History of Iowa Hawkeyes football - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

19th century – Origins of Iowa football

Football was first played as a club sport at Iowa in 1872, with intramural games against other colleges played as early as 1882. But it was in 1889 that the University of Iowa first officially recognized a varsity football team, when Iowa challenged Grinnell College

Grinnell College

Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....

to the first intercollegiate football game in the state of Iowa and the first west of the Mississippi River. Grinnell defeated the Hawkeyes, 24-0, and a stone marker still stands in Grinnell Field marking the event.

In 1890, Iowa played its first home game on Iowa Field

Iowa Field

Iowa Field was a stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. It hosted the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team until they moved to Kinnick Stadium in 1929. The stadium held 30,000 people at its peak and was opened in 1890.-External links:*...

, losing again to Grinnell, 14-6, but Martin Sampson, the 1889 team captain, blocked a kick and ran 70 yards for the first touchdown in Iowa history. In Iowa’s next game, the Hawks scored 19 touchdowns (worth four points each) and registered the first win in school history, defeating Iowa Wesleyan College

Iowa Wesleyan College

Iowa Wesleyan College is a private four-year liberal arts college of the United Methodist Church located Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.Iowa Wesleyan is recognized as a pioneer in higher education in America. Founded in 1842, it ranks as the oldest coeducational college located west of the Mississippi River...

, 91-0. In 1891, Iowa won three of its five games to finish with the first winning season in school history.

Two significant events marked Iowa’s 1892 football team. First, school officials hired E.A. Dalton of Princeton

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

for ten days prior to the season to assemble and organize the team, making him Iowa’s first head football coach. Second, Iowa joined its first conference, the Western Interstate University Football Association. Iowa and three other schools, Missouri

University of Missouri

The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

, Kansas

University of Kansas

The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

, and Nebraska, agreed to play annually to determine a conference champion.

Iowa decided to forgo hiring a head coach in 1895 to save money. The plan backfired, as the Hawkeyes limped to a 2-5 record. Iowa football would never again go without a head coach, and school officials hired A.E. Bull to coach the 1896 squad. The 1896 Hawkeye team went 7-1-1 and won Iowa’s first conference title, claiming the Western Interstate crown in their final year in the conference. Iowa was led in scoring by Frank Holbrook, the first black football player at Iowa.

Alden Knipe

Alden Knipe

Alden Arthur Knipe was an American football player and coach. He served as the sixth head football coach at the University of Iowa from 1892–1894, compiling a record of 30–11–4. Knipe was also the first head head baseball coach at Iowa, coaching two seasons from 1900 to 1901...

coached the team in 1898, and Knipe was the first Iowa football coach ever rehired for a second season in 1899. The 1899 Hawkeyes posted an 8-0-1 record, tying only 1899 Western Conference champion Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

. The one field goal allowed to Chicago were the only points scored on Iowa all year. Iowa’s success that season led to an invitation for membership in the Western Conference, now known as the Big Ten Conference

Big Ten Conference

The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

, beginning in 1900.

1900s & 1910s – Early era of Iowa football

Coach Knipe, back for a third season in 1900, led the Hawks to a 7-0-1 record and a share of the Western Conference title in Iowa's first year in the league. For the second straight season, Iowa did not yield a touchdown. From 1898-1901, Iowa would establish a streak of 23 straight games both without a defeat and without allowing a touchdown.

Alden Knipe

Alden Knipe

, who was also Iowa's first director of athletics, retired from coaching after the 1902 season, and Iowa would struggle in the Western Conference

Big Ten Conference

for the rest of the decade. Before the 1910 season, school officials hired Jesse Hawley

Jesse Hawley (football)

Jesse Barnum Hawley was an American football coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Iowa from 1910 to 1915 and at Dartmouth College from 1923 to 1928, compiling a career college football record of 63–28–1...

of Dartmouth

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

as head football coach and Nelson A. Kellogg

Nelson A. Kellogg

Nelson A. Kellogg was a track athlete, American football, basketball, and baseball coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Northern Illinois University from 1906 to 1909, compiling a record of 8–17–3...

as athletic director, separating the job into two different positions for the first time. Hawley was a brilliant offensive coach, and some of Iowa’s wins under Hawley are among the most lopsided in school history. The 1913 Hawkeyes led the nation in scoring by a wide margin, averaging over 44 points per game. Iowa’s only conference loss that year was to Western Conference champion Chicago

University of Chicago

; it was the first time since 1900 that Iowa seriously challenged for the league title. In 1914, the Hawkeyes defeated Northern Iowa

University of Northern Iowa

The University of Northern Iowa is a college located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 120 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.UNI has...

