HAWK TALK

June 2013

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Random Thoughts By Rick Klatt Random thoughts as we officially enter summer:   Here we go again No. 1…Water is everywhere. Being a glass-half-filled guy, I would prefer to think the Great Flood of 2013 will provide another opportunity to see our university and community shine. We did the last two times, and I'm confident we will again. In fact, we already have. The hard work accomplished since the 2008 event is us. We're clearly better prepared to give our best fight to whatever Mother Nature throws at us in the coming days and weeks, and here's just one example of that compliments of the University of Iowa's Iowa Flood Center: HERE.   Here we go again No. 2…Speaking of summer and speaking of water, one of the sure signs that summer has arrived for our staff is the return of the drum beat to paint a Tigerhawk on the water tower. I do admire this group's persistence.   Speaking of Kinnick, work on the new technology that is being installed in the home of the Hawkeyes is progressing nicely. The individual units that will be the high definition display in the stadium's main scoreboard at the top of the south grandstand are being installed piece-by-piece with the installation complete early this month. But that's only one part of a large puzzle. When that is complete, attention turns to the electricians and engineers and others who continue the behind-the-scenes stuff that will link the display to the equipment that will drive it. The same goes for the north grandstand where two new video walls and the 381-foot wide "ribbon board" are to be installed. It's behind-the-scenes work right now (for example, the installation of conduit that will deliver the power to the new installations). Soon, we'll see the support structures begin to rise and then the display units will be installed. While all of this is happening, another collection of staff is working on the selection and creation of content that will be displayed on game days and, later this summer, some of the same folks will be schooled on game-day operation. The goal is to provide our fans a superior game-day experience. Our plan is to give fans a peek at what the boards will look like when in operation on game days sometime during the month of July.   Someone mentioned the other day that we're bearing down on the 10th year of operation for the Hawkeye Express. That's kind of hard to believe, isn't it? Time flies when you're having fun and the Hawkeye Express has added to the fun of a game day at Kinnick Stadium. It has been said before but it can't be repeated too often: Lots of good people are involved in that successful operation.   Lastly, as you are probably aware, many of our coaches and administrative staff hit the road during the months of April and May to thank thousands of fans of the Hawkeyes for their support during the National I-Club's spring banquet tour. Rick Brown of the Des Moines Register penned this – HERE – shortly after this year's circuit was complete.   Go Hawks!     43

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