Erica Miller never misses a Hawkeyes football game.

“You could call me a rabid fan,” the senior elementary education major says with a laugh. “I get very emotional. I know the sport a lot better than most females around.”

A West Des Moines native, Miller grew up following Iowa football, but her true passion for the program was built by three years serving as a Hawkeye Host, ushering prospective recruits on game days at Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeye Host program is an arm of Students to Assist Recruitment (STAR), which Miller chose as her Pick One! activity her first year on campus.

“I joined STAR not knowing that being a Hawkeye Host was an option,” Miller says. “I applied my sophomore year, and I’ve done it for three years. I chose that over tailgating, but I’ve found that I had a much different football Saturday experience that, for me, was a lot more fun.”

While hosting recruits, Miller joins them and their families for breakfast, escorts them onto the field at Kinnick during pregame warm-ups, and takes them to meet with head coach Kirk Ferentz before kickoff. Then, she sits with the families in the stands during the games, often chatting with mothers about residence halls, class sizes, transportation, and, particularly with recruits from southern states, the weather.

“It’s fun to watch and see who has verbally committed and who is going to sign with Iowa,” Miller says. “I feel like I helped that person make their decision. Now it’s to where guys I have helped recruit are making plays on the field, and when they make a big play, I feel that pride. I feel a part of it.”

It’s been a rewarding experience, one that has made Miller feel a part of the Hawkeye family and helped her develop lasting relationships with people inside the program. And as a result of her regular interaction with recruits, she has become an avid follower of college football recruiting and the spectacle that is National Signing Day, which this year was Feb. 1.

Of course, playing host on fall Saturdays has been only a small part of Miller’s Iowa experience. She started out a dance major before deciding on elementary ed, and this spring is student teaching 5^th and 6^th graders at Shimek Elementary in Iowa City. She helped plan and implement the inaugural On Iowa! program, a massive welcome event for first-year students launched last August, and she continues to give presentations and guide campus tours for the Office of Admissions.

She’s learned a lot about Iowa, and she will leave a proud graduate in May.

“I have so many Iowa facts rattling around in my head,” she laughs. “Not only like ‘What’s the current tuition?’ or ‘How many fans fit in Kinnick Stadium?’ I know the history of this place. I know why buildings are named what they’re named. That knowledge and being in touch with that history has really given me a strong a sense of pride.

“I have so much pride in this school. I came here a Hawkeye fan, but I’ll leave here a Hawkeye.”