95-0, the largest margin of victory in school history.

When Iowa lost its last four games in 1915, criticism of Hawley mounted. In particular, many talented native Iowans were star players elsewhere. Eleven of the best players in the Western Conference were native Iowans playing for other league schools. Further, Hawley only lived in Iowa City during the season, and Iowa wanted a full-time coach. Jesse Hawley

Jesse Hawley (football)

left after the 1915 season, and Iowa offered Howard Jones

Howard Jones (football coach)

Howard Harding Jones was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Syracuse University , Yale University , Ohio State University , the University of Iowa , Duke University , and the University of Southern California , compiling a career record of...

of Yale

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

a five year contract to replace him.

1920s – Howard Jones era

The Jones era at Iowa got off to a slow start, in large part due to America’s impending involvement in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Kellogg left Iowa to join the service, so Howard Jones was appointed athletic director. Iowa nearly won the Western Conference, now nicknamed the Big Ten

Big Ten Conference

, in 1918 and 1919. Losses to league champ Illinois

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

cost the Hawkeyes the title both seasons.

The 1921 Hawkeye team

1921 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

The 1921 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the college football season of 1921. The team was coached by Howard Jones.-Preseason:...

was one of the nation’s best that year and one of the greatest in school history. The team, whose 11 starters were all native Iowans, finished with a perfect 7-0 record. Iowa defeated Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

, 10-7, in their first ever meeting with the Irish; Notre Dame and Coach Knute Rockne

Knute Rockne

Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...

had won 20 consecutive games. Iowa had a 5-0 record in Big Ten play and won its second Big Ten title.

Despite the graduations of many key players, Iowa again posted a perfect 7-0 final record in the 1922 season

1922 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

The 1922 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the college football season of 1922. The team was coached by Howard Jones.-Preseason:...

. Iowa again went 5-0 in the Big Ten, capturing its second straight Big Ten crown. Iowa’s winning streak from 1920-1923 lasted 20 games and almost three full years.

Howard Jones

Howard Jones (football coach)

’ wife was not fond of Iowa City, and Jones demanded a new contract, which would allow him to coach and live in Iowa City only during football season. A conflict between Coach Jones and the chairman of the Athletics Board at Iowa contributed to the tension, and Jones eventually resigned as head coach and athletic director at Iowa. Jones went on to have a legendary career at Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

, leading the Trojans to 7 conference titles, 5 Rose Bowls

Rose Bowl Game

The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...

(all victories), and 3 mythical national titles.

Newly hired athletic director Paul Belting needed to replace a legend, and after an attempt to lure Knute Rockne

Knute Rockne

Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...

from Notre Dame failed, Belting quickly hired Burt Ingwersen

Burt Ingwersen

Burton Aherns Ingwersen was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach of football and baseball. He served as the head football coach at the University of Iowa from 1924 to 1931, compiling a career college football record of 33–27–4...

, an assistant coach at Illinois. Many Iowa fans disliked Ingwersen, both because he was an Illini, and because he wasn’t a famous coach like Rockne. Iowa performed very well in 1924, falling just one game short of another Big Ten title. But the detractors noted that the one league loss was to conference champion Illinois, Ingwersen’s former school. Iowa soon struggled, and fan discontent with Ingwersen grew.

Paul Belting shocked Hawkeye fans during the 1928 season when he announced that within the year, Iowa would be playing in a new football stadium designed to seat sixty to eighty thousand fans. Belting’s promise was indeed fulfilled; the Hawkeyes left Iowa Field behind in 1929 and played most of their games that year in a new facility named Iowa Stadium

Kinnick Stadium

Kinnick Stadium, formerly known as Iowa Stadium, and known in the area simply as Kinnick, is a stadium located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the home stadium of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, in the sport of college football...

1930s – A football depression

Two incidents rocked Iowa’s athletic program in 1929, the repercussions of which were felt throughout the 1930’s. First, Iowa was suspended from athletic participation in the Big Ten for the month of January 1930.

In 1929, athletic director Belting abruptly resigned and was succeeded by Edward Lauer. The Big Ten commissioner, John L. Griffith, was concerned about widespread illegal recruiting by alumni at Big Ten schools. Belting's sudden resignation caused Griffith to call for a university investigation of the athletic department, which uncovered a slush fund totaling $4,000 existed through which athletes were given scholarships and illegal bank loans. Iowa was suspended from the Big Ten for lack of faculty control of the athletic department.

