Kinnick Stadium to Host College Football Video Game Tournament
The Hawkeye Wave, but in a video game 😲. Those who play College Football 25 can compete for exclusive access and prizes in the @ExtraLife4Kids Charity Challenge on Sept. 28, with proceeds benefiting our hospital! Register today: https://t.co/BChppllZ2V pic.twitter.com/xEXzdNnhL1
— UI Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital (@UIchildrens) July 22, 2024
The Hawkeye Wave, the Swarm, and Iowa Fight Song are all in the game. So is Kinnick Stadium, which has been faithfully digitized, brick by brick.
And most importantly for gamers and fans—including those who will compete in a special fundraising tournament this fall—dozens of Hawkeye student-athletes are represented.
After an 11-year hiatus, EA Sports revived its popular college football video game series this past summer. Developers for the long-awaited College Football 25 worked with UI Athletics and the other 133 Football Bowl Subdivision programs to replicate the pageantry and traditions of game day—and deliver on EA’s “It’s in the game” tagline. The company also secured the rights to officially use player names and likenesses in the game for the first time, paying more than 11,000 student-athletes who opted in $600 and giving them a free copy of the game.
Iowa senior running back Leshon Williams (24BS) was one of the many UI student-athletes eager to play as their digital doppelgangers after opting in through the NIL deal. “I will be giving out free whoopings all today,” Williams joked on social media on the game’s release day.
Williams and the Hawkeyes will no doubt be a popular team selection Sept. 28 when Extra Life, a fundraising program of the Children’s Miracle Network, hosts its first-ever College Football 25 video game tournament at Kinnick Stadium. The single-elimination tournament is open to those who raise money for UI Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital through DonorDrive, an online fundraising platform.
Those who reach the fundraising goal before the entry spots are filled not only will compete in the tournament, but can also meet Iowa football players and coaches on the field and hear stories from families who have had a child receive care at Iowa’s only comprehensive children’s hospital. Prizes will be awarded to the top three fundraisers and the tournament champion and runner-up.
Registrants who don’t participate in the fundraiser may try the new college football video game in a free-play area, watch the tournament action, and participate in a silent auction and the Hawkeye Wave during the championship game.