From Caitlin Clark to Nile Kinnick, a new exhibit at the University of Iowa’s Main Library Gallery titled “Hawkeye Histories, Sporting Stories” chronicles the most influential figures in Iowa athletics. The exhibit opened Monday, Aug. 26, and will be on display until Dec. 19.
Walking through the gallery on its opening day, the rich history of Hawkeye sports is immediately apparent. There are the nods to classic names, including Christine Grant and Duke Slater, which are recognizable to almost anyone who has stepped foot in Iowa City. Mixed among them, however, are the facts and faces of many stars who might be less familiar to the average fan or student.
The gallery is filled to the brim with artifacts representing various stages of Iowa’s athletic history. The walls are packed with collages of photos, some in black and white and others splashed with the gold of the Hawkeye uniform. A fan-favorite artifact is a sticker featuring the number 22 in the corner of the room, spotlighting former Iowa Hawkeye Clark’s number.
On an adjacent wall from the sticker is a painted basketball hoop representing the exact number of feet Clark scored against Michigan to set the women’s scoring record at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The “22” sticker is a replica of the sticker plastered on the court at Carver-Hawkeye, a testament to Clark’s unmatched impact at the UI.
“I went to so many games at Kinnick and Carver growing up. Iowa athletics were a big part of my childhood, so coming here felt right,” Sam Jurgens, a second-year student at the UI who visited the exhibit, said.
Jurgens reflected on the culture of sport at the UI, expressing surprise at how extensive the exhibit was.
The exhibit pays attention to the deeper history behind Iowa’s athletics teams and athletes that are often underrecognized and less appreciated.
Sports fans will often latch on to a team’s standout lone star or a childhood hero but fail to recognize the other outstanding stories and names hidden in plain sight.
“There’s already a lot of light shining on athletics, but this will help give people a perspective of the history and how all of the sports started and have grown the game,” Jurgens said.
The exhibit promotes the role women’s athletics has played in the history of the UI. This influence is more than just Clark, featuring a plethora of other talented female athletes who have donned the Black and Gold.
“They didn’t just emerge after Title IX in the seventies, or Caitlin Clark and the women’s basketball team,” said Jennifer Sterling, the exhibit curator and director of Undergraduate Studies in American Studies at the UI. “Although, [women’s basketball] is incredible, and I think that team in particular has done a great job of pointing to those who came before them.”
The evolution of collegiate sports, especially women’s sports, has taken colossal leaps in recent history. Hundreds of athletes have contributed to this progress over the years, but Clark has played a massive part in popularizing for women’s sports.
“Caitlin Clark led me to watch more women’s sporting events this year than I ever have, and not just Iowa games. This exhibit shows where the women’s sports started and how it has grown,” Jurgens said.
The evolution of sports is a point of fascination among both sports fans and those interested in UI history. Sterling aimed to share more information about this constantly evolving history of sport with her work in the exhibit. As someone from Iowa, her passion is personal.
“I wanted to tell the evolution of the role of sports on campus and in the U.S. in general. And, very specifically, what is the role of athletics here and how has it changed over time,” Sterling said.
College athletics are a significant piece of the sporting world, primarily at Power Five schools such as Iowa. In states like Iowa where professional teams don’t exist, schools become a legitimized space for athletics communities to grow.
“I’m hoping by interspersing those lesser-known histories with these more known histories, people will broaden their Hawkeye history knowledge. I hope this exhibition is diverse enough that [it] resonates with them,” Sterling said.
At a school as large as Iowa, many can lose sight of local pride in the sea of events and stories that have impacts beyond the university. “Hawkeye Histories” refocuses attention on what is so unique and outstanding about the University of Iowa.
“As somebody who studies sports, you couldn’t ask for a better place to be able to point at ongoing and local examples of anything I teach in any class,” Sterling said.