Griffith also accused Iowa officials of illegal recruiting practices. The Big Ten

Big Ten Conference

demanded that Iowa declare 14 athletes ineligible due to illegal recruiting. Iowa initially refused, claiming that the athletes accused had done nothing wrong, and stating that the blame for the situation lay with Belting and that the 14 athletes accused did not know their loans and scholarships were illegal. School officials eventually relented, suspended the players, and Iowa was reinstated. The scandal and suspension made Iowa the conference pariah for years. Iowa played just one Big Ten team, Purdue

Purdue University

Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

, in 1930 due to the suspension.

The second incident in 1929, which had perhaps a more profound effect on Hawkeye football and certainly on the nation, was the onset of the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

. Iowa, a predominantly agricultural state, was hit particularly hard by the Depression, and it hurt Iowa’s athletic revenues badly. Iowa Stadium

Kinnick Stadium

, which cost tens of thousands of dollars to build, appeared to be a monument to bad timing.

With so many players gone, Iowa fell so fast and so hard that in 1931 the team scored just seven points all season long, and Coach Ingwersen

Burt Ingwersen

soon resigned, his overall record at Iowa standing at 33-27-4 (.547) despite the all the difficulties caused by the athletic scandals. Lauer hired Ossie Solem of Drake to replace Ingwersen. Iowa finished with one win overall and none in the Big Ten in both 1931 and 1932. After a fine year in 1933, Solem took over for Lauer as athletic director. The next five years were miserable for Iowa fans, as Iowa compiled a record of 11-24-5 from 1934-1938 under Solem and Irl Tubbs.

1939 – The year of the Ironmen

Iowa football was clearly struggling as 1939 began, and the entire athletic department was in poor financial shape. The debt on Iowa Stadium grew by the year, and Iowa had finished among the worst three teams in the league standings every year in the 1930’s except 1933. Iowa's new coach, Dr. Eddie Anderson, felt the Hawks, lacking depth, could still be a good team in 1939, but only if the starters played all sixty minutes. Thus, the 1939 Hawkeye football team, nicknamed the Ironmen, became one of the greatest teams in school history and certainly the most romanticized.

Much of the sentimentality surrounding that team is due to Nile Kinnick

Nile Kinnick

Nile Clarke Kinnick, Jr. was a student and a college football player at the University of Iowa. He won the 1939 Heisman Trophy and was a consensus All-American. He died during a training flight while serving as a U.S Navy aviator in World War II...

. Kinnick was an all-Big Ten selection as a sophomore, when he led the nation in punting average, but he struggled through an injury-riddled junior season. Kinnick personified Anderson’s Ironman mentality for the team. Kinnick played halfback (though he did most of the passing for the team), defensive back, kicker, punter, kick returner, and punt returner.

Iowa finished the year with a 6-1-1 record and was ranked ninth in the final Associated Press

Associated Press

The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

(AP) poll. Postseason honors rolled in for the Ironmen, most of them going to Kinnick. The climax of the season occurred when Nile Kinnick won the 1939 Heisman Trophy

Heisman Trophy

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...

, becoming the only Iowa Hawkeye to receive college football’s most prestigious honor.

Nile Kinnick was an intelligent, well-spoken, and likeable young man. Kinnick graduated as a Phi Beta Kappa

Phi Beta Kappa Society

The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...

scholar and was elected president of the senior class. When world war seemed inevitable, he signed up for the Navy, wanting to become a fighter pilot. On June 2, 1943, on a routine training flight in the Caribbean, Kinnick was forced to make an emergency landing in the water. His body was never found. Nile Kinnick was 24.

The Ironmen revived the spirits of a depressed fan base and turned Iowa’s financial fortunes around. A few short years later, the athletic department would be out of financial danger, and the debt on Iowa Stadium

Kinnick Stadium

would finally be paid off.

1940s – World War & The Seahawks

The positive momentum that was generated for the program by the Ironmen of 1939 did not last long, as the nation geared up for World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Two factors hurt the Hawkeye football program in the 1940’s. The first was the three year absence of Coach Anderson. Anderson, a urologist, left the Iowa team to serve in a military hospital for the duration of the war. His departure left the Iowa team in the hands of two interim coaches: Slip Madigan

Slip Madigan

Edward Patrick "Slip" Madigan was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head coach at Saint Mary's College of California from 1921 to 1939 and at the University of Iowa from 1943 to 1944, compiling a career college football record of...

in 1943 and 1944 and Clem Crowe

Clem Crowe

Clem F. Crowe was an American football and basketball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Saint Vincent College , Xavier University , and the University of Iowa , compiling a career college football record of 71–66–5...

in 1945.

