The thousands of fans who attend Cyclone sporting events each year probably have never met the students who work behind the scenes.

Mary Klein, a junior in marketing, is a wrestling manager. She said a friend helped her get involved in Cyclone wrestling a few years ago.

“My job is to travel with the team, go to coaches’ meetings and to take notes and stats at meets,” Klein said. “I also make signs at all of the home meets.”

Klein said she also deals with various marketing and media relations for the team.

“I really love all of the guys,” she said. “I have grown up with wrestling, and since my parents would not let me wrestle in high school, this is the closest I can get to it.”

Becoming a student manager for Cyclone athletics is often a lengthy process.

Chris Ihle is a senior in sports management and head manager for ISU men’s basketball.

“To apply, you should write a letter to coach Tim Floyd expressing a desire to be a manager,” Ihle said. “Then, depending on how many managers are needed, you are asked to come and work a camp. It’s kind of a trial to see how you work.”

Ihle said anyone with any major can apply to be a manager. “But if you want to go into coaching, it is especially a plus,” he said.

“I want to eventually be a coach, and I have learned so much because of my time doing this,” he said.

Ihle and the other managers are expected to work both in the basketball office and on the court.

To set up, they arrive at the gym one hour before practice begins.

The managers can then leave only when practice is finished and the last player has left.

“It is time consuming,” Ihle said. “You miss a lot of classes, but teachers are pretty understanding. But it is worth it, like when we go to Michigan or San Antonio, because it is so exciting. The players are great guys and are very appreciative of what we do, so it is worth it in that respect as well.”

Ihle said the team is not without its funny quirks.

“Coach and the rest of us are all superstitious. If something works one year and we win, we will do the same thing the next year to try and keep up the good luck,” he said. “For example, if we are in a city and stay at a certain hotel and we end up winning, then we will be sure to stay at that same hotel the next year,” he said.

Justin Wiese found his job with the Cyclone football team a little differently than Ihle.

Wiese, a junior in sports management, saw an ad in a newspaper asking for team managers.

Like Ihle, Wiese went to a trial practice to set up drills and let the coaches have an idea of how he worked with the team.

It is now his third year with the Cyclones, and he is head manager.

“I make sure everyone is happy and has what they need,” Wiese said. “I actually do a lot of work with game-day operations, like contacting other schools we will be traveling to. I let them know things like how many towels we will need for the players and whatever other equipment we need.”

Wiese said he usually works about 60 hours per week before school starts and around 35-40 hours per week after school starts until football season is over.

“We don’t get a lot of compensation, but I definitely would do it for free,” he said. We experience the same things the team does, like preseason excitement or the pain if we are losing a game.”

Wiese said some friendships have developed as a result of his job.

“We know all of the guys and get along great with them. The 13 managers are really close as well,” he said. “When you spend hours in a hotel room together, you get close. We entertain each other.”

Both ISU athletes and coaches admit they could not do their jobs without the help of their student managers.

“Our managers help a lot with organization,” said Matt Mulivihill, a senior in sociology and an ISU wrestler. “It is a lot easier to manage time with them around.”

ISU Football Head Coach Dan McCarney agreed.

“They are invaluable to the success of this program,” McCarney said.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have them. They are in the field before and after the games, and we couldn’t be more proud of them,” McCarney said.