Iowa State sophomore running back Abu Sama III and freshman offensive lineman Isaiah Seymour became the first students to participate in tryouts to join the popular ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ initiative. The campaign is part of an innovative promotional agreement between the Iowa Pork Producers Association and some Iowa State football players to encourage consumers to eat pork. 

Originally launched in September 2023, the campaign featuring Cyclones Myles Purchase, Tyler Moore, Tommy Hamann and Caleb Bacon quickly went viral across social media, earning millions of views and gaining widespread national attention. Teammates Alec Cook and Zach Lovett later joined the successful promotion and helped amplify it even further. The Iowa Pork Producers Association is searching for other Cyclone student-athletes who can help share the message to consumers that they should purchase more ham and bacon, cook and love it.

In a series of videos to be released every Monday at 10 a.m. for the next several weeks, Purchase, Moore, Hamann and Bacon will act as a panel of judges as their fellow students try to join the pork roster. Alec Cook is serving as the emcee of the proceedings. The video featuring Sama and Seymour debuted on Sept. 2.

Abu Sama played high school football at Southeast Polk in Pleasant Hill, Iowa, leading them to two state championships, and he was one of the top freshman college football players in the nation last season. His suggestion for the judges: “Purchase Sama Moore Hamann Bacon.”

“The tryout got me out of my comfort zone a little, doing something a little different,” Sama said. “I think the videos are funny and hope they will bring a smile to others when they see this. They’ll hopefully want to purchase some ham and bacon.”

Isaiah Seymour played high school football at Dowling Catholic in West Des Moines, Iowa and is a true freshman for the Cyclones this season. His suggestion for judges: “Seymour Hamann Bacon”.

In conjunction with the partnership, the Iowa Pork Producers Association is donating pork to each player’s food bank or food pantry of choice. The updated list of food banks and pantries that will each receive $1,000 worth of pork includes:

The episodic series of videos will conclude on Monday, Oct. 7, just in time to celebrate National Pork Month, aka “Porktober.”

The Sports Business Journal named the ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ promotion the “Best NIL Deal of 2023”. The Iowa Pork Producers Association worked with the We Will Collective to arrange the NIL deals with Cyclone student-athletes.

The ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ videos can be found on the Iowa Pork Producers Association’s Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube channels.

The full video series is available for your use at this link.