The second factor that hurt the Iowa program was the emergence of the Seahawks. As the war approached, Iowa City was selected as one of five campuses across the country to host a Naval Pre-Flight school for soldiers in training. This Pre-Flight school formed its own football team, called the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks

Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football

The Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks represented the U.S. Navy pre-flight school at the University of Iowa in the college football seasons of 1942, 1943, and 1944.- History :...

. The Hawkeyes and the Seahawks shared the University’s athletic facilities for the duration of the war. Naturally, the Pre-Flight school was seen as the more important concern, and the Hawkeyes were often second in line to use their own facilities. Nearly all the able-bodied men in Iowa City found their way into the Naval Pre-Flight school, while Iowa’s roster was mostly filled with players with conditions that exempted them from military service.

The results were predictable. The Hawkeyes compiled a record of 4-20-1 from 1943-1945. The Seahawks, conversely, had a record of 26-5 over three years, twice finishing in the AP top ten. The Seahawks had a 9-1 record in 1943 and finished the year ranked second in the nation. In 1944, the Seahawks had a record of 10-1 and finished sixth in the nation.

By the time Eddie Anderson returned from the war in 1946, the Hawkeyes were devoid of talent and once again had a losing mentality. Anderson coached Iowa for four more unspectacular years from 1946-1949 before returning to Holy Cross

College of the Holy Cross

The College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA...

. Leonard Raffensperger

Leonard Raffensperger

-External links:...

, who had played for Iowa in the 1920’s, coached Iowa in 1950 and 1951.

1950s – Forest Evashevski era

In 1952, Paul Brechler

Paul Brechler

Paul W. Brechler was an athletic director for the University of Iowa for 13 years and the first commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference.-Playing career:...

, who replaced Schroeder as Iowa’s athletic director in 1947, searched for a new football coach. Fritz Crisler

Fritz Crisler

Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler was an American football coach who is best known as "the father of two-platoon football," an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and defense. Crisler developed two-platoon football while serving as head coach at the University of...

, the athletic director and former coach at Michigan

Michigan Wolverines football

The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...

, suggested that Brechler consider Forest Evashevski

Forest Evashevski

Forest "Evy" Evashevski was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks in 1942...

. Evy, as he was called, had played quarterback for both Michigan

Michigan Wolverines football

and the Iowa Naval Pre-Flight Seahawks. Evy was coaching at Washington State

Washington State University

Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...

, but he wanted a head job in the Big Ten. Crisler did note, however, that Evy was tough and stubborn, which could eventually cause a problem.

Since Iowa hadn’t won a Big Ten title in almost thirty years, Brechler took that chance and hired Evy. Evy was a charismatic and ambitious man, a brilliant coach with a combative personality. Iowa struggled in 1952, though a shocking upset of Ohio State

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

foreshadowed the success to come. Iowa ended the 1953 season with the most controversial game in school history. The Hawkeyes had a 5-3 record as they played their final game of the season against #1 Notre Dame in South Bend. The game ended in a controversial 14-14 draw, as Notre Dame scored both of their touchdowns at the end of each half by having players fake injuries and exploiting a rule which stopped the clock for an injury.

The tie cost the Irish the #1 spot in the final AP poll, dropping Notre Dame to #2. Iowa rocketed into the AP rankings, finishing the year #9 in the nation and garnering six first place votes. It was Iowa’s highest ranking since 1939, and the tie gave the Iowa program national attention. After two more decent years, Evy would put together the finest five year run in school history. From 1956-1960, Iowa would have a record of 37-8-2 and garner four top ten finishes, three Big Ten titles, and two Rose Bowl

Rose Bowl Game

victories.

In 1956, Iowa was 6-1 when they faced Ohio State in Iowa’s last Big Ten game of the year. In one of the most hard-hitting and memorable games in Iowa history, Iowa defeated the Woody Hayes

Woody Hayes

Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University , Miami University , and Ohio State University , compiling a career college football record of 238–72–10.During his 28 seasons as the head coach of the Ohio...

-led Buckeyes, 6-0, to clinch Iowa’s fourth Big Ten title and the first in 34 years. It also secured Iowa’s first ever Rose Bowl berth. Such a happy occasion was marred, however, by the tragic news that former Hawkeye Cal Jones

Cal Jones

Calvin Jack Jones was a college football player for the University of Iowa. Jones is one of only two Iowa football players to have his jersey number retired by the school. Jones became the first Hawkeye, and the first African-American, to win the Outland Trophy in 1955...

had just died in a plane crash in Canada. The Hawks quietly dedicated their first bowl trip to Pasadena to Jones’ memory and defeated Oregon State

Oregon State University

Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...

