Aug. 29, 2005
- Purchase your 2005 Iowa Football Tickets
- Ride the Rails: Hawkeye Express Information
- Game-Day Parking and Road Construction Information
- 2005 Hawkeye Huddles
- Follow the Renovation of Kinnick!
- The Schedule: 2005 and Beyond
So, it’s big and it’s colorful and it’s technologically powerful. But what fans of the nationally ranked Iowa Hawkeyes really want to know is if they’ll have access to up-to-date statistics on their favorite Hawkeyes during the season opener against Ball State Saturday and all future home games of the Iowa football team as a result of the installation of the new scoreboard inside historic Kinnick Stadium.
“Without a doubt, that’s been the No. 1 question asked of each of the staff who are directly or indirectly involved in the operation of the videowall/scoreboard during the spring and summer,” said Rick Klatt, the UI’s associate athletics director for external affairs.
And, according to Klatt, the answer is a resounding yes.
“We have this thing interfacing with that thing which is interfacing with the thing and is interfacing with the thing which, at the end of the day, means more up-to-date player statistics, more up-to-date scores of other games, and the same amount of commitment to team statistics as in the past,” Klat said with a chuckle.
Klatt said fans will quickly learn that the place on the main scoreboard to find player statistics is the space immediately below the two advertising panels on the left side of the structure.
“The technology that operates that space is virtually the same as the technology that runs the videowall. What that means for the fans in the stands is really simple: Full color graphics and the ability to post real-time data,” said Klatt.
The plan is to display the appropriate student-athlete’s personal statistics after as many plays as possible. Obviously, when Drew Tate completes a pass to Clinton Solomon, the staff running the scoreboard will choose between’s Tate’s current passing stats and Solomon’s current receiving stats.
“By game three or four – depending on how quickly we’re able to climb the learning curve – fans might even see both players statistics displayed between the end of one play and the start of a new play,” said Klatt.
The UI Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will use the comparable space on the right side of the main scoreboard to display the schedule and scores of games featuring Top 25 teams and schedules and scores of games featuring teams from the Big Ten in addition to schedules of other UI sports teams and activities on the UI campus.
“We think this approach will prove to be a big hit with our fans. This is another level of customer service that is a direct result of the renovation project and one that I know are fans have been anxious for us to add to their game-day experience,” said Klatt.
Klatt said the left side of the main scoreboards videowall will be the location of team rushing, passing and total yards, and total first downs.
“Our fans have grown very accustomed to having these team stats readily available and they will be for probably 60 to 70 percent of the game. They’ll be displayed next to video that will be displayed in the right side of the videowall,” said Klatt.
“During the other 40 to 30 percent of the game, we’ll be displaying video on the full screen.”
Klatt alluded to a learning curve and it’s a steep one. The control room for the new scoreboard is filled with monitors, racks upon racks of equipment, and more knobs an buttons that one would care to count let alone learn what each really means and does.
“I’m confident in our staff’s ability to climb the curve quickly and be hitting at near 100 percent by Big Ten season. They were second to none after seven years with the old system and they’ll be operating at that level quicker than not,” said Klatt.
Klatt said fans should not have expectations about any changes in policy regarding what is displayed on the videowall and when. Klatt said audio for commercials from corporate sponsors of the Hawkeyes will only occur pre-game and when there is no game time left on the playing clock.
“It’s a policy that’s worked very well the last three season despite a less-than-stellar sound system,” said Klatt.
Klatt also said Kinnick Stadium will continue to be void of replays of anything that hints of controversy.
“We have game management and sportslike conduct responsibilities that we’ve taken very seriously in the past and will continue as we move forward. We realize that this might not be the most popular approach, but it is the responsible approach,” said Klatt.
Other Notes
A handful of photographs of Kinnick Stadium taken in the rain of last Friday afternoon have been posted to the photo gallery inside kinnickrenovation.com. To view those, click HERE. hawkeyesports.com will tour the facility on Wednesday as final preparations are made for this week’s season opener. Photography from that visit to the renovation site will be available Wednesday or Thursday.