AMES, Iowa — It’s a big weekend in Ames as the Cyclones are looking for their first win over the Hawkeyes at home since 2011.

It’s the biggest sports rivalry in the state, and ISU punter Tyler Perkins knows how much they mean because he has a few of them under his belt already. He’s in his senior year now and hoping to use this big moment to shine a light on a good cause. 

Perkins teamed up with Food Bank of Iowa to raise money for “Punts for a Purpose”. All season long he’s donating $2 for every yard he averages in a game, plus extra money for certain lengths of punts. Story Construction and First National Bank in Ames are matching those donations. There are also Raygun T-shirts for purchase with fun punter sayings on them like, “Our punters superpower: Kicking Hunger”. 

“Two years ago in 2023, Raygun reached out to me and said the fans wanted ‘I cheer for the Punter’ shirts. So I said, alright that’s pretty cool, and they asked me if I wanted the money. I said, no, we can donate it,” Perkins said. “So I was thinking, you know what? What’s a good cause I could donate to for my senior season? I kind of want to go above and beyond. I hope to encourage others, and hunger is a huge world problem. Hopefully we can combat that a little bit.”

“One in eight Iowans are facing food insecurity. One in six children are facing food insecurity. He has a heart of gold, and he just really wants to make a difference with Iowans facing food insecurity,” Bergetta Beardsley from Food Bank Iowa said. “With him and with his partnership, we know this is going to make a big impact.”

In the Cyclones first game against Kansas State in Ireland, he raise $151. In the second game, the Cyclones scored on every drive, so he didn’t get a chance to punt. Still he donated $55, because of the 55 points they scored that game. 

He’s hoping to donate more money from the CyHawk game Saturday, one way or another. 

“Hopefully an opportunity presents itself to donate some money for the Food Bank. But you know, if we all follow like last week, I won’t be disappointed, and I’ll just donate however many points we score all doing that amount,” he said.

On the Punts for a Purpose website, his goal is listed at $5,000. As of Friday afternoon, he was almost to $1,4000. There’s a lot of season still ahead. 

For more information or to donate, visit the Food Bank Punts for a Purpose website.