, 35-19.

Ohio State got their revenge in 1957, defeating Iowa for the Big Ten title and handing the Hawkeyes their only defeat of the year. Iowa came back in 1958

1958 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

The 1958 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1958 college football season. The team was coached by Forest Evashevski and captained by fullback John Nocera...

and stormed through the Big Ten season, clinching the Big Ten title earlier than any team in conference history. Iowa went back to Pasadena and clobbered California

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

, 38-12, setting or tying six Rose Bowl records in the process. Iowa finished the year ranked #2 in the AP poll, although the vote was taken before the bowl games. The Football Writers Association of America

Football Writers Association of America

The Football Writers Association of America is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the NCAA...

gave their national championship trophy, the Grantland Rice Award

Grantland Rice Award

The Grantland Rice Trophy is an annual award presented in the United States since 1954 to the college football team adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America to be "national champion". Named for the legendary sportswriter, Grantland Rice, the trophy was the first national...

, to Iowa. (LSU

Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...

was awarded the national championship by the AP

AP Poll

The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...

and UPI

Coaches Poll

The USA Today Coaches' Poll is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and Division I college basketball teams....

, whose final polls were released before the bowl games.)

Iowa went 5-4 in 1959, a season marred by a very public feud between Evy and Brechler. At the end of the 1959 season, Brechler left Iowa to become the commissioner of the Skyline conference. Evy, who had frequently mentioned that he never intended to grow old in coaching, clearly wanted the athletic director job. Members on the Board of Athletics, however, were concerned about the prospect of the ambitious Evashevski holding both positions. The Board told Evy that he could take either job: head football coach or athletic director. Evy chose to become Iowa’s athletic director and promised to appoint a new football coach after the 1960 season.

Evy’s final season as football coach at Iowa was another memorable one. In 1960, Iowa overcame a fierce schedule and finished the year 8-1 and ranked #2 in the AP poll. Iowa’s only loss came to Minnesota, which finished #1 in the AP poll before losing the Rose Bowl. However, Iowa defeated Ohio State on the last game of the conference season to clinch a share of the league crown with the Gophers. It was Evy’s third Big Ten title at Iowa. Evy’s nine years as a head coach at Iowa were wildly successful, and Forest Evashevski was eventually inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame

College Football Hall of Fame

The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...

1960s & 1970s – Two decades of losing

Evashevski selected his assistant, Jerry Burns

Jerry Burns

Jerome Monahan "Jerry" Burns is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Iowa, from 1961 to 1965, compiling record of 16–27–2, and for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL from 1986 to 1991, tallying a mark of...

, to succeed him as coach of the Hawkeyes. Iowa began the 1961 season ranked #1 in the AP poll but staggered to a disappointing 5-4 record. A defeat of Notre Dame on the final game of the season gave Iowa a winning record for the year; it would be Iowa’s last winning season for the next 20 years. Iowa stumbled to a 4-5 record in 1962, though for the only time in school history, Iowa defeated both Michigan

Michigan Wolverines football

and Ohio State in the same season.

Two more subpar seasons put Burns on the hot seat entering 1965, but the 1965 team was predicted to do well. Instead, Iowa finished the year 1-9, and Burns was fired by his former mentor Evashevski. Evy now had to find a new head coach, and he resisted cries to fill the post himself. Instead, he tabbed Ray Nagel

Ray Nagel

Raymond Robert "Ray" Nagel is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Utah from 1958 to 1965 and at the University of Iowa from 1966 to 1970, compiling a career college football record of...

of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

for the spot. Nagel seemed like an odd choice, since his record at Utah was unspectacular. His hiring was questioned even more after he had a 3-16-1 record in 1966 and 1967 at Iowa. However, the Hawkeyes set several school and conference offensive records in 1968 and finished with a 5-5 record. Many Iowa fans felt that the program had turned a corner and that 1969 would be the year that the Hawks broke through with a winning record and possibly a Rose Bowl bid.

1969 was a volatile year, with Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

protests and the civil rights movement

Civil rights movement

The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...

gaining full steam. In the spring of 1969, Nagel dismissed two black players from the team for disciplinary reasons. This played a role in motivating 16 black players to ignore Nagel’s repeated warnings and boycott spring practice. Nagel immediately dismissed the 16 players from the team. That summer, Nagel allowed the dismissed athletes to appeal to the team for reinstatement. The team allowed seven of the twelve athletes who appealed for reinstatement to rejoin the squad.

