(Iowa City) A longtime teacher and coach in Western Iowa has completed a busy year as a fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Upon retiring from Treynor, Dan Schleisman relocated to the Iowa City area. He graduated from the University of Iowa on May 26th, 1972 so this year marked the 50th anniversary. “To celebrate I decided I would try to make every single Iowa home athletic event, men and women. Last Saturday night was the last game and I made it all the way through all of them.”
Schleisman, who also previously taught and coached at Shelby-Tennant and Underwood, admits there were challenges. “It wasn’t difficult, it just was hectic because sometimes there would be, heck one time there was three things in one day, and so you couldn’t see all of any one thing, but you just kept moving. That was the only bad thing about it was there were times I couldn’t see all of something because I wanted to make everything because that was my goal.”
He was asked about the best thing he saw. “Oh jeeze, It’s hard to say because there are so many. Our field hockey team was outstanding both men’s and women’s. Women’s basketball was outstanding. Baseball is having a nice season. It’s hard to tell. Gymnastics is one I hadn’t seen for a while and our women’s team is just so good. To me they are all exciting just because I went here.”
Schleisman points out the quest was more affordable than you might think. “It’s surprising how little it cost because half of those sports don’t charge. Then the ones that do, expect for football and men’s basketball, most of the other sports if you get a season ticket the per game cost is almost like high school sports. In fact some of the sports are cheaper than going to a high school game.”
He says rowing was the sport he learned the most about, because it was new to him. He lists gymnastics as one of the University of Iowa offerings he’s most impressed with. “I think gymnastics. I had to take a gymnastics course when I was in college and that’s just to me they have the toughest sport. They have to be perfect to even get a good score in their events. I think probably that more than anything just because of all the skill it takes for those young ladies.”
Some days were more intensive than others. For example, he recently attended tennis, softball, and soccer all in the same day, but says it never got to be too much. “No, no, never. It’s Iowa. What can I say? It was certainly worthwhile I thought.”
Schleisman calls the environment during the women’s basketball postseason as unreal and unbelievable and says wrestling’s atmosphere can’t be matched by anyone else in the country. “Wrestling I don’t think there is any way. They just the nation for the 15th year in a row for attendance and their attendance is nearly double any other University. So I don’t think so. I think that’s impossible.”
He says there were over 170 University of Iowa events and he estimates having attended more than 200 sporting activities when you add the high school competitions he took in.
Dan Schleisman:
