Sometime towards the end of July or early August, college football begins to pick up steam and so does the excitement among fans. It's so close, yet so far.

You can't really blame fans for finding anything college football-related to get excited about this time of year. The official start of the 2024-2025 college football season is on August 24th, when Florida State takes on Georgia Tech, New Mexico plays against Montana State, SMU plays against Nevada, and Del State travels to Hawaii.

College Football Traditions

One of the most unique things about college football is the school traditions you'll see on Saturdays. Most schools have some kind of tradition that makes games special when they're playing in front of their home crowd and home students.

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Clemson football players will rub "Howard's Rock" before running down the hill to begin football games. Ohio State's marching band will select a 4th or 5th year student to dot the 'i' during the Script Ohio performance. Wisconsin fans will "Jump Around" before the 4th quarter. Hawaii football will perform the Haka war cry/chant/dance before their games begin.

There are plenty of traditions unique to schools around the country. I may be biased but it's hard for any of them to stack up to the, fairly new tradition, at the University of Iowa.

The Hawkeye Wave

The University of Iowa has one of the youngest traditions in college football but it is already considered the best. You're familiar with the wave toward the Stead Family Children's Hospital at the end of the first quarter. This is easily the most heartwarming tradition in college football, and I would argue the most heartwarming tradition in all of sports.

This tradition is loved by so many, that the entire stadium takes part in the wave. Opposing players, opposing fans, and the Hawkeye thousands all take a moment to show love to those in the hospital. How many college football traditions does everyone get to be a part of and not just the home team? Not very many.

According to Hawk Central, the Wave toward the hospital, after the first quarter, was brought up by Krista Young, in 2017. She posted the idea on Hawkeye Heaven's Facebook page and the post quickly went viral.

Supposedly, Krista saw a photo of a kid looking out of a window at the hospital, and she thought it would be a great way to connect those in the stadium, with those battling illnesses across the street. Officials at the University of Iowa had discussed ideas similar to this as the hospital had almost completed construction, but Krista's idea sped up that process.

If you're a football fan or an Iowa football fan, you've probably seen lists like this over the years, and there always seems to be a consistent number 1. The Iowa Wave is by far the best tradition in college football.