But the damage was done. The Black Boycott, as it was called, doomed Iowa to another 5-5 record. Further, the team was distracted by a growing and very public feud between Nagel and athletic director Evashevski. The Board of Athletics completed a long investigation of the Iowa football program and decided to fire both Evy and Nagel. Bump Elliott

Bump Elliott

Chalmers W. "Bump" Elliott is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played halfback at Purdue University and the University of Michigan...

, former head football coach at Michigan

Michigan Wolverines football

, was hired to replace Evy as athletic director. Then the Board reversed itself and allowed Elliott to rehire Nagel before the 1970 season.

The offseason turmoil did not help the 1970 Hawkeye squad, which finished 3-6-1. At the end of that season, Ray Nagel

Ray Nagel

had had enough of the emotional roller coaster at Iowa and abruptly resigned. Elliott hired Frank Lauterbur

Frank Lauterbur

Francis X. Lauterbur is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Toledo from 1963 to 1970 and at the University of Iowa from 1971 to 1973, compiling a career college football record of 52–60–3...

to replace Nagel. The program hit rock bottom, as Iowa went 4-28-1 from 1971-1973 under Lauterbur. That included an embarrassing 0-11 record in 1973, the only winless season for the Hawks since Iowa’s first season in 1889. The highlight of Lauterbur’s tenure at Iowa came in 1972, when Iowa Stadium was officially renamed Kinnick Stadium

Kinnick Stadium

, in honor of the 1939 Heisman Trophy winner.

In 1974, Bob Commings

Bob Commings

Bob Commings was a college football player and coach at the University of Iowa. He was also a high school football coach for 24 years in the state of Ohio.-Early life and playing career:...

became the third Iowa graduate to lead the Hawkeye football team, joining John G. Griffith

John G. Griffith

John George "Red" Griffith was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball...

in 1909 and Leonard Raffensperger

Leonard Raffensperger

-External links:...

in 1950-1951. Occasional upset victories kept Commings in Iowa City for five years. Iowa had 3-8 records in 1974 and 1975, and then the Hawks went to the brink of a winning record with 5-6 records in 1976 and 1977. But Commings’ Hawkeyes slumped to a 2-9 record in 1978, and Commings was fired after five seasons.

1980s & 1990s – Hayden Fry era

It had been 17 years since Iowa had posted a winning record, the longest such drought in the nation. Bump Elliott sought to end it with the hiring of John Hayden Fry

Hayden Fry

John Hayden Fry is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Southern Methodist University , North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas , and the University of Iowa , compiling a career college football record of 232–178–10...

from North Texas

University of North Texas

The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...

. Elliott publicly stated that Fry would be the last football coach he would ever hire. Elliott believed that after the failures of Lauterbur and Commings, a failure by Fry to turn Iowa’s program around would cause the fans to ask for more than just the job of the head coach this time around.

Fry, a life-long Texan, was full of Southern charm and interesting anecdotes. Fry turned his attention to changing a losing attitude and starting new traditions at Iowa. Hayden would not celebrate close losses or moral victories. Fry assembled a terrific coaching staff, bringing many of his assistant coaches with him from North Texas. He emphasized defense and brought a wide-open passing game to the Big Ten for the first time.

All this did not immediately translate into wins. Iowa had losing seasons in 1979 and 1980, and some began to wonder if Fry would suffer the same fate as the four coaches before him. But that all changed in 1981, a magical season for Hawkeye fans. Iowa began the season by upsetting Nebraska, a team that had defeated Iowa 57-0 the previous season. Iowa had a record of 8-3 in the regular season in 1981, and the Hawkeyes not only clinched a winning record, but also a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth.

Iowa went 25-11-1 from 1982 to 1984 and qualified for three more bowl games. 1985 was arguably Fry’s best season at Iowa. Iowa was ranked #1 in AP poll for 5 weeks and used thrilling, last-minute victories over Michigan State

Michigan State University

Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

and Michigan

Michigan Wolverines football

to win their first outright Big Ten title since 1958. Iowa played in the Rose Bowl, and the Hawks finished the regular season with a 10-1 record.

The Hawkeyes had a 25-10-3 record from 1986-1988 and qualified for three more bowl games. Fry had taken Iowa to eight straight winning seasons and eight bowl games before going 5-6 in 1989. The Hawks bounced right back in 1990, winning Iowa’s ninth Big Ten title and qualifying for Iowa’s fifth Rose Bowl, though Iowa lost in Pasadena for the third time under Fry. Iowa went 10-1 in 1991, but Iowa’s lone loss cost the Hawks another Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl trip.

