For the first time in its history, the University of Iowa’s annual Hawkapalooza concert and additional events have been canceled because of unforeseen circumstances.

The concert, scheduled for Sept. 26 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, was to feature the Eli Young Band and Joe Nichols with Mockingbird Sun.

After taking a variety of factors under consideration, concert operators SCOPE and Hawk’s Nest decided that because of the circumstances, including low ticket sales, to cancel the event.

Hawks Nest President TJ McCann said he had been looking forward to the event’s five-year anniversary.

“We took several details into consideration, and in the end, we wanted to ensure that the event was the best it can be,” McCann wrote in an email. “Unfortunately, we could not guarantee that this year.”

Hawkapalooza started as an outlet to help bring UI students and the greater Iowa City community together by mixing athletics passion, musical performance, and student involvement.MMcCann said it has served as the primary pep rally event on campus and has given the UI an event to look forward to every fall.

“I just love the atmosphere,” UI junior Mackenzie Coopman said. “It’s the beginning of the year and everyone is returning to school, and all the excitement of being back is shown through Hawkapalooza.”

McCann said that both organizations have not thought about next year’s events and will determine in the coming months if they want to continue to invest so much time and resources in Hawkapalooza in the future.

Hawks Nest’s main focus for the rest of the year will be to increase attendance at both revenue generating and Olympic sports, while improving on recently the implemented membership program for UI students.

Katie Reynolds, the public-relations coordinator for SCOPE said this year, while lagging ticket sales were a factor, they were not a large portion of the problem.

This year marked the first time the two organizations opted to establish a cover charge of $10 for UI students and $35 for general admissions to the concert.

“We are trying to make the event a bigger deal,” Reynolds said. “Because this year was a lot more expensive entertainment, we needed to have some admission to help pay for everything.”

For UI junior Michael Ropp, the newly implemented price didn’t affect his decision to attend the event.

“I know if they want to get bigger and better names and bands, they would need some kind of commission to make the event better for us,” he said.

Senior Caitlin Otte said that the Hawkapalooza events were one way that opened the door for her to many entertainment resources on campus during her first year at the UI.

She said the cancellation could signal future reputation concerns between SCOPE and students.

Coopman also said UI students may be disappointed without the event but does not believe it brings widespread concerns.

“Hawkapalooza was a great way to kick off the beginning of the year,” Coopman said. “But the fall is always full of many other events on campus, and students will have plenty of other opportunities this semester.”