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Sports

History of how we became the Cyclones

The "Cyclones" name dates back to 1895. That year, Iowa suffered an unusually high number of devastating cyclones (as tornadoes were called at the time). In September, the football team from what was then Iowa Agricultural College traveled to Northwestern University and defeated that team by a score of 36-0. The next day, the Chicago Tribune's headline read "Struck by a Cyclone: It Comes from Iowa and Devastates Evanston Town." The article began, "Northwestern might as well have tried to play football with an Iowa cyclone as with the Iowa team it met yesterday." The nickname stuck.

Listed below are Iowa State's 20 varsity sports and the years they achieved varsity status.
*Discontinued sports.

1890 - Men's Track & Field 
 1970 - Women's Swimming & Diving    
1892 - Baseball*
 1971 - Women's Golf
1892 - Football 
 1971 - Softball
1907 - Men's Basketball
 1973 - Women's Basketball 
1909 - Men’s Cross Country       
 1973 - Women's Gymnastics
1911 - Men's Tennis*
 1973 - Women's Tennis
1916 - Men’s Swimming & Diving*          
 1973 - Women's Track & Field
1916 - Wrestling
 1973 - Women's Volleyball
1931 - Men's Golf  
 1975 - Women's Cross Country 
1963 - Men's Gymnastics*
 1995 - Women’s Soccer