Iowa Clubs

Why Join an Iowa Club?

Staying connected to your alma mater and the Hawkeyes is easy when you live in Iowa. But, what happens when life takes you to other places? A far-off location doesn’t have to put distance between you and the things that mean so much, as Jack Nelson discovered.

Jack Nelson (front right) and some fellow Memphis Iowa Club members proudly display their latest project, a charity cookbook.

Nelson, 75BBA, is a dedicated Hawkeye fan. When he moved to Tennessee in 1978, it wasn’t so easy to join like-minded folk in following his favorite team. All that has changed. Partly, it’s due to Iowa’s sporting success, which has led to primetime TV coverage. Nelson also has a little help from some friends—the 80-plus members of his local Iowa Club in Memphis.

Like thousands of UI alumni and friends around the country, Nelson has discovered the many advantages of belonging to an Iowa Club. Some 70 clubs around the nation help keep Iowa folk connected to the university, its athletic teams, and each other. In 1985, Nelson co-founded the Memphis club, which organizes regular game watches so that loyal fans who can’t make it back to Kinnick or Carver-Hawkeye Arena can still cheer themselves hoarse in an atmosphere overflowing with black-and-gold enthusiasm.

With a variety of events and activities on offer, Iowa Clubs provide more than the opportunity to follow Hawkeye sports. Genuine Iowa friendliness and warmth are the secret to their success. Many of the original members are still active in the Memphis club today. “That first potluck, we came together as strangers and left as friends,” says Nelson.

They also extend that generous spirit to others. Members collect supplies for a local disadvantaged school, raise money for a scholarship to help Memphis-area students attend the UI, and throw potluck dinners. Their most recent charity fund-raising project is a cookbook of their favorite recipes (available from www.iowalum.com/memphis), plus some from Iowa coaches and administrators and celebrities with Iowa roots.

“The atmosphere at our events is always amazing. New people nearly always remark how they feel at home. Often, a visitor will find someone who knows their cousin, worked with a friend, or dated their niece,” says Nelson. “Many of us have no roots left in Iowa itself, so it would be easy just to let go. The Memphis Iowa Club keeps us connected not only to our beloved university, but to the state of Iowa.”

Indeed, thanks to Iowa Clubs, cities and towns around the country resound with the sentiment heard so often in Iowa: “It’s great to be a Hawkeye!”

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