For most Hawkeye fans, attending games at Kinnick or Carver is a ritual, where most of their actions from the moment they wake up until after a Hawkeye victory happen like clockwork. However, for some, it is a completely new experience with much to take in. Enter Fans First, the guest experience-focused guided field experience created and first led by Anna Jensen, UISRM Director, Office of Field Experience, in 2015.
Through each iteration of the practicum, students provide wayfinding, transportation, and customer service support for all fans, but particularly those attending their first Hawkeye competition. In doing so, students observe the many facets of sport business such as revenue generation, safety and security, and guest services. Furthermore, they acquire and strengthen communication, problem solving, and prioritization skills.
The fall 2024 edition marked the 10-year anniversary of the practicum that UISRM has offered each fall and spring semester since 2015. From football to basketball and wrestling to gymnastics, through the years, hundreds of Fans First students have delivered memorable experiences to countless Hawkeye Fans.
Peter Keleher (BS 2016, pictured right), now the Senior Coordinator, Premium Sales & Service with the St. Louis Blues had this to say about his time in Fans First:
I had just finished my first sports internship with the Cedar Rapids Kernels, which gave me valuable experience in the industry. Fans First offered the opportunity to apply what I learned over the summer on a much larger scale—during football games and across multiple sporting events, with fans of different backgrounds and interests.
We host 44 home games each year (roughly 100 events overall) at the Enterprise Center, and every night, there's someone attending their first or only game of the season. Fans First taught me that, as service staff, our goal is for everyone to leave each game feeling like they attended the best game of the year, no matter the outcome.
Kate Wakenight, third-year Assistant Professor of Instruction, is the current Fans First guide and began leading the experience in the fall 2022 semester as an Adjunct Instructor. Her years of experience as Director of Operations for Iowa Track & Field/Cross Country and high familiarity with UI Athletics Event Management department qualified her as the perfect instructor for Fans First. On taking on the role of guide for Fans First, Kate had this to say:
It was important to me that this class really felt like they were making a difference in gameday. One of the first classes each semester we talk about remarkable experiences in your life and how you were impacted. The goal is to help create these experiences that Hawkeye fans can talk about in years to come by assisting the event management staff in any way we can.
Sometimes this means ball shagging at volleyball and field hockey. Other times this means shadowing an intern at football and learning the process. In other instances, it means handing out sensory bags. All these details are important to the competition as a whole event.
Since teaching Fans First for the first time, Kate has continually refined the course. The first major change includes meeting with the UI Athletics Event Management department leaders to ensure that everyone’s needs are being met. The class now not only provides the customer service piece, but the students also get a chance to shadow event management interns and witness firsthand some of the behind-the-scenes work that is necessary for athletic events to happen. A second enhancement is enhancing the uniform that Fans First students wear to events. As the world of athletics continues to change, it was important to help each class 'buy in' to the process. One of the ways this has been done is by handing out polos to each student to wear while working events. This way the students take on the look of the UI Athletics Event Management interns and have an official appearance.
Carly Schrum (ex. BS 2026, pictured right), who participated in Fans First during the fall 2024 semester, had this to say about her experiences:
I loved Fans First. It was not a traditional class setting, and I feel I thrived in the class because it gave me real first-hand experience with event management and helped me build my connections within UI Athletics. The project we did at the end let us use our creative side and come up with ideas of how to improve operations.
I learned a lot about how to make an event run smoothly and all the smaller parts that make an event run that I had not thought about before the class. This class has helped me figure out what I want to do in the future as a career. It has also helped me get to know people in the athletic department that will help me in the future with internships or networking.
Not only has the first ten years of Fans First brought student success to Peter, Carly, and countless others, but it has also delivered positive experiences to new lifelong Hawkeye fans. Thanks to Kate, Anna, Peter, Carly, and the many other Fans First alumni who create great memories for Hawkeye fans, provide value to UI Athletics, and help each other grow as aspiring sport and recreation professionals. UISRM looks forward to continuing Fans First with UI Athletics for as long as there will be prospective Iowa fans cheering on the Hawkeyes for the first time.