Iowa Women's Basketball Team Continues 'Hawkeye Wave' During Exhibition Game

The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team continued one of the greatest traditions in college sports.

After the first quarter of their exhibition game against the DePaul Blue Demons - dubbed the “Crossover at Kinnick” -  everyone in the stadium waved to children in the adjacent University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

The hospital specializes in caring for patients with pediatric needs. “Heartwarming” doesn’t adequately depict how touching the moment was. Especially considering the game attracted 55,646 for the game.

Iowa Women's Basketball Team Continues One Of College Sports' Best Traditions

The tradition of the “Hawkeye Wave” to the patients and their families started in 2017, thanks to the school’s football team. During that year, the hospital constructed a $300 million, 12-story building right next to Kinnick Stadium. Because of the building’s height, patients and their loved ones could view the game from the highest story.

During one game that season, Hawkeyes fan Krista Young saw a picture of a young fan looking at the game from the hospital. That sparked the idea of making home games special for these patients.

“I think with the new U of I hospital addition open, Kinnick should hold a “wave to the kids” minute during every game,” Young wrote on Facebook. “Can you imagine how neat it would be to have all of those fans, players, & coaching staff looking up at you sending a little extra inspiration?”

Thus, the tradition was born, and people immediately felt its impact.

“You could see peoples’ expressions,” Gwen Senio, a child life specialist at the hospital from 1980-2018, said. “You could see them smiling. They didn’t just wave a little; they waved and waved. The people in the top row of the bleachers, you almost felt like you could reach out and they could hug you.”

It was so special that the year it started, the “Hawkeye Wave” won the Disney Spirit Award.

There are countless traditions in college football that have their own level of charm and uniqueness. But the Hawkeye Wave is just a little more special, regardless of which Iowa sports team does it.