Will Cyclone Fans Flip for Chizik Coin?

To honor his first season at Iowa State, a Des Moines area bank will be producing a Gene Chizik Commemorative Coin. The coin will be used for the pregame coin toss at ISU home games, and will also go on sale to the general public later this month.

"Jacquie Holm-Smith, spokeswoman for Community State Bank, says they worked with Cyclone Sports Properties which holds the multi-media rights for ISU athletics on the idea. She says two versions of the coin will be available. One is antique gold, while the other version has red inlaid accents around the border.

Holm-Smith says it's a way to mark the new season with a new coaching staff, and celebrate the football team as a whole. The coin goes on sale July 16th and will sell for $15. It will be used for the first time on August 30th when the Cyclones open the season against Kent State."

The university and the surrounding communities really seem to be behind Chizik's inaugural season with the Cyclones. A commemorative coin, however, seems to fall somewhere between a bobblehead and those annoying thundersticks as far as fan promotions go. In addition, $15.00 seems awfully stiff for an otherwise worthless hunk of metal. You can catch a glimpse of the Chizik coin in PDF form here.