IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A heartwarming tradition launched at Iowa home football games five years ago is getting another feel-good layer.

The University of Iowa announced Wednesday that patients at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital will get to pick the songs that accompany the Hawkeye Wave, at which fans attending games at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium wave to patients at the adjacent hospital and the patients are often seen waving back.

The university had asked fans vote for a new song to replace Pat Green's country song “Wave on Wave” that has accompanied the Hawkeye Wave since its inception in 2009. The fans, in turn, suggested letting the kids pick.

Now at every Iowa home game this year, the hospital’s Kid Captain — a Children’s Hospital patient who is is picked to be honored at each home game — will help select a new song to accompany the Hawkeye Wave.

“The children are the true heroes, so the choice is theirs," said Peter Matthes, Iowa's vice president for external relations. "That is something we can all agree on, and I cannot thank our fans enough for their input, engagement and generosity.”

Pat Green

Children’s hospital patients to pick ‘Hawkeye Wave’ songs