Iowa Alumnus and Entertainment Exec Guides Field and Stream TV

PHOTO COURTESY NICKOLAS RHODES Penny and Nick Rhodes celebrate their son Dusty’s 2023 graduation from Iowa with daughter Jade.

Founded in 1871, Field and Stream is one of the oldest storytelling platforms centered around the great outdoors. Since launching as a print magazine, it has grown into a lifestyle brand that features tips on hunting, fishing, camping, and conservation. Yet despite its robust print, web, social media, and podcast presence, the brand did not have a streaming and broadcasting platform—until now.

That’s thanks to Nickolas Rhodes (87BA), a prolific entrepreneur in the entertainment industry, who recently became the founding CEO of Field and Stream TV. Investors like country music stars Eric Church and Morgan Wallen are just some of the big names backing the project. “We’re clearly capitalizing on what Field and Stream is doing to reimagine and revitalize one of the oldest brands in media,” says Rhodes.

Before the Field and Stream project, Rhodes led the development of many other noteworthy cable network concepts. One of his proudest accomplishments was starting La Cadina Deportiva, the first Spanish language sports network in North America that’s now known as Fox Deportes. While Spanish-speaking networks are mainstream today, the platform was ahead of its time in 1993. It was met with great enthusiasm, especially in Southern California. Beyond Fox Deportes, Rhodes has been part of startup teams for several channels that reach millions of American homes, including Fox Sports Net, Fox Sports 1, NBCU Sports, and Game TV.

Rhodes now shares his career experiences and advice with UI Tippie College of Business students as an advisory board member with the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, where the next generation of entrepreneurs receive hands-on training. “I remember sitting in those students’ seats, feeling uncertain and anxious about how my life was going to unfold,” says Rhodes. That feeling motivates him to give back to his alma mater.

The past UI Distinguished Alumni Award honoree credits his success to the mentors he has had throughout his career, both at and beyond Iowa. From Los Angeles to New York, his work has taken him across the U.S. “Anywhere I go, I see a Tigerhawk,” he says. “Then, there’s always that immediate connection.”

His wife, Penny Christensen Rhodes (85BA), and son, Dusty Rhodes (23BA), are also Iowa graduates. Even though Malibu, California, is now his home, the Waterloo, Iowa, native still travels back to Iowa City as a mentor and Hawkeye football season ticket holder. As Rhodes says, “The University of Iowa is our happy place.”