Even though the Cyclones were victorious over the Hawkeyes at Saturday night’s football game, the University of Iowa still has the upper hand.

In the number of alumni memberships, that is.

The Iowa State Alumni Association used the rivalry between the two state universities to kick off a new direct mail campaign this weekend.

About 27 percent of Hawkeye graduates belong to the alumni association compared with 23 percent of Cyclones, according to a press release.

“We have about the same number of graduates, but the University of Iowa has a larger alumni association. It’s not that significantly larger,” said Diane Van Wyngarden, director of marketing for the Alumni Association.

Karen Tow, associate executive director of the Alumni Association, said developing another rivalry between ISU and U of I is all in good fun.

“We’ve been in touch with our colleagues at the alumni association at the U of I, and they think it’s a good idea too,” she said.

Van Wyngarden said the association is hoping to target new and younger members with a more individual approach.

To increase membership, a mailing was sent to 7,000 alumni who expressed interest in athletics and who are not members of the Alumni Association.

“This is the first time we have tried a direct mailing,” Van Wyngarden said. “If successful, we plan to continue the program on a larger scale.”

The first mailing focused on ISU athletics, but a variety of mailings are scheduled to be sent out, Van Wyngarden said.

“We’ve seen a good number of new memberships come in as a result,” she said.

Van Wyngarden said there are many benefits to joining the Alumni Association. To attract new members, the association is using technology and the Internet.

These new online benefits include permanent e-mail forwarding, an electronic biweekly newsletter and online alumni directory.

Van Wyngarden said the Alumni Association won’t know the impact of the direct mail campaign for a couple of weeks.

The association is continuing to test different approaches to see what alumni now and in the future need from the association, Van Wyngarden said.

“The Alumni Association provides the lifetime link for alumni to ISU,” she said.