Inside the Best Gameday Production in College Basketball at Iowa State

Hilton Coliseum, home of the Iowa State Cyclones. One of the best places in America when it comes to watching basketball.

It’s not in the most rural place, or the face of a big city, but rather a home for the passionate fans in Iowa. And when it comes to gameday production, it’s arguably the best of any school in college basketball.

But this story starts back in early 2026, when I went to my first Iowa State basketball game. As a high school senior, I was committed to attending Iowa State, but I wanted to visit Ames at least once before officially deciding.

Luckily for me, I ended up picking the best weekend of them all. The Cyclones hosted their bitter archrivals, the Kansas Jayhawks, on Saturday at noon, as well as the Houston Cougars on Monday night.

Iowa State has great gameday crew

Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats. — Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

Iowa State was ranked in the top 10, and so were both Kansas and Houston, which created a scenario for what could be a historic weekend for the Cyclones.

On Saturday, I went to Hilton to watch Iowa State take on Kansas. Quickly, I realized I was at home. As a San Francisco Bay Area native, college sports weren’t a big thing in comparison to most places on the East Coast. Typically, games wouldn’t be packed, even on weekends. But Ames was a whole different ballgame.

Fans packed the stadium as soon as it opened, and quickly, it started to get loud. It wasn’t just a basketball game; it was a community.

The music was loud, and fans were clapping their hands while singing along. When head coach T.J. Otzelberger arrived, the roof almost blew off with cheers. My hands stung before the ball was even tipped off.

The Cyclones, of course, won in dominant fashion. A juicy wiggle and Mr. Brightside chant later, and I was out of the building.

I really took into account what an amazing experience it was, and couldn’t believe how well-run the game operations and entertainment were. That’s why it was immensely cool to get to meet and build a relationship with the man who runs it all.

On Monday morning, I decided to attend a few classes at Iowa State. After talking to a few professors, I thought that it could provide some valuable experience. I entered the building around 30 minutes early, hoping to introduce myself.

I ended up talking to James McNab, a sports media professor at Iowa State. He was the teacher of the class I attended later that day. He let me know that we had a guest speaker, who came into the room a few minutes later.

His name was Jeff Johnson. He ran event and gameday operations for Cyclone basketball games, overseeing the productions and atmosphere of games. He’s one of the biggest pieces that help turn Iowa State into one of the best gameday atmospheres in the country.

“My job is to execute the plan put together by the Iowa State Athletic Marketing Department for our basketball game day production. And a script is prepared,” Johnson said. ”The marketing department puts in a lot of time and effort in coming up with the best ways to create both a home court advantage as well as a memorable experience for the fans.”

But great things, of course, take time. And that’s why Johnson and the crew make sure that they are prepared hours before games.

“I typically arrive 2 hours before tip-off. And at that time, I meet with Nathan Terry, and Terry is my direct report. He provides me and other members of the crew with the script and I go through that. Oftentimes, there are things that we do each and every game. But there are also different promotions, announcements, contests, and presentations that vary game to game. So it's important for me to go through the script, get familiar with what the plan is, and if I have questions, then I talk with either Terry or with the folks in the control room. And then by game time, everything is ready to go, and actually, our production typically starts 45 minutes before tip-off. So when the fans are still walking into the building, we're already creating that atmosphere and kind of building the energy toward tip-off.”

After graduating from Iowa State back in 1986, he became a reporter for the CBS affiliate in Des Moines. Johnson also spent time running the Jumbotron for the Kansas City Royals in the MLB. Finally, in 2000, Johnson returned to the Cyclones, but this time, working either in the control room or as the arena director.

“My favorite part of the job is that I'm actually sitting in the arena getting to experience the atmosphere and seeing the game play out right in front of me. And that not only helps me do a better job, but also, as a sports fan, there's nothing better than being inside Hilton on a night when the crowd is going crazy and the team's playing well. That atmosphere is just hard to beat.”

That Monday night, Iowa State got another victory, this time over No. 2 Houston. It was one of the biggest wins in program history, and an unbelievable environment. While at the game, I saw Johnson working.

While I considered not interrupting him during work, I hoped that he would have a second to chat. Quickly, he recognized me and had a quick discussion. Of course, I congratulated him on another great performance working the gameday operations.

Iowa State was a great place, and I had such a memorable weekend in the beautiful town of Ames. At the games, I realized that the Cyclones have one of the best gameday atmospheres in the entire country. And a massive reason that it's the case is due to Johnson and the gameday staff, who create a unique, one-of-a-kind atmosphere at Hilton.

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