|
December 2, 2015 | Volume 13, Issue 21
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA SHATTERS PREVIOUS NCAA ATTENDANCE RECORD WITH "GRAPPLE ON THE GRIDIRON" EVENT
Iowa wrestling fans respond at the opportunity to break NCAA record.
By: Mike Curtin
|
Click the image above to check out the official University of Iowa athletic website!
Dear Faithful Readers,
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! A little R&R (and way too much food) before we head into the final stretch of 2015 is always nice.
This week’s “Selling It…” features a really cool idea done by the Iowa Hawkeyes. They have an extremely well respected wrestling program and found a unique way to pair it with their Football team, who is having a great season. The results were outstanding and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this idea used by Universities across the NCAA.
Enjoy!
Ryan Heidrich
Director of Communications
P.S. - Don’t forget to stay engaged with us on social media! Follow @NatlSportsForum on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook!
PROGRAM TITLE
University of Iowa: "Grapple on the Gridiron"
|
 |
OBJECTIVES
Back in 2008, Tom Brands and the Hawkeyes’ wrestling program set an attendance record of 15,955, “I said to our staff that if that record gets broken, we’re going to Kinnick”. Since that day in 2008 that record had been broken twice with crowds of 15,967 and 15,996 and Brands has had his eyes set on Kinnick Stadium, home of Hawkeyes football team (capacity 70,585) ever since. Having a dual-meet at Kinnick Stadium would allow Brands and Iowa to accomplish their number one goal, breaking the all-time NCAA dual-meet attendance record.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
|
While the idea of wrestling outdoors didn’t originate internally as California and New York programs have done before. The thought of anyone else holding the record seemed wrong to Brands and the Athletic Department given the Hawkeyes have led the nation in wrestling attendance nine straight years, averaging 8,358 per home dual in 2014-15. So when Brands brought up the idea to his staff, everyone was behind it. The wrestling coaches and director of operations fully vetted the idea with all parties within the department and then presented it to the administration.
Once the approval was given, the University of Iowa Athletic Department started to promote it throughout the wrestling community. It was something wrestling fans in the state of Iowa were looking for and have been wanting to happen for a long time. “Once the word was out about the event then it was just seeing how many tickets we could sell”, said Rori Carlo, Assistant Director of Marketing for the University of Iowa. Tickets went on sale in early October ― in the first few hours over 21,000 tickets were sold ― and entering the final days before the first whistle, over 35,000 people were expected to attend the 11 a.m. meet According to Roger Moore of NCAA.com.
|
 |
Click the image above to view the recap of the "Grapple on the Gridiron"!
PARTNERSHIP
The University of Iowa partnered with DuPont Pioneer as the presenting sponsor of the “Grapple on the Gridiron” event. They also had collaboration with the community and campus partners to help with security, parking, and concessions for the event.
RESULTS
The finished product of this event was a huge success for everyone involved as the Hawkeyes defeated top-ranked Oklahoma State 18-16 in a tightly contested dual in front of a record breaking 42,287 fans. While the undefeated Hawkeye football team that played just hours after the meet surely factored into some extra attendance, the previous record was beaten by a total of 26,291 attendees and is sure to stand for quite some time. As a result of this event and two other big wrestling events hosted later in the year, season ticket sales have increased drastically. Season ticket holders also had priority over non-ticket holders for these larger events, which also caused an increase in the amount of season tickets sold.
LOOKING AHEAD
This event increased the awareness of the University of Iowa wrestling program not only within the wrestling community but nationally and internationally as many news outlets wrote stories about it. For the time being, it is unknown if they will do an event like this again, although no one can argue with the success and publicity it has brought to this storied program.
CONTACT
For more information, contact:
Rori Carlo, Assistant Director of Marketing, University of Iowa Athletic Department
|
Recent Features
|
National Basketball Association Unveils New Multi-Year Global Marketing Campaign
NBA gives an ode to the fans in new "This Is Why We Play" initiative.
Read more >
|
Hyundai Motor America Partners With The Texas Rangers For New Addition To Globe Life Park
The Texas Rangers creatively brand the Batter's Eye Club with new ballpark feature.
Read more >
|
Major League Soccer Initiates Creative League-Wide Jersey Program
MLS recognizes its season ticket members by activating a league-wide jersey number.
Read more >
|
|
|
ABOUT THE NATIONAL SPORTS FORUM
The National Sports Forum is the largest annual cross-gathering of the top team sports marketing, sales, promotions, and event entertainment executives from throughout the broad spectrum of teams and leagues in North America. The 2016 NSF Conference and Trade Show will be held on February 14 - 16, 2016 in Portland, OR. Visit www.sports-forum.com.
|
THE NSF SALUTES
OUR PARTNER
Daktronics offers the most complete line of integrated electronic scoring and display products available, including scoreboards for all sports and all levels of competition, and the latest programmable display systems that incorporate LED (light emitting diode) technology.
|
|
|
|
To subscribe 
