To the Editor:

Hey Cyclone fans! Wasn’t it great to have a lead on the Hawkeyes for once?

The increased support you’ve shown the Iowa State football team this season has been fantastic! Wouldn’t it be great to create that type of atmosphere at a baseball game? How about at a women’s tennis meet?

At ISU, football and men’s basketball are the main revenue-producing athletic programs. The funds raised by these sports help support all varsity athletics.

Without these funds, it’s feasible that other athletic programs would not only suffer, but end completely. Although your support of football and basketball is financially important to other athletic teams, nonrevenue sports need more than just funds to survive and prosper.

Nonrevenue programs also need your support in the stands.

Unfortunately, these sports haven’t received the backing they deserve. In a recent poll of ISU students, nearly 60 percent polled had attended at least one football or basketball game, while less than 30 percent had attended any other varsity athletic event.

Fan support can have an astonishing effect on the athletes’ performances. Take, for example, the incredible intensity and effort shown by the Cyclone football team during its home games this season.

This type of atmosphere could generate a winning attitude in all ISU athletes. Our athletic programs need your presence to succeed and thrive.

So thanks for the tremendous turnout at the football games, and we hope you will take in a swimming meet or perhaps a soccer game.

If you’re unsure when and where sporting events are happening, check the back page of the Daily every Monday for a schedule of the week’s athletic events.

Jack Zidlicky

senior in finance/transportation and logistics

Jeff Bunge

senior in exercise and sport science

Alison Aiken

senior in mathematics