The University of Iowa athletic department generated $179,978,091 during fiscal year 2025 (FY25).
The SEC’s 10-year media rights deal with ESPN brings in $710 million per year of value. The Big Ten’s media rights deal with Fox, CBS and NBC rakes in approximately $1.15 billion per year.
Jul 28, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Iowa Football head coach Kirk Ferentz speaks during Media Days at Hilton Chicago. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
In 2024, the EA Sports College Football video game franchise smashed records as the highest-grossing American football video game in United States history, including $500 million in sales in the first two weeks of its return to shelves.
EA’s sales pitch for College Football 25 explains, to some degree, why college football can be such a lucrative business. The game focused on creating a real Saturday feel and emphasizing what made all 134 FBS programs unique.
The game featured a photo-realistic virtual clone of Kinnick Stadium — complete with the now-razed water tower. Avatars of the Hawkeyes swarmed out of the tunnel before each digital game, and after the first quarter, an always sold-out crowd turned to the in-game version of the Stead Family Children’s Hospital to participate in the Kinnick Wave.
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EA Sports College Football 25 centered itself on what makes college football distinct from the NFL and what makes it special — traditions, pageantry and the unique, grassroots quirks of college football.
Fans sit at the core of those rituals. Fans play a major role in making college football what it is and what makes it special.
Despite their role in the college football ecosystem, fans are rarely celebrated — aside from cinematic crowd shots that buffer gameplay in and out of commercial breaks.
However, in the days leading up to the 2026 college football season, you will read about 12 fans from the 12 teams Iowa faces in 2026.
Where some publications elect to rely on the expert opinion of beat reporters in opposing markets or their own expertise to produce season preview content, the Quad-City Times will bring you the unadulterated thoughts of the most passionate fans.
These dozen fans might not have the insider info of a longtime beat reporter or analyst.
But, those insiders and analysts might not have the in-depth knowledge of their program’s history like Vasilios “Bill” Theodosopoulos, the Purdue Football Encyclopedia. They may lack the boots-on-the-ground, lived experience of watching their program go from forgotten Big Ten cellar-dweller to Rose Bowl contender like Northwestern alum MacArthur Antigua. They might not possess the memory of seeing their first football game as an undergrad at Michigan after growing up in India like Ashray Mohit, who was more than happy to discuss Phil Parker’s dominant defensive schematics six years later.
Fans deserve their plaudits. From Thursday until kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 5, you can help 12 get theirs.
Until then, here’s an insight from talking to those 12 fans on how Iowa is perceived nationally.
Each fan was asked some version of the question: When you think of Iowa football, what comes to mind?
Those fans offered a wide array of thoughts on the Hawkeyes, including some antiquated thoughts on an offense that can change minds this year. But, Iowa fans should like the four most common characteristics attributed to the Hawkeyes — defense, physicality, toughness and discipline.
Defense was mentioned by 10 of the 12 fans. Physicality was mentioned by 6 of the 12. Toughness and discipline were mentioned by 5 of the 12.
Perhaps not the most revolutionary of insights, it’s telling all the same.
During Big Ten media days last month, 13 of the 18 Big Ten coaches discussed the importance of defense during their main-stage appearances. Physicality and toughness came up with 13 of the 18. And 10 of the 18 remarked on the importance of discipline.
To put it simply, Iowa is what wins in the Big Ten.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz did not mold such a program by mistake either.
“You learn early in your career more games are lost than won,” Ferentz said. “Coach (Hayden) Fry used to say you can’t start winning until you quit losing. I don’t pretend to know a lot about other sports, but when I do watch other sports and you see errors or walks in baseball, things like that, where you’re not making the other team earn it. Those things, they kind of resonate with me. Basketball turnovers — same thing. Certain things are true in all sports. That’s one thing, at least 20-some years ago, through my time in football, working around a lot of good people, those were building blocks to get things started.”
The Fan Files, a preseason series featuring one passionate fan from each of Iowa's 2026 opponents, will begin exploring each program's outlook, key storylines, expectations for the season and what Hawkeye fans should know on Tuesday, August 11 and run until Saturday, September 5.
Ethan Petrik is a University of Iowa beat writer for the Lee Enterprises network. Follow him on X or send him an email at ethan.petrik@wcfcourier.com.