As Fry got older and several assistant coaches departed for other coaching jobs, Iowa had a down period from 1992-1994, posting a 16-18-1 record and qualifying for just one bowl game, a 37-3 Alamo Bowl

Alamo Bowl

The Alamo Bowl is a major American college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It matches the second choice team from the Pacific-12 Conference and the third choice team from the Big 12 Conference.Traditionally, the Alamo Bowl has been...

loss. But Fry had one last strong run in him. Iowa went 7-4 and won the Sun Bowl

Sun Bowl

The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...

in 1995, and the Hawks went 8-3 and won the Alamo Bowl

Alamo Bowl

in 1996, a game in which the Hawkeyes wore blank black helmets in honor of linebacker Mark Mitchell's mother, Diane Mitchell, who had died in a car accident on the way to the game.

In 1997, the Hawkeyes were expected to again challenge for the Big Ten title. Instead, Iowa settled for a 7-4 record and a loss in the Sun Bowl

Sun Bowl

. Iowa went just 3-8 in 1998, Fry’s worst season at Iowa. It would also be his last, as Hayden Fry would retire from coaching at the end of the year.

It is difficult to overstate Hayden Fry’s positive impact on Iowa football. Fry coached twenty years at Iowa, more than twice as long as any coach before him. Hayden had a 143-89-6 record at Iowa and led the Hawkeyes to three Big Ten titles, three Rose Bowl appearances, and 14 bowl games. But more than that, Coach Hayden Fry established a winning tradition at Iowa, on and off the field. Iowa was no longer considered a coaching graveyard but rather, a place where a great coach could excel. Several of Fry’s former assistants followed Fry’s example in resurrecting other struggling football programs.

2000s – Kirk Ferentz era

Those former Fry assistants were courted heavily after Hayden Fry announced his retirement in 1998. Bob Bowlsby, who had succeeded Bump Elliott as athletic director in 1990, entertained several candidates for the position, but one candidate was clearly the fan favorite.

Bob Stoops

Bob Stoops

Robert Anthony "Bob" Stoops is the head coach of the University of Oklahoma football team. During the 2000 season, Stoops led the Sooners to an Orange Bowl victory and a national championship....

, who had played defensive back on the 1982 Rose Bowl team and later coached under Fry, was the defensive coordinator under Steve Spurrier

Steve Spurrier

Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...

at Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

. Most Hawkeye fans saw him as a natural successor to Fry. Shortly after an interview with Iowa, Stoops decided to take the coaching job at the University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma

The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

. Most Iowa fans were furious at Bowlsby for not doing enough, in their minds, to convince Stoops to take the Iowa job. Many fans were not appeased when Bowlsby announced that Kirk Ferentz

Kirk Ferentz

Kirk James Ferentz is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since 1999. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the University of Maine. He has also served as an assistant coach...

would be the next Iowa coach.

Some fans were consoled by the fact that the new coach had Iowa ties. Ferentz was Fry’s offensive line coach from 1981-1989, the best years of Hayden’s tenure at Iowa. Ferentz left Iowa to become the head coach at Maine and was later hired to work as an assistant for the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

and head coach Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick

William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...

. Ferentz made the move with the Browns to Baltimore and was an assistant coach for the Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...

when Bowlsby called him to Iowa City. The fact that Ferentz had Coach Fry’s seal of approval quieted many Hawk fans, though several still loudly bemoaned not hiring Stoops.

Since Fry was not able to leave Ferentz with much talent on the field, Iowa’s 1-10 overall record and 0-8 record in the Big Ten in 1999 was not entirely unexpected. Iowa appeared to hit rock bottom in 2000 when Iowa entered the Big Ten 0-4, and given Iowa’s conference record in 1999, a 0-12 season was not an impossibility. Instead, Iowa charted a 3-5 record in the Big Ten, narrowly missing a chance at a .500 league record. The Hawkeyes went 6-5 in 2001, defeating Minnesota 42-24 to clinch a bowl bid and take back Floyd of Rosedale

Floyd of Rosedale

Floyd of Rosedale is the name of a bronze pig trophy that is awarded to the winner of the annual college football game between the Universities of Iowa and Minnesota...

. Iowa capped the year by upsetting Texas Tech

Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Texas Tech Red Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" name. The university's athletic program fields teams in 15 varsity sports and 30 club sports...

in the Alamo Bowl

Alamo Bowl

.

