It’s the most wonderful time of the year again for Iowans – the Cy-Hawk game.

The rivalry between the two schools is an intense one, especially for sports, but what about everything else? Iowa may be known as the “Hawkeye state” but here are a few reasons why the world should call Iowa the “Cyclone state” instead. 

Location, location, location

Ames is the perfect home for a college campus because the town was specifically built around and for the university. When the land was purchased for the college, there was no such thing as Ames, Iowa. This is why Iowa State’s campus is all together in one area and not spread out through town, which makes walking on campus easy. 

Not only is it an easy walk, it’s also beautiful. In 2015, Buzzfeed voted Iowa State as one of the top 25 most beautiful college campuses in the world. As if we needed reassurance that our school is beautiful. 

Where’s Iowa City’s award for their campus? Oh, right. They don’t have one. 

The opportunities

Iowa State offers over 100 majors in a wide array of options including engineering, agricultural studies, veterinary medicine, design and event management to name a few. There are also pre-professional programs offered for those thinking about graduate schools. The Soar in 4 program also helps students graduate in four years, assuring that they will receive their degree on time and save money in tuition. 

Iowa State also has over 850 clubs and organizations on campus for students to get involved in. The greek community at Iowa State is also larger and more active philanthropically than the chapters at Iowa. For example, last year, Iowa State’s greek community raised over $377,000 for Special Olympics Iowa through Polar Bear Plunge. Iowa City raised around $30,000.

But the opportunities aren’t restricted to those who attend Iowa State. The ISU Extension and Outreach program gives people of all 99 Iowa counties access to Iowa State resources and research. 

Our spirit

We may not be the best at sports, but what we lack in athletic ability, we make up for in school spirit. On game days, it’s nearly impossible to find someone who’s not wearing some combination of cardinal and gold, singing the ISU fight song at the top of their lungs. 

This weekend, let’s welcome the Hawkeyes to Ames and show them what we already know: Iowa is a Cyclone state.