Help Hawkeyes' Paulsen twins lose their locks for the kids

It’s the 25th anniversary of the Dance Marathon over at the University of Iowa. The organization has helped raise over $24 million for the Stead Family Children’s Hosptial during that span. This year two Hawkeyes football players are helping the cause at the big event on February 1 and 2. 

Donate to the Paulsens’ effort to raise money with Alexis Henry

“You guys can grow your hair out, grow your hair and your beards out after we take the senior pictures for as long as you want and I won’t say a word about it,” Landan Paulsen said. “I was like, ‘Okay, Mom, we’ll do that.'”

Levi Paulsen adds with a laugh: “We’ll take that deal.”
 
And so began the transformation of Levi and Landan Paulsen from clean-cut high schoolers to bearded, long-haired football players at the University of Iowa.  

“The last time I actually shaved and got a haircut was state finals morning of my senior year wrestling,” Levi said. 

The folical freedom came after years of tight haircuts and scruff-less faces — a standard for prep wrestlers in the Hawkeye state.
 
“Hair can’t touch your ears. Hair can’t go down below your eyebrow,” Levi said. “You gotta be clean-shaven all the time, you know, so we just did this and did this and did this.”
 
Until their careers on the mat ended. Then it was time to let it flow. 

“It was awkward for a long time, but then we finally got to a stage where it was long enough,” Landan said.

A manageable length, but still plenty of maintenance.
 
“You know, the worst part about it is drying it,” Landan said. “When we had short hair, it was one towel swipe, you’re done. With this, you’re like shaking it, you know.”

The four years of growth will be coming to an end for the Paulsen brothers in early February. 

It’s all because of an idea hatched by Landan and his girlfriend to help raise money for patients at the university’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital. 

“I told her this year, ‘What if you raise like $5,000 dollars and…I’ll cut my hair at the Dance Marathon?'” Landan said.
 
“These guys started conning me into it,” Levi said. “They were like, ‘Hey, what if we raised double the amount. What if we raised $10,000, will you cut your hair?’ I said, ‘You know what? I might as well do it.'” 

The experiences they’ve had through the football program sealing the decision.
 
“We’ve had so many opportunities to go to the children’s hospital and, you know, it’s totally incredible, that building, when you swarm out of that tunnel, it’s just, you can’t really express it,” Landan said. 

And that feeling makes losing a little bit of your identity to help others just fine with Levi and Landan. 

“Hopefully it grows back, it didn’t grow back for my dad,” Landan said. “That’s the biggest fear is that we cut our hair off and it doesn’t grow back and we’re stuck bald like Coach Doyle or my dad, you know.” 

The guys will cut their hair at the Dance Marathon on February 2, provided they reach their goal of $10,000. They did leave open the possibility of shaving their beards, although they say that would take a total of $15,000 in donations. 

For more Hawkeyes coverage, follow @AdamJRossow and @HawkeyeHQ on Twitter and Facebook.