Around the Country, Hawkeyes Flock to These Gameday Hangouts

PHOTO COURTESY NASHVILLE IOWA CLUB Nashville Iowa Club merchandise is for sale at every Hawkeye game watch at Tin Roof, with proceeds benefiting the University of Iowa.

For University of Iowa alumni, the bonds forged during their formative college years don’t end with graduation. Hawkeye pride transcends state lines, and many graduates—and Iowa fans—have found ways to carry that spirit wherever they go.

The University of Iowa Center for Advancement helps nurture this community by overseeing a vibrant network of Iowa Clubs that host Hawkeye game watches and other alumni events worldwide. Here’s a look at three Hawkeye-owned venues where Iowa fans gather to cheer on the black and gold.

Ty’s Smokehouse BBQ
Memphis, Tennessee

PHOTO COURTESY TY'S SMOKEHOUSE BBQ Memphis Iowa Club volunteer Tim Theisen prepares the smoky ribs at Ty’s Smokehouse BBQ.

Daryl Helle, an Anamosa, Iowa, native, has always been a Hawkeye at heart.

After moving to Memphis, Tennessee, in 2003, he connected with the local Iowa Club and eventually opened Ty’s Smokehouse with fellow Hawkeye fan and Iowan Tim Theisen. Located in the Memphis suburb of Bartlett, the restaurant serves Memphis-style barbecue, along with a pork tenderloin sandwich inspired by their Iowa roots.

Several years ago, Helle and Theisen brought their award-winning barbecue to Iowa City for an annual Iowa Club volunteers meeting. They also compiled a cookbook with Memphis Iowa Club members to raise money for UI student scholarships. The cookbook features recipes from Hawkeye celebrities like broadcaster Gary Dolphin and wrestling icon Dan Gable.

Helle says he gives back to the Memphis Iowa Club and the UI in gratitude for their role in helping him and his Hawk family away from home. “[The Iowa Club] gave me a chance to meet people,” he says, “and I just want to keep the club going to give that opportunity for current and future Hawkeyes.”

PHOTO COURTESY NASHVILLE IOWA CLUB Tin Roof—a bar, restaurant, and live music venue—is home to the Nashville Iowa Club and has locations in 14 states.

Tin Roof
Nashville, Tennessee

Over the past five seasons, Iowa football has twice played in the Music City Bowl based in Nashville, Tennessee, bringing thousands of Hawkeye fans to the city.

Bob Franklin (98BA), part-owner and CEO of Tin Roof, a live music venue on Nashville’s Lower Broadway, has created a welcoming place for Hawks to gather. The Nashville Iowa Club fills the building’s second floor with fans during football and basketball seasons and sells custom merchandise at each game watch, with proceeds benefiting the UI.

“When Hawk fans come to town, we are excited to see so much black and gold in town—and especially at Tin Roof,” says Franklin, a 2022 UI Distinguished Alumni Award recipient who also owns Elray’s in Iowa City.

Tin Roof, which has hosted Nashville Iowa Club game watches since 2019, now has 19 locations across 14 states. Franklin donates venue space for UI events, including for Hawkeye Huddles before the recent Big Ten basketball tournaments in Indianapolis.

While his businesses keep him traveling throughout the year, Franklin says his heart remains in Iowa City. “I love hosting events and doing things to give back to the university, because I loved my time at Iowa,” he says.

PHOTO COURTESY THEORY Theory restaurant and bar in Chicago’s River North neighborhood is the city’s “No. 1 Hawkeye bar,” says owner and Iowa alumnus Joel Sorinsky.

Theory
Chicago

Joel Sorinsky (04BA) has fond memories of enjoying the deluxe burger at Quinton’s Bar & Grill and deejaying events in downtown Iowa City while a University of Iowa student.

So, when he returned to Chicago after graduation to open Theory, a restaurant and bar in the River North neighborhood, Sorinsky knew he wanted his venture to be a mecca for Hawk fans. “On game days, we are at our busiest,” says Sorinsky, who earned a degree in communication studies, along with an entrepreneurial certificate from the UI Tippie College of Business.

As a local Iowa Club board member, Sorinsky ensures everyone who visits feels welcome at what he calls “Chicago’s No. 1 Hawkeye bar.” Fans hear the Iowa Fight Song, revel in the “In Heaven There is No Beer” signs across the bar, and marvel at the Kinnick Stadium mural highlighting the Hawkeye Wave. The menu features a taco flatbread pizza that Sorinsky calls an “ode to the 319 and Happy Joe’s Pizza.”

“I love being a Hawkeye, and the relationships I have with the university make hosting events and giving back as much as I can so rewarding,” says Sorinsky. “I feel more tied to the university now than when I was a student.”