Iowa State Celebrates 50 Years at Jack Trice Stadium

© Kelsey Kremer/USA TODAY NETWORK

This coming season, the Iowa State Cyclones will be celebrating a major milestone in their program’s history, as it will be their 50th season playing at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa. While Cyclone fans reminisce on many years of trials and triumphs, Iowa State has launched a website showcasing all the great memories at Jack Trice Stadium.

It’s not every year that a school celebrates 50 seasons at a stadium, making this an event more than worthy of celebration for Iowa State. The history of Jack Trice Stadium runs deep, from how the venue got its name to the many great matchups played inside it. The website launched by Iowa State details this rich past.

History of Jack Trice Stadium

Iowa State’s current stadium opened in 1975 but was known by a different name: Cyclone Stadium. However, after the students and community rallied and pushed for the stadium to be named after the late Jack Trice, the stadium changed names to Cyclone Stadium/Jack Trice Field in 1984. Trice is an icon in the Iowa community, as he was the first African American athlete in Iowa State history, running track and playing football. The community continued its efforts to memorialize Trice, leading to the stadium changing its name to Jack Trice Stadium in 1997.

Over the years, the stadium has gone through many renovations and expansions, making it the second biggest in the Big 12 Conference with a capacity of 61,500.

The celebratory website includes many stadium records, such as the most yards rushed in a single game, with 378 by Troy Davis against Missouri in 1996, and the most touchdown passes in a single game, which is held by Graham Harrell with 6 against Texas Tech in 2006. Besides individual records, there are plenty of team and attendance records worth revisiting as well.

50 Years of Victories

In addition to historic information about the name, Iowa State’s new website dedicated to the 50th season at Jack Trice Stadium recounts “50 Memorable Victories,” such as their 37-28 win over No. 9 Nebraska in 1976. Any time Nebraska and Iowa State play, it is must-see TV, and there have been many great matchups played at Jack Trice between the two rivals.

When looking back at memorable moments at Iowa State’s home turf, fans can’t help but think of countless Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series games. One that comes to mind is the “Shaggy Game,” where Iowa State defeated Iowa 15-13 in a defensive showdown won by Bret “Shaggy” Culbertson’s last-second field goal. Another is when the Cyclones beat the Hawkeyes in triple overtime 44-41 in 2011 in one of the most exhilarating games in Iowa State history.

© Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

While there are many games worth mentioning, 50 years of memories are hard to summarize. As Iowa State gears up for a new look Big 12, fans should take a moment to celebrate the many memories, victories, upsets, and losses at Jack Trice Stadium. Here’s to the next 50 years, Jack Trice Stadium.