Nothing could have prepared Iowa fans for the 2002 season. Following a non-conference loss to Iowa State

Iowa State University

Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...

, Iowa won nine consecutive games. Iowa finished the regular season 11-1 and clinched a berth in the Orange Bowl, where the #5 USC Trojans defeated the #3 Hawkeyes, 38-17. The Hawkeyes had an 8-0 record in the Big Ten and won a share of the league title for the first time since 1990. The 2002 team set the school record for overall wins and Big Ten wins in a season, and numerous Hawkeye players won major national awards. In 2003, the Hawkeyes went 9-3, earning a trip to the Outback Bowl

Outback Bowl

The Outback Bowl is an annual New Year's Day college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The event was originally called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1994 until being renamed in 1995 for its new title sponsor, Outback Steakhouse...

. The Hawks defeated Florida, 37-17, to give Iowa back-to-back ten win seasons for the first time in school history.

In 2004, a slew of injuries to Iowa tailbacks left the Hawks with virtually no running game all year. Iowa lost six tailbacks to injury, and many of their injuries were season-ending. Still, following a 2-2 start, Iowa used a powerful defense and an opportunistic offense to win seven straight Big Ten games. On the final day of the season, Iowa defeated the Wisconsin Badgers, 30-7, to clinch the eleventh Big Ten title in school history. Iowa, with a record of 9-2, was awarded a berth in the Capital One Bowl

Capital One Bowl

The Capital One Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Orlando, Florida at the Citrus Bowl, and previously known as the Tangerine Bowl and the Florida Citrus Bowl...

to face defending national champion Louisiana State

Louisiana State University

(LSU). Iowa defeated the Tigers, 30-25, in one of the most spectacular finishes in the history of college football. After trailing the entire game, LSU took their first lead with 47 seconds remaining. On the game’s final play, Iowa’s Drew Tate

Drew Tate

Drew Tate is a professional American and Canadian football quarterback for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Iowa....

fired a 56 yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Warren Holloway

Warren Holloway

Warren Holloway is an American football player who played the wide receiver position for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 2001 to 2005. He later played in the af2 league for the Everett Hawks...

as time expired. The win gave Iowa its third straight ten win season.

In 2005, Iowa went 7-4 with a 5-3 record in the Big Ten. Just like in 2003, the Hawkeyes accepted an invitation to play Florida in the Outback Bowl. But this time, the Gators got a measure of revenge for their loss two years earlier by defeating the Hawkeyes, 31-24.

In 2006, Iowa started the season strong with a 5-1 record, losing only to top-ranked Ohio State. However, the Hawkeyes collapsed down the stretch, losing five of their last six games, including shocking losses to Northwestern and Indiana. Iowa finished the season with a 6-7 record, after losing to heavily-favored Texas

2006 Texas Longhorn football team

The 2006 Texas Longhorn football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head football coach was Mack Brown, who received the 2006 Paul "Bear" Bryant Award for "Coach of the Year". The Longhorns play their home games in...

, 26-24, in the 2006 Alamo Bowl

2006 Alamo Bowl

The 2006 Alamo Bowl Game was a college football bowl game, part of the 2006–2007 bowl season of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The 2006 Alamo Bowl was played in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on December 30....

.

In 2007, Ferentz' Hawkeyes started 2-4 and lost their first three conference games. An upset victory over Illinois ended a nine-game conference losing streak for Iowa, and the Hawkeyes closed out the Big Ten season by winning their last three conference games. However, a disappointing loss in the season finale to Western Michigan dropped the Hawkeyes' season record to 6-6. Though Iowa was bowl eligible, the Hawkeyes did not receive a bowl bid, snapping Iowa's streak of six consecutive bowl appearances.

2008 marked Ferentz' tenth season as the head coach at Iowa. The 2008 Hawkeyes started the season 3-3, with the three losses coming by a combined nine points. But Iowa ended the season very strong, defeating second-ranked Penn State, 24-23, on a last second field goal, and handing Minnesota a 55-0 defeat, their worst conference loss in over a century of Big Ten play. In all, the Hawks won five of their last six conference games to finish the regular season with an 8-4 record and earn a trip to the Outback Bowl, where Iowa defeated South Carolina, 31-10.

Ferentz is ranked as one of the finest coaches in college football by several publications. Because of both his record at Iowa and his NFL

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

ties, Ferentz is often named as a potential candidate for NFL head coaching vacancies. However, Ferentz has stated that he is happy at Iowa, and his current contract, which runs through 2015, pays him $2.84 million annually.

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