Sep 14, 2019; Ames, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes linebacker Nick Niemann (49) chases Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Brock Purdy (15) at Jack Trice Stadium. Iowa beat Iowa State 18-17. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
When the Big Ten announced its decision to play a conference only schedule last month, it meant there would be a one-year break from the Cy-Hawk rivalry.
It also opened the door for one big question on the mind of people in the state of Iowa. What does that mean for the Cy-Hawk game in 2021 and where will it be played?
As it turns out, the two men in charge of leading the Iowa State and University of Iowa athletic departments, Jamie Pollard and Gary Barta, were in the process of answering that question following the cancellation of the 2020 game, which was scheduled to be played in Iowa City on Sept. 12.
“We will be hosting (in 2021),” Pollard said in a Zoom call with reporters on Monday. “That was something that Gary Barta and I talked about the day he called me and told me that they were going to play conference only, we talked about that exact issue, that it’s like the game was played (this fall) even though it wasn’t played.”
That will be the plan for all scheduled contests between the two schools, which all currently hang in the balance with the Big Ten ultimately deciding to postpone all fall competition and the status of winter sports still unclear.
Under that decision, it means the 2021 Cy-Hawk men’s basketball game and wrestling dual will be competed in Ames, as well, while the women’s basketball game will be in Iowa City, assuming none of them are held during this athletics season.
Even still, who knows what will end up happening considering the Big Ten’s current intentions to play football in the spring and whatever ramifications that could have on a fall of 2021 season.
At the end, we know one thing for certain.
If there is a Cy-Hawk game in 2021, it will be played at Jack Trice Stadium.
