The Iowa-Iowa State football game is the most anticipated game across the state — fueling a decades-long rivalry between the two universities.
It’s hosted in Ames every other year, which brings a wave of excited fans across the state who are ready to watch and celebrate the Cy-Hawk game. This year, many Cyclones fans celebrated the team’s 16-13 victory over the Hawks on Saturday.
Throughout game day, the Iowa State University Police Department tracked its citations and arrests. This year, ISU PD issued a total of 39 citations, five more than 2023 — when the game was last in Ames.
Cy-Hawk stats:
- 13 arrests
- 0 arrests above .20 blood alcohol content
- 67 first aid calls
- 5 ambulance trips
Here’s how that compares to other Ames Saturdays this fall:
First home football game, against South Dakota on Aug. 30
- 16 citations
- 3 arrests
- 0 arrests above .20 blood alcohol content
- 122 first aid calls
- 2 ambulance trips
801 Day
Background: 801 Day is the Saturday before classes begin at Iowa State University. It begins at 8:01 a.m. when the prohibitions on alcohol at fraternities and sororities are lifted.
Two years ago, the Ames City Council passed an ordinance increasing the penalties over the weekend before classes, including the immediate towing of illegally parked vehicles in the area.
Fines increased from $100 to $650 for first-time violations and subsequent offenses from $200 to $855.
Statistics: More than half of the arrests aren’t affiliated with Iowa State, according to Ames and ISU police departments.
“We truly enjoyed spending time with our amazing students during Cyclone Welcome Weekend,” according to the ISUPD Facebook page. “Thank you to all our students who celebrated responsibly – we are pleased to share that there were no issues at any of the university-sponsored events.”
Below is a snapshot of some of the police contacts outside the sanctioned ISU events:
- 31 total contacts/arrests/citations/referrals
- 51.6% were not affiliated with Iowa State
- 18 underage alcohol citations (including 1 juvenile referral)
- 12 public intoxication arrests (including 1 juvenile referral)
Other charges included OWI, weapons violations and unlawful use of a license
“Thank you, Cyclones, for kicking off the year on such a positive note!” ISUPD said on its Facebook post. “Let’s keep this momentum going all season long.”
