BETTENDORF, Iowa – The second leg of the 2008 Cyclone Tailgate Tour took the Iowa State contingent to the Quad Cities and for the second-straight stop Cyclone fans came out in droves. A crowd of over 1,000 strong joined the celebration at Mel Foster Realty in Bettendorf on Thursday.
The Iowa State coaches and staff had an eventful day, making stops at Hayes Elementary School, the Handicapped Development Center and The Friendly House in Davenport before heading to Bettendorf for the evening.
The morning opened with a stop at Hayes Elementary School, where kindergarten through fifth graders greeted ISU head women’s basketball coach and Davenport native Bill Fennelly, who celebrated his birthday a day earlier, with a stirring rendition of “Happy Birthday.” After a brief program, coaches and staff went into the classroom and read Hello, Cy to the children before answering a wide variety of questions posed by the students.
“It speaks highly of the people at Iowa State and what they did for our school today,” said Tom Knight, a physical education teacher at Hayes. “It was a great thing for our students and we really appreciate them coming out and visiting with us.”
After a short break for lunch, the tour continued with a stop at the Handicapped Development Center, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to plan, establish and operate programs which provide opportunities and assistance to persons with disabilities.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Chris Baker fired a 73 in the first round of the NCAA Central Regional Thursday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. In a field containing some of the best collegiate golfers, Baker finished in a tie for 17th place among all individuals.
Play will continue tomorrow, teeing off at 6 a.m. Baker is scheduled to begin his round at 8:02 a.m. Live stats will be provided at golfstat.com
The Brownstown, Ind. native needs to finish in the top two among stand-alone individuals and those who do not qualify with their team in order to advance onto the finals. The top 10 teams and top two individuals will join qualifiers from the other two regions at the NCAA Championships, May 28-31 in West Lafayette, Ind.
AMES, Iowa – Coming off a year of record-breaking season ticket sales in several sports, the Iowa State Athletics Department announced it has promoted Mary Pink to Associate Athletics Director for Marketing. The 13-year member of the Cyclone staff becomes the fourth Associate A.D. in the department.
“Administratively, we’ve asked Mary and our marketing staff to assume greater responsibility in selling tickets and improving the game-day environment for Cyclone sports,” Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard said. “They have excelled in both selling tickets and getting fans engaged with our program on many different fronts.”
A year ago, Iowa State set school records for season ticket sales in football (36,610), men’s basketball (10,257) and wrestling (4,311). Additionally, women’s basketball ranked fifth nationally in attendance, wrestling was second and volleyball (19th) made the list of national attendance leaders for the first time.
Pink, who has overseen the Cyclones’ marketing department for 10 years, was an Assistant A.D. the last three years. Besides overseeing the marketing unit, she is the department liaison with trademark licensing, its merchandise partner (the University Bookstore), the spirit squads and the ISU Marching Band.
She is the current president of the National Association of Collegiate Marketers Association (NACMA). A year ago, her department was recognized with a national award from NACMA for a “targeted group promotion” for its Cyclone FanFest event.
In the last year, Pink oversaw the throwback jersey promotion for the Iowa football game and the celebration of 100 years of men’s basketball and assisted with the new branding identity for the Iowa State Athletics Department.
The marketing staff, under Pink’s direction, also re-structured the football teams’ game-day arrival and field entrance, added innovative content for the LED ring beam and video boards in Hilton Coliseum, re-energized the Lil’ Clone Club (which routinely has several thousand kids as members annually) and instituted a video board / web site scrapbook concept in which fans submit photos for display.
“Certainly, there is a direct connection between promotion of our product and delivering a fun experience for event attendees and then witnessing bigger and more enthused crowds,” Pollard said. “Our entire staff has contributed to our improvement, and the marketing staff has had a lead role.”
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State football team will have a new look when it opens up the 2008 season August 28 against South Dakota State. Over the last several months, the athletics department has begun the transition to the new “Iowa State” primary mark for the 2008-09 sport season and the football team will be the first to sport the new mark.
Cyclones.com is pleased to give fans a sneak peak of the new-look Cyclone football team. Larger images of the new uniforms (home and away) are available by clicking the links above. Special thanks to sophomore linebacker Cameron Bell of Round Rock, Texas for taking time to pose in the new uniforms.
Athletics Department officials will be bringing the actual uniforms on the Tailgate Tour so fans can see them at any of the upcoming stops in Cedar Rapids (May 14), Bettendorf (May 15), Waterloo (June 4), Mason City (June 5), Minneapolis (June 6), Sioux City (June 10) and Council Bluffs (June 11).
AMES, Iowa – Six Iowa State softball student-athletes were named to the academic all-Big 12 teams this weekend at the Big 12 Softball Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla. Five Cyclones were named to the first team with one garnering second-team honors.
Nominated by each institution’s director of student-athlete support services and the athletics communications offices, the academic all-league softball squad consisted of 46 student-athletes. Of the 46 recognized, 31 earned first-team honors and 15 were named to the second team. First team members include those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, and the second team are those who have a 3.00 to a 3.19.
To qualify student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of her team’s scheduled contests. Freshman and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.
Five sophomores were named to the first team for the first time in their careers. Amanda Bradberry, Charissa Carlin, Michelle Dettmer, Kelsey Kidwell and Courtney Wray were among 40 Big 12 student-athletes earning first-team accolades.
Senior Amie Ford garnered second-team honors for the second time in her career.
First Team
Amanda Bradberry, So., IF, Elementary Education, Kearney, Mo.
Charissa Carlin, So., P, Health Fitness Management, Springfield, Mo.
Michelle Dettmer, So., OF, Diet and Exercise, Waterloo, Iowa
Kelsey Kidwell, So., OF, Criminal Justice, Solon, Iowa
Courtney Wray, So., OF, Kinesiology/Physical Therapy, Overland Park, Kan.
Second Team
Amie Ford, P, Sr., Biophysics, Katy, Texas
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