The president of the Board of Regents, Mike Richards, made a statement to the board today on the investigation of the claims that members of the University of Iowa band were assaulted during the 2019 Iowa-Iowa State football game.
“Following an investigation, it was determined there was not enough evidence available to substantiate the pursuit of any charges,” Richard says. Richards says they will continue working on the issue for the next football season.”All three university presidents have agreed to work together to review and improve game management policies for games on each of our campuses prior to the start of the fall 2020 semester. These efforts are already underway,” Richards says. He says each school has made a commitment to continue to make safety at our games a priority.
University of Iowa athletic director Gary Barta got things started with a written statement that said there “inappropriate actions” toward band members and staff and said an investigation was underway. Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard first said he did not know what the actions were. The two then released a joint statement saying there had been “rude and vulgar” behavior directed at both bands.
University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld told the student newspaper that the two universities may have to stop the “Cy-Hawk” game altogether if safety can’t be guaranteed. The two sides eventually worked things out and conducted the investigation.