After a 22-year-long student movement to rename Cyclone Stadium in honor of Jack Trice, Iowa State President Martin Jischke said Monday that he will recommend changing the name to the regents.

“His [Trice’s] story has become a part of Iowa State history,” Jischke said, “This is the right thing for Iowa State to do.”

Jischke will submit his recommendation to the state Board of Regents for consideration at its Feb. 19-20 meeting. The regents must approve his recommendation before the name goes into effect, but it is unlikely they would act contrary to Jischke’s recommendation.

In fact, the vote may be just a formality. None of the nine regents has spoken out against renaming the stadium, and several have said they support the Trice movement.

“I’m very hopeful that they will approve my recommendation,” Jischke said. “I will try to convey the importance of Jack Trice and the heroic qualities he represents.”

Trice was ISU’s first black student-athlete. He is also the only ISU athlete to die as a result of injuries sustained during competition. He died Oct. 8, 1923, from injuries he received in his second varsity football game.

The stadium was originally called Cyclone Stadium. But immediately after its construction in 1975, students began lobbying to get the stadium named after Trice. In 1984 the regents approved a compromise offered by then President Robert Parks. The stadium was renamed Cyclone Stadium/Jack Trice Field.

A statue of Trice was placed next to Beardshear Hall in 1987 by the Government of the Student Body. It was removed earlier this year for renovations.

The statue will be placed next fall near the stadium, which will likely bear Trice’s name.

Jischke said he reached his decision after considering recommendations submitted to him by GSB and the Advisory Committee for the Naming of Buildings and Streets. Jischke also said he did his own research on Trice.

“I am very pleased that the students made this recommendation to me,” Jischke said. “He [Trice] brought an enthusiasm and a promise to the university. That is exemplary. I believe it is appropriate to recognize those qualities by naming the stadium for him.”

GSB approved a resolution in October that called on the university to rename the stadium.

GSB President Adam Gold said Jischke’s decision was a victory for students.

“I’m pretty happy right now,” he said. “This has been attempted and tried for approximately 20 years. Through the work of my administration, we’ve accomplished what nobody’s been able to accomplish for over 20 years.”

Gold said the reason this year’s efforts to rename the stadium were successful is in part due to a more concerted approach among students, university administrators and GSB.

“I personally felt strongly about this when I ran for this job. I made it more of an issue than to just write a resolution,” Gold said.

Donald Kaul, a columnist for The Des Moines Register who has been pushing to get the stadium renamed after Trice since the 1970s, said the decision is “long over due.” Kaul added, in jest, that he would like to take full credit for Jischke’s decision.

“You people have rocket scientists at Iowa State. You think you’d have figured it out long before now,” Kaul said. “It’s nice to see it happen.”

Assistant Dean of Students Terri Houston said Jack Trice Stadium will help attract not just minority students to ISU, but students of all races.

“It’s an excellent recruitment tool for all students because the university has supported a student movement,” she said. “This shows that the university listens to the students.”