The Cyclones, and ranch dressing, are preparing for Ireland

For the first time ever, the Iowa State football team will play abroad when it takes on Kansas State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic on Saturday, Aug. 23 in Dublin, Ireland.

Getting 120 Cyclone players there and ready to perform at their best has been an effort a year in the making for the athletics department. All equipment, food and supplies must be ready at a moment's notice – despite the location roughly 3,900 miles from Ames. 

The ISU football party will travel on a chartered Aer Lingus plane leaving Wednesday, Aug. 20, for the roughly 10-hour flight, and return on Sunday, Aug. 24.

Outfitting the Cyclones

Large duffle bags will be tested to their limits with the team's equipment for the trip. Each player has a game jersey, pants, helmet, shoulder pads and cleats as well as warm-up gear, compression shorts, socks, accessories and gloves.

"Since we will be practicing in Ireland, we bring a practice loop for each player that includes shorts, shirt, socks and a practice jersey," said Mikie Schiltz, head of football equipment operations. "We bring backups of every item, so we bring 25 backup jerseys, six backup helmets and plenty of extra compressions and socks."

The Cyclones will be prepared for inclement weather with rain jackets and pants for each staff member and rain gloves for player use. A selection of cleats will enable players to find the best footing on the field.

Equipment managers began packing for the trip in mid-July and will not stop until the bus pulls away for the trip to the airport. Much of the gear will be shipped two weeks prior to the game, packed onto an equipment semi trailer and hauled to a cargo plane in Chicago for the flight to Dublin.

"Once in Dublin, all the equipment will be delivered either to the stadium or team hotel," Schiltz said. "When our staff arrives in Dublin, they will unpack it and prepare the locker room for the team."

A victory for the Cyclone football team is not the only thing at stake in Ireland. Iowa State student managers will play their Kansas State peers in a game of seven-on-seven with a trophy helmet on the line. The ISU managers won the two previous meetings.

Fueling the Cyclones

When it comes to keeping the Cyclones fueled for the trip, assistant athletics director for sports nutrition Nicole Kiley and her team have it covered. Before departing Aug. 20, the Cyclones will practice and eat, with more food available during the bus ride to the airport.

"From that point on, our team is handling every single meal the team eats," said Kiley, who compared the preparation and trip to a bowl game experience. "We feed them on the airplane to make sure we are meeting their needs, and we are coordinating meals at the stadium and hotel."

Kiley said a consistently fed athlete is a high-performing athlete. To ensure that, the Cyclones are bringing all the food, including condiments. She said even subtle differences in taste can turn an athlete off from eating something, so the ranch dressing players are used to will be the ranch available in Ireland.

Players will have four meals daily and snacks as needed. One meal will incorporate authentic Irish cuisine. It is a significant quantity of food because each player is on a plan that was developed in the offseason to help meet their goal. That focus might be on gaining or losing weight or adding muscle.

Dietitian Abbie Parizek will travel to Ireland a day ahead of the team to have everything set up when the team lands in Dublin. Kiley and dietitian Jonnee Sulzberger will fly with the team.

"When we touch down, we want the team to be able to lock in right away," Kiley said. "We had to submit a detailed manifest of every single thing that is traveling, from snacks to supplements, that had to be weighed and accounted for."

Keeping the Cyclones on the field

The Cyclones' eight-member medical team will be in Ireland, led by director of sports medicine for football Joe Resendez, who joined the Cyclones this year. The group includes three student interns.

Resendez said the sports medicine team is treating the experience like a typical conference road game – but packing more. Typically, necessary equipment is packed on the semi-trailer that hauls it to the site a few days before the game.

"We have been putting together our list since late May and hitting checkpoints throughout," he said.

Resendez, who previously worked with NBA teams that traveled to China and India, said his team will pack everything it might need with most going on the cargo plane because sourcing items in Ireland could be challenging. That's everything from tape, tables and massage guns to emergency equipment -- for example, an automated external defibrillator -- for the most serious possible situations.

Resendez said the biggest challenge may be the long flights to and from Ireland. Players will wear compression socks during the flights to reduce swelling in their legs. Firefly units -- a wearable, portable nerve stimulator designed to enhance blood flow and aid muscle recovery,  primarily in the legs -- will be available.

The Cyclones already will be in game preparation mode during the flight home because they host the South Dakota Coyotes at Jack Trice Stadium Aug. 30.