Pride on display: Special Collections teams up with the Letterwinners Club

This fall, Iowa State University Library Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) joined forces with Iowa State Athletics to bring history to the tailgate. At two Letterwinners Club tailgate events before home football games, we hosted pop-up exhibits that celebrated the legacy of Iowa State student-athletes. 

The Letterwinners Club is all about keeping Cyclones connected. They honor alumni who earned their varsity letters, host reunions, and induct members into the Hall of Fame—all while supporting today’s student-athletes in the classroom and in competition. To facilitate our collaboration with the Letterwinners Club, the library has a formal memorandum of understanding (MOU) with athletics, outlining ways we will work together for mutual benefit throughout the year. The tailgate events are included in this agreement as an outreach opportunity, as are other items such as AV reproductions and other exhibit opportunities. 

For SCUA, these tailgates were the perfect chance to showcase materials from our collections and spark conversations about collecting and preserving Cyclone history. We curated pop-up exhibits featuring iconic artifacts like letter sweaters and uniforms, plus photographs, programs, and documents that tell the story of athletics across generations. We shared library swag and set up a digital form for anyone interested in donating materials to the archives to fill out. 

The best part was hearing alumni share their stories—sometimes recognizing items on display from their own playing days! Those personal connections made the experience memorable. 

Because the tailgate events required registration through athletics, we were able to connect with attendees by email before and after each tailgate, sharing more about SCUA and inviting donations. We are excited to see where these conversations lead and how they’ll help us grow our collections for future Cyclones.