Almost any Hawkeye fan who has attended an Iowa football or basketball game has seen Laura VandeBerg, her sideline presence plastered on the big screen and providing both entertainment and insight amid breaks in competition. 

As the in-game host of the Iowa Hawkeyes, VandeBerg bridges the gap between fans and current and former Iowa athletes. Whether it’s interviewing a Hawkeye football legend returning to Kinnick Stadium or leading fan engagement activities at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, VandeBerg captures the fans’ attention on the video boards.

VandeBerg was meant to be a Hawkeye. Growing up just 25 minutes north of Iowa City in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, she has been an Iowa fan her entire life.

After graduating from Cedar Rapids Prairie High School in 2012, the University of Iowa seemed like the obvious college choice for VandeBerg, but she decided to try another route.

“I thought I wanted to go to UNI [University of Northern Iowa],” VandeBerg said. “I wanted a smaller campus, a smaller school to kind of get my feet wet with the whole college experience.”

VandeBerg only attended UNI for one year, as she felt like it wasn’t the right fit for her. The university only offered journalism as a minor, which was the tipping point for her decision to leave.

VandeBerg transferred to Iowa for her second year and joined the cheerleading team. Once the year wrapped up, VandeBerg realized she needed to begin taking school more seriously if she wanted to get into the sports journalism business. She loved her experience as a cheerleader but knew the competitions she performed at were the proving ground for her journalism career. 

“It’s kind of hard to do sports journalism if you’re cheering at all the games,” VandeBerg said. “So I was done with cheerleading after that year.”

VandeBerg decided to get involved with The Daily Iowan as a TV sports reporter, covering multiple athletic events at the UI, including football, basketball, and wrestling. 

VandeBerg said her experience with DITV was a huge jumping point for her career, not just because of connections or networking but mainly the hands-on experience she gained. 

VandeBerg’s student life also included an internship with KCRG, an ABC television affiliate in Iowa. Her internship included covering high school sports in the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids areas. VandeBerg even took sports writing jobs for free to gain more experience in the sports media field.

After graduating from Iowa, VandeBerg’s first job was at a start-up company as a marketing director. After three months in the position, she worked as a kickboxing instructor in Cedar Rapids, and worked there for a year and a half before becoming the full-time Iowa
sports host. 

Going viral

Around halfway through the 2015 Iowa football season, Laura met her now-husband, Matt VandeBerg, a wide receiver for the Hawkeyes from 2013 to 2017.

On Sept. 10, 2016, Iowa hosted rival Iowa State at Kinnick Stadium, and Matt had the game of his life, catching seven passes for 129 yards and a touchdown in a blowout 42-3 win over the Cyclones.

Matt capped off his big day with an exciting gift for his then-girlfriend, Laura.

After Matt and his fellow receivers finished taking a group picture, he immediately found her in the stands and braced himself for the important question. 

“I take the picture, then I’m like, ‘Oh, this is going to be the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do,’” Matt said. “I got over there and said, ‘I’m just going to cut to the chase,’ and then I didn’t even say a single word. I just opened up the ring box and didn’t say anything. I was too frozen.”

Laura immediately said “yes,” and the video of the proposal went viral across nearly every social media platform.

“There’s a video [of the proposal] I posted on Instagram, and it kind of took off,” VandeBerg said. “It was on ESPN and the Big Ten Network. It was just all over the place.”

Following the proposal, VandeBerg was asked to be on the Hawkeye Radio Network. VandeBerg’s now-boss, Kelsey Laverdiere, happened to see her on stage during the interview with the Hawkeye Radio Network and was looking for someone to take on a brand new role of sports host.

“Now, the catch was they wanted somebody that had a name that people might recognize,” VandeBerg said.

“But it was going to be a very entry-level position because they didn’t know what they wanted to do with it. So I was just kind of the perfect fit for that.”

Evolution of the role

When VandeBerg first started her new job in 2016, she was doing very simple social media work, interviews, and a lot of Facebook Live broadcasts to gauge whether or not the Iowa fans enjoyed the content.

During the first few years of VandeBerg working as host, there was a lot of hands-on work with the Hawkeye teams, including weekly updates about the programs. 

Since then, VandeBerg has moved into the role of an in-game host and doesn’t need to work every day. 

“Over time, we’ve adjusted and changed the position to where I’m just an in-game host now,” VandeBerg said. “So I report now for wrestling, women’s and men’s basketball, a little bit of gymnastics and volleyball, and then football.”

The evolution of her role has helped herspend more time raising her three children. VandeBerg has a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old, and a 7-month-old.  

In this current crossover season between Hawkeye football and basketball, the change from reporting in Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena presents challenges for VandeBerg.

With Kinnick Stadium holding around 54,000 more fans than Carver-Hawkeye Arena, most would think the Kinnick environment would be harder to work in as a host, but it’s quite the opposite for VandeBerg.

“The switch from football to basketball is always kind of a shock for me,” VandeBerg said. “I can see everybody’s faces at basketball, but when I’m at football, it’s basically me and a camera, and I can’t see everybody’s reactions.”

VandeBerg expressed her gratitude for her job with Hawkeye Athletics, noting that Laverdiere, her boss, has played a significant role in her
professional development.

“She’s the brain behind the position,” VandeBerg said about Laverdiere. “She and I have worked very closely since day one on the job.”

Talkin’ Hawks with the VandeBergs

In 2020, VandeBerg’s job was obsolete due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic restricting fan attendance at games. She and her husband decided to start a podcast to stay engaged with Hawkeye fans who were stuck at home. 

VandeBerg took the idea to the Iowa Athletic Department, but it didn’t come to fruition. She really liked the idea, however, because she could pair Matt’s analytical approach with her entertainment perspective to discuss Iowa sports.

Laura and Matt bought some podcast equipment for around $400 and started their podcast in a closet at their home. Matt handled all the editing and publishing, and they eventually secured a couple of sponsors for the show.

“We did that for a year,” Matt said. “Then we looked at each other and said, ‘We’re never doing that again.’ It was so much work to have to do that.”

The VandeBergs took a year off from their podcast before being approached with a new opportunity to restart the show.

“Estela’s [Fresh Mex] really liked the podcast we had done and reached out and were like, ‘Hey, what if we hook them up with Storyline
Multimedia?’” Matt said.

Storyline Multimedia then partnered with the VandeBergs to produce their podcast for them so they don’t have to worry about editing. Instead, the responsibility was to show up to the studio and record.

The podcast, “Talkin’ Hawks with the VandeBergs,” has been running for three years now and features an Iowa athlete or coach every week.

“It’s been really cool to have a lot of athletes come on and share how their faith impacted the way they approach their sport and life,” VandeBerg said. “I think that’s something that Matt and I try to focus on if it’s there.”