Trice - 1990s

In February of 1995, Dustin Shaver revived the cause to name the stadium Jack Trice Stadium and proposed a new resolution to the GSB to rename Cyclone Stadium. Unlike many others, this resolution included a section that required it be raised to the attention of many powerful parties, including the President, Board of Regents, Athletic Director, Head Football Coach, ISU Foundation, and various media outlets.

Memo to President Martin C. Jischke recommending renaming Cyclone Stadium “Jack Trice Stadium,”
Memo to President Martin C. Jischke recommending renaming Cyclone Stadium “Jack Trice Stadium,”, January 21, 1997. Iowa State University. Committee on the Naming of Building and Streets, RS 8/6/155, box 5, folder 2.

The Advisory Committee on the Naming of Buildings and Streets again considered the proposal and looked to the Iowa State community for input. By this time, the number of signatures supporting the cause had increased since the 1970s and 1980s to over 8,000.

In February of 1997, two years after the torch was reignited, President Martin C. Jischke accepted the recommendations of the Advisory Committee and made the recommendation to the Board of Regents, who approved the change.

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Jack Trice Stadium Dedication Program, August 30, 1997. Jack Trice Papers, RS 21/7/23, box 1, folder 9.

On August 30, 1997, a pregame dedication ceremony for Jack Trice Stadium was held at the statue of Jack Trice, which had been moved that summer to stand in front of the stadium. During the ceremony, hosted by the ISU Foundation, Minority Student Affairs, GSB, Athletic Department, and Internal Affairs, the audience of 300 students, faculty, staff, and other supporters witnessed the stadium’s new name revealed in the stadium’s entryway. Speakers at the event included the GSB President, Rob Wiese, Athletic Director, Gene Smith, and ISU President, Martin C. Jischke.

Following the dedication ceremony, the Cyclones hosted Oklahoma State at the newly christened Jack Trice Stadium. Just before kickoff, the announcer relayed Trice’s story, and Gladys Nortey, a graduate journalism student and former track and field athlete, read Trice’s “I will!” letter to the crowd of nearly 44,000.

Football Program for the Game vs. Oklahoma State
Football Program for the Game vs. Oklahoma State, August 30, 1997. Iowa State University. Football Programs, RS 24/6/0/5, box 12.

Now, Jack Trice Stadium is the only Division I football Stadium in the country named in honor of an African American person.

Although it took nearly 75 years for this “tangible” memorial to be conceptualized and completed. The students from 1923 were right. “The crowning tribute” to Trice “came from the minds and hearts of this college” and “the thoughts and comments of the student body.” These students emulated and elevated the determination of Jack Trice for nearly 25 years to create a memorial where “all who come into” its “influence can experience the steadfastness of purpose which was Jack’s.”