Waterloo Times

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise around the country, new precautions have been taken regarding safety and regulations at Iowa football games with the arrival of the 2021 season. 

With the first Iowa football game played on Sept. 4, vaccinations were not required and masks were optional, not mandated for anyone attending. But with the delta variant causing an influx in cases across the country, Iowa is taking new precautions to keep players and fans safe. 

"Iowa football has announced that it will host a COVID-19 and flu vaccination clinic before the Hawkeyes season opener at Kinnick Stadium Saturday against Indiana," Lori Schmidt, Columbus Dispatch assistant sports editor, said in a tweet Sept. 2.

While Iowa has not hosted a football game in 21 months, it expected to see 67,000 fans in Kinnick Stadium Sept. 4, which has a capacity of 69,250 people. With this, fans were not only be able to purchase wine and beer during the game but were also be able to receive a COVID-19 vaccine if they had not done so already, according to Hawk Central.

In addition to on-site vaccination, Kinnick Stadium asked fans to be patient following new regulations and encourages patrons to check in early to avoid waiting in long, crowded lines. 

“We would encourage people to start coming into the stadium earlier than usual,’’ Director of Athletics Gary Barta said, according to QC Times.

The Hawkeye's first home game in almost two years was on Sept. 4 at 4:30 pm.