Iowa football collects and delivers supplies to help relief efforts in Oklahoma
In times of crisis, teams that might not normally interact with each other usually find common ground by helping the greater good.
That’s what happened with Iowa and Oklahoma when Iowa’s famed Hawk Truck, which usually carries football equipment on the road for the team, loaded up with food and other goods to bring to those affected by the tornadoes in Moore, Okla.
Mike Riggan, the president of TanTara Transportation Corporation from Muscatine, Iowa, led the effort and with the help of several former Iowa players filled the truck and drove it overnight to an Oklahoma Food Bank where it was greeted by Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and several of his players who had just arrived on campus for summer workouts.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz had called Stoops the week before, told him of the plan and Stoops put his players into action.
“I’ve got all my big linemen (out helping),” Stoops said. “They’re the right ones to unload a truck. We’ve got all them up to try and help out. We’ll continue to do what we can and try to jump in and help people in different ways.”
Stoops is a 1983 graduate of Iowa and his wife, Carol, also is an alum. Stoops has been helping the relief efforts in Moore, Okla., since the tornadoes and storms ravaged the town a couple weeks ago. His well-documented efforts have apparently caused others to take action as well.
“On behalf of myself, Carol and everyone at the University of Oklahoma, we really appreciate the generosity of the people of the state of Iowa,” Stoops said. “It’s really incredible that the people of Iowa brought truckloads of food here to the Food Bank.
“I spent 10 years — five playing and five as a young assistant at Iowa — and to see the Iowa Hawkeye trucks here is pretty special.”
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