There’s one thing Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz can’t go without on game day — gum.

The longest-tenured head coach in FBS is known for chomping on a big wad of gum while he coaches, and he can thank football equipment manager Greg Morris for always having his go-to green package of spearmint Trident in stock.

For years, however, Ferentz’s first choice was sugar-free Bubblicious.

“He’ll go through a couple of packs a game. It varies,” Morris said.

The Iowa Athletics External Relations Team is on the clock seven days a week during football season.

Before nearly 70,000 rowdy spectators start to pack in 90 minutes before kickoff, staff ensures all 100-plus Hawkeye players have intact gear, supplies the officials’ locker room, and sweeps every aisle throughout the historic Kinnick Stadium.

Most tasks are small and detail-oriented and often go unnoticed by the average fan.

But it’s the little things — like hanging the opponents’ flag next to the jumbotron each Sunday at 8 a.m. so those walking and driving by the stadium on Melrose Ave know who the Hawkeyes’ next foe is — that makes Iowa City and Kinnick Stadium a hot commodity every Saturday.

Michael Patterson, the assistant director of facilities and event operations, and his team have a litany of responsibilities to make sure Kinnick Stadium is ready for game day.

He orders the opponent team flags ahead of every season, assigns someone to raise the flag each Sunday, and coordinates the TV broadcasts.

Patterson and his team also ensure Kinnick Stadium is clean and the bathrooms are working properly.

“[Clogged toilets] is something that is pretty common,” Patterson said. “You get 10,000 students there that have had a fun day of tailgating – there will be some items that are flushed down the toilets that shouldn’t be flushed down the toilets, for sure. It’s really interesting sometimes what you’ll see.”

Morris and his equipment team, including assistant equipment manager Kelly Koch, spend most of their time inside their offices at Hansen Football Performance Center preparing for each game.

Right outside Morris’ office are hundreds of shelves labeled by jersey number with each player’s practice clothes, uniforms, and extra gear. Before each practice, Iowa players will line up outside of the storage room to pick up their belongings for the day.

Morris attends every practice in case of any equipment malfunctions, including broken cleats or helmets. After practice, Morris and his colleagues collect practice clothes and start one of the 30 loads of laundry they clean every day.

Players hang up the rest of their equipment, such as shoulder pads, helmets, and other undergarments, after practice in a designated room that reeks of sweat and body odor. Multiple ventilation fans are placed throughout the room, along with an automatic disinfectant spray machine, to keep the smell bearable for those who aren’t accustomed to it like Morris and Koch.

Early in the week, Morris makes a probable list of players who will dress for the upcoming game. After coaches meeting on Wednesday evenings, the concrete list is sent to Morris, and his team starts to organize each player’s things.

On Thursdays, four or five equipment assistants, including Max Sofranko, start setting up each player’s locker at Kinnick with their respective gear. The equipment team also makes sure the visiting teams, officials, and chain gang have clean locker rooms stocked with drinks and towels.

“It takes a good hour and a half, sometimes more just depending on what we do,” Sofranko said.

On Fridays, players head over to Kinnick from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and check their gear. For home games, it’s easy to run over to the performance center to pick up a forgotten item, but when the Hawkeyes travel, Morris and his team have little room for error.

“I think the most challenging part is not to forget a thing,” Morris said. “And it does happen. But fortunately, most of the time I have backups for everything.”

On game days, Morris and his crew arrive at the stadium about four hours before kickoff to double-check everything and set up any items that were missed.

As Iowa players come off the field from warmups, their practice gear is thrown in the laundry immediately, so it is done drying by the time the game ends. Win or lose, the equipment staff stays at work for two to three more hours to finish washing uniforms.

On Sundays, Morris and his team come back to the stadium at 10 a.m. to clean up, and hopefully, by 3:30 p.m., their gameday responsibilities are finished for that week.

“I often tell folks that I could go over to Kinnick and spend five or six hours a day and stay busy and keep finding things to do,” Morris said. “When I go to Kinnick Stadium, even 35 years later, it still hits me. It’s a very, very, very special place. I’ve always considered that and have incredible joy being over there and being part of this whole thing.”

The equipment team’s work is almost done completely behind the scenes, but other game-day operations happen right in front of Hawkeye fans.

The UI Spirit Squads, which includes Herky the Hawk and the cheer and dance teams, have pressure to perform in front of thousands just like the football team.

Herky, who is celebrating his 75th birthday, is what most young Iowa fans who don’t understand football come to the games to see. Herky’s costume has changed several times since his creation in 1948, but his act is still just as iconic.

Gregg Niemiec, the head cheerleading coach and spirit coordinator, said the hiring of Herky  starts in the spring. For undergraduate students who are on campus, information sessions are held so that they know what being Herky means and the responsibilities that come with it.

“It’s not just showing up on game day. There’s work put into it, and it’s a year-round commitment,” Niemiec said. “Herky does all the hospital visits, the grand openings.”

There are also impromptu sessions held to teach aspiring students how to act and walk uniquely like Herky. Interviews then take place, and Niemiec and his team select someone who takes on Herky’s persona well and understands that they are representing the university at a high standard.

Herky’s job starts hours before he is hyping up the crowd and doing stunts from the sidelines during games. The anthropomorphic bird with a big block-I on his chest starts riding on the Herky Mobile three to four hours before kickoff and makes surprise appearances at tailgates. He’ll meet fans and take pictures before he heads toward the Nile Kinnick statue to meet the cheer and dance squad for the football team’s arrival approximately two hours before game time.

After the contest, Herky hops on his mobile once again to hopefully celebrate a Hawkeye win.

“Herky likes to pop up on random fans that are still out there tailgating that probably never thought that Herky was going to show up and take some pictures with them and do that type of stuff,” Niemiec said. “Fun little victory lap there at the end of the game. Make some fans happy.”