'Kids at Kinnick' to be held Aug. 11

July 13, 2012

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa football team will stage its annual “Kids at Kinnick” day Saturday, Aug. 11. Gates to Kinnick Stadium will open at 11 a.m. with the team’s practice scheduled to begin at noon.

Fans planning to attend should enter Kinnick Stadium at Gates A, B and E. Regular season game-day search procedures will be in place. Fans will have access to only the south and west grandstands. As in the past, student-athletes will sign autographs for 30 minutes in front of the west and south stands, following the team’s two-hour practice.

Several sponsored events and activities will be available to fans in the Krause Family Plaza.

The Elite Chevy Kid Zone, featuring the NFL Combine Experience, free face painting and games, will open at 10 a.m. The experience will include timed running and jumping competitions and the chance to compare your times against current Hawkeyes in the NFL.

Wells Blue Bunny will provide cool treats to fans within the Kids Zone and fans will have the opportunity to register to win a new Flex-Fuel Chevy Equinox, sponsored by Iowa Corn. Noodles and Co. will have a presence as well, featuring art activities with games and prizes, including prize wheel and putt for pasta. The Eastern Iowa Airport Touchdowns for Kids representatives will be on site, accepting pledges and donations for the UI Children’s Hospital and Touchdowns for Kids program.

Concession stands will be open with items being sold at half price. Team roster cards will be available at all open entrances, in addition to a limited number of schedule posters, schedule cards and schedule magnets.

Fans should note that there will be no access to the playing surface of Kinnick. Fans are also reminded that the annual “Kids at Kinnick” activity is designed primarily for the enjoyment of younger fans. Therefore, the possession of an open container of beer or wine or consumption of hard liquor on University property, including parking lots, is prohibited by law. Law enforcement officers will be asking fans to empty containers and citations will be issued, if the case arises.

Iowa opens its 2012 season Saturday, Sept. 1st, meeting Northern Illinois at Chicago’s Soldier Field (2:35 p.m., ESPNU). That contest is followed by four straight games in Kinnick Stadium, beginning Sept. 8 as Iowa hosts Iowa State in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series battle. Fry Fest will also be held the weekend of the opening home game. For more information about the 2012 Fry Fest, visit FRYFest.com or call the Iowa City/Coralville Convention and Visitor’s Bureau at 1-800-283-6592.

Additional home games include Northern Iowa (Sept. 15), Central Michigan (Sept. 22), Minnesota (Sept. 29, Homecoming), Penn State (Oct. 20), Purdue (Nov. 10) and Nebraska (Nov. 23).

AMERICA NEEDS FARMERS
The University of Iowa Athletics Department is working with the Iowa Farm Bureau on efforts to help consumers understand the challenges and opportunities today’s farmers embrace, and to do so under the banner, “America Needs Farmers,” the initiative undertaken by former UI football coach Hayden Fry during the Farm Crisis of the 1980s and embraced by the Hawkeyes’ current head coach Kirk Ferentz. To learn more, visit AmericaNeedsFarmers.org.