2025 IOWA FALL TOP 40 STUDENT SECTION PRESEASON RANKINGS

Off Central, front, Previews, Student Section Buzz,

In 2015, yours truly began covering Student Sections in Orange County, California. We expanded to Southern California in 2017 and in 2021, we added four more states and added 15 more states. We went to 40 states two years ago.

We went to all 50 states in winter of 2023 and now we add our friends from the North in Canada on top of dividing Texas into two regions, similar to what we did with California. No one has ever done that before…until now!

This is still a one-man operation for the most part, but we have some help with some partners on Instagram like good friends at OC Student Sections and Stadium Geeks with help from Maryland Student Section Rater, NorCal Student Sections and many more.

This year we plan to get several “barstool” pages that showcase Student Sections in their states. Some of those pages were very helpful last year as we get more accurate with our rankings.

I know that Student Sections have a lot of work to do to get the students to the games to cheer on their classmates and go along with the theme and make sure they don’t cause trouble. These student sections deserve recognition.

This past season, we several more Student Sections, including some big powerhouse ones that not only will be a top dawg in their state, but will be a big player in the National side!

We will kick off the Student Section season with Preseason Football Student Section Rankings. REMEMBER, this is a PREVIEW. It is merely a prediction. The real rankings come out in November or December. 

If you feel your student section isn’t ranked high enough or not ranked at all, let us know and we’ll keep a close eye on them.

Every week, we will also have Student Section of the Week for each state. Once you win Student Section of the Week, you can’t win it again, but you still have to battle for the top spot in your state and perhaps the Nation as we will also name a Football Student Section National Champion. 

We continue with the 2025 Fall Student Section Season with a preview of Iowa.

This state has some great Student Sections, but we have yet to find that super power Student Section that above the rest in Iowa. We did have Dowling Catholic Maroon Crew taking the number one ranking twice, but as we discover more Student Sections in this state, it is an open game for the top spot. A lot of equally great Student Sections here, so it is a fair wide open game in 2025.

Last Football season, we had the Waukee Hooligans as the top Football Student Section in Iowa. They didn’t show off their Student Section more than anyone else in this state on Instagram, but they definitely had the best photos and videos that sold us when it came to who had the best school spirit in Iowa.

In each state, we will name one student section to look out for. A student section that while they aren’t ranked super high or weren’t ranked high last year, they’re a Student Section to lookout for and for Iowa, it’s Wahlert. We didn’t have Wahlert ranked two seasons ago, but they broke in the Top 5 once we discovered them and I feel this is only just the beginning. Solid Student Section and if they show it off on social media on a consistent basis, they could keep going up and into the top spot. Again, it’s anyone’s game in this state.

Will Wahlert keep moving up and take the number one slot or will the Hooligans defend their top ranking in The Hawkeye State? Let’s find out.

2025 IOWA FALL TOP 40 STUDENT SECTION PRESEASON RANKINGS

  1. Waukee Hooligans (2024 Rank: 1)

This is a really large Student Section and perhaps one of the largest ones we’ve seen in Iowa. The photos and videos we saw on Instagram prove that. The Hooligans showed off their Student Section quite well and in a state where we don’t have a big-time powerhouse Student Section that also shows off their school spirit on Instagram, this is Waukee to lose. I can see them repeating in 2025.

  1. Ankeny Centennial (2024 Rank: 2)
  2. Dowling Catholic Maroon Crew (2024 Rank: 4)
  3. Iowa City West (2024 Rank: 5)
  4. Wahlert (2024 Rank: 3)
  5. Clear Creek-Amana (2024 Rank: 6)
  6. A-D-M 12th Man (2024 Rank: NR)
  7. Spirit Lake (2024 Rank: 9)
  8. Johnston (2024 Rank: 7)
  9. Solon (2024 Rank: 8)
  10. Xavier (2024 Rank: 16)
  11. West Lyon (2024 Rank: 15)
  12. North Mahaska Royalty (2024 Rank: NR)
  13. East (2024 Rank: 10)
  14. Clear Lake (2024 Rank: NR)
  15. Atlantic Fuel (2024 Rank: NR)
  16. Ankeny (2024 Rank: 12)
  17. Roosevelt Superfans (2024 Rank: 13)
  18. Valley of West Des Moines (2024 Rank: 14)
  19. Southeast Polk (2024 Rank: 26)
  20. Grundy Center (2024 Rank: 23)
  21. Pocahontas Tribe (2024 Rank: 27)
  22. Mason City Tribe (2024 Rank: 28)
  23. Indianola Tribe (2024 Rank: 29)
  24. Battle Creek-Ida Grove /Odebolt-Arthur Falcons Nest (2024 Rank: 30)
  25. Lincoln (2024 Rank: NR)
  26. Kennedy Cougar Nation (2024 Rank: 32)
  27. North Polk (2024 Rank: 34)
  28. Dallas Center-Grimes Savages (2024 Rank: 33)
  29. Liberty (2024 Rank: 25)
  30. Van Meter (2024 Rank: 31)
  31. Bishop Heelan Catholic (2024 Rank: 35)
  32. Tri-Center (2024 Rank: 11)
  33. Cedar Falls (2024 Rank: 20)
  34. Sergeant Bluff-Luton (2024 Rank: NR)
  35. Pella (2024 Rank: NR)
  36. Western Christian (2024 Rank: NR)
  37. Dike-New Hartford (2024 Rank: 18)
  38. Lewis Central (2024 Rank: 22)
  39. Bondurant-Farrar (2024 Rank: NR)

HONORABLE MENTION: Independence, Urbandale, Mt. Vernon, South Hardin, MOC-Floyd Valley