In the spirit of the intrastate rivalry, University of Iowa administrators will follow suit behind recent Iowa State tailgating restrictions and place their own restrictions on Hawkeye fans.

The behavior of some fans in and out of Kinnick Stadium — especially during the Oct. 4 game against Michigan — has become dangerous and embarrassing, University of Iowa president David Skorton said Tuesday.

He cited shirts and posters with offensive messages directed at the opposing team, tailgaters who never leave and those who carelessly hurl empty beer bottles at others as causes for the new restrictions.

Skorton unveiled new rules governing tailgating similar to recent Iowa State tailgating policies. The purpose of the rules was to curb dangerous behavior on game days and encourage better sportsmanship, he said.

The new University of Iowa tailgating rules include:

• Opening the parking lot at 8:30 a.m. rather than 7 a.m.

• Restricting entry to the parking lot to fans with game tickets.

• Clearing the parking lot once the game begins.

Although Iowa State recently implemented its own changes for tailgating — including moving the general public, including students, away from the parking lots immediately surrounding the stadium — ISU Capt. Gene Deisinger said he hasn’t seen a large change in game-day behavior.

“I can’t say I’ve seen a significant change in the last couple of years,” Deisinger said. “I think it continues to be true the majority of the crowd is reasonably well-behaved and the majority of those who use alcohol are reasonable.

“There is a small minority that chooses to engage in high-risk behavior with heavy drinking.”

Deisinger highlighted specific examples of uncivil behavior on game days.

“There are fights, people walking on roadways and other people exposing themselves,” he said. “However, it is important to remember we’re talking about a highly visible, but relatively small number of people. It’s not the majority of the crowd — student or otherwise.”

Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Hill was more optimistic of the new rules, saying the current measures taken by Iowa State to improve behavior at football games have been moderately successful.

“The new rules have had some effect, but we still have excessive consumption of alcohol in [parking lot] G-2,” Hill said. “We haven’t completely developed the source of the problem but we’re trying to develop policies and procedures to stop the problem, which is exactly what the University of Iowa is doing.”

Among problems mentioned by Skorton was shirts with offensive messages aimed at the opposing team.

Free speech rights bar the university from banning the shirts from Kinnick and Jack Trice stadium, but Hill also said he opposes the content of many shirts worn by fans on game days.

“We’ve had T-shirts here in very poor taste that have no place in the competitive environment,” he said. “[The University of Iowa] is doing the right thing by not condoning offensive clothing.”

Unruly and offensive behavior is not strictly an issue at Iowa universities. Earlier this year, the Big Ten conference launched a campaign to improve fan behavior at football and basketball games.

In August, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney said he would consider targeting alcohol use at tailgate parties before games if there was no improvement in fan behavior.

“Ultimately, these regulations exist for the safety of those attending the football game,” Hill said.

— The Associated Press

contributed to this story.