After issues regarding the treatment of the Hawkeye Marching Band arose in Ames when Iowa took on Iowa State on Sept. 14, Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta and Iowa State Athletics Director Jamie Pollard released a joint statement Wednesday.

“Both the University of Iowa and Iowa State University are committed to providing a safe environment for everyone attending events on their respective campuses,” the athletics directors said in a release. “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.”

The update comes just two days after Iowa released an initial statement in which it said inappropriate actions were made toward student members and staff of the Hawkeye Marching Band.