Kinnick Stadium has stood in Iowa City, Iowa, as the home of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team since it opened on October 5, 1929. Originally known as Iowa Stadium, the venue was built in just seven months and could seat 53,000 fans from day one — a remarkable capacity for its era. In 1972, it was renamed in honor of Nile Kinnick, the Iowa halfback who won the 1939 Heisman Trophy and later gave his life serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
After multiple expansions and renovations over the decades, Kinnick Stadium now holds 69,250 spectators, ranking it among the 20 largest university-owned stadiums in the country and seventh largest in the Big Ten Conference. The 2016–2019 north end zone renovation — a project approved by the Iowa Board of Regents at $89.9 million — modernized facilities while slightly reducing overall capacity to its current figure. The playing surface, FieldTurf since 2009, was renamed Duke Slater Field in 2021 to honor the Hawkeyes’ two-time All-American lineman and a founding member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Stats at a Glance
- Team: University of Iowa Hawkeyes
- Location: Iowa City, Iowa
- Opened: October 5, 1929
- Capacity: 69,250
- Conference: Big Ten
- Surface: FieldTurf (Duke Slater Field since 2021)
- Named After: Nile Kinnick, 1939 Heisman Trophy winner
- Notable Record: 55,646 attendance at Crossover at Kinnick women’s basketball game (October 2023)
A Stadium Built on Legacy
Construction on the original Iowa Stadium began on March 6, 1929, with workers laboring around the clock — using horses and mules alongside electric lights at night — to open the venue in time for the fall season. The stadium expanded steadily through the 20th century: south end zone seating was added in 1956 to push capacity to 60,000, the north end zone was enclosed before the 1983 season bringing it to 66,000, and a series of projects between 2004 and 2006 eventually pushed the number past 70,000. The renaming ceremony in 1972 came after a sustained campaign by sportswriter Gus Schrader, cementing the legacy of Kinnick — a war hero and athlete who many Iowans consider the greatest Hawkeye of all time.
A bronze statue of Nile Kinnick stands near the team entrance, and it is a longstanding tradition for Iowa players to touch the helmet on the statue before each home game. The playing field’s renaming to Duke Slater Field added another layer of historical recognition, honoring a Black pioneer who earned All-American honors in 1920 and 1921 at a time when such recognition was rarely extended across racial lines.
Traditions That Define Game Day
Two traditions make Kinnick Stadium unlike almost any other venue in college football. The first is the pink visitors’ locker room — a psychological ploy introduced by head coach Hayden Fry before the 1979 season. A psychology graduate from Baylor University, Fry believed the color pink had a calming, passive effect on opponents. The room grew more elaborate with the 2004 renovation, adding pink lockers, toilets, and showers. Michigan’s legendary coach Bo Schembechler reportedly had his staff bring paper to cover the walls rather than subject his players to the décor.
The second — and far more celebrated — tradition is the Hawkeye Wave. When the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital opened across the street in early 2017 with windows overlooking the stadium, a fan named Krista Young proposed on Facebook that the crowd wave to young patients at the end of the first quarter. On September 2, 2017, nearly 70,000 fans stood and waved for the first time, creating an emotional ritual that has since spread nationwide. Players, coaches, and visiting fans now all join in each home game, making it one of the most universally praised traditions in all of American sport.
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Kinnick Stadium FAQs
Why is Kinnick Stadium named after Nile Kinnick?
The stadium was renamed in 1972 to honor Nile Kinnick, the University of Iowa halfback who won the 1939 Heisman Trophy — the first Hawkeye to do so — and who died in 1943 while serving as a Navy pilot during World War II. The renaming came after a years-long campaign by Iowa sportswriter Gus Schrader.
What is the Hawkeye Wave at Kinnick Stadium?
At the end of the first quarter of every home game, fans, players, and coaches turn and wave toward the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, which overlooks the stadium. The tradition started spontaneously on September 2, 2017, after a fan suggested it on social media, and it has become one of the most beloved rituals in college football.
Why is the visitors’ locker room at Kinnick Stadium painted pink?
Iowa head coach Hayden Fry had the visitors’ locker room painted pink before the 1979 season based on his belief — rooted in his psychology studies at Baylor — that the color induces a calm, passive state in opponents. The pink theme was expanded during 2004 renovations to include pink lockers, showers, and fixtures.
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Photo: Count_de_Des_Moines (talk) (Uploads) / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.