunately, tempers and fandom may get the best of certain fans and create a not so "Iowa nice" environment.  The University of Iowa Hawkeye Marching Band claimed that inappropriate actions took place against them by Iowa State Cyclone fans.  Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta issued a statement on Monday.

On Tuesday, Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard, during a press conference, referred to Barta's statement as "pretty vague".  Pollard added that Iowa's band traveled with one University of Iowa police officer and three Polk County deputies and that none of those officers reported anything or had anything shared to them about the alleged "inappropriate" incidents.

Today, the two schools issued a joint statement on the matter.

On Saturday, most fans from both schools celebrated the day and the rivalry in a positive manner showcasing all that’s good about the state of Iowa. Administrators and Public Safety officers at both schools are focused on improving the environment around this important game moving forward.
JOINT STATEMENT FROM GARY BARTA AND JAMIE POLLARD REGARDING GAME ENVIRONMENTS

 

“Both the University of Iowa and Iowa State University are committed to providing a safe environment for everyone attending events on their respective campuses. This includes members of the school’s marching bands. Unfortunately, both the Hawkeye and Cyclone marching bands have been the target of unacceptable behavior at football games in Iowa City and Ames in recent years. Some of the conduct directed at the students in our respective marching bands recently has been rude, vulgar, and in some cases, violent.  We should all feel embarrassed when students in the bands don’t feel safe when performing at an away game. Each of our athletics departments is committed to doing whatever is necessary to improve the environment for visiting school marching bands in the future. A significant part of the solution is insisting our fans help address this issue by showing more respect to our visitors. We owe it to these hardworking performers to have a safe stage on which they can showcase their spirit and talent.”

A lot has been speculated as to what happened to the Hawkeye Marching Band.  Maybe we will find out the truth soon.  Until then, let's get along and get back to agreeing that Nebraska sucks.

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