Iowa Hawkeyes.html



Iowa Hawkeyes
University	University of Iowa
Conference	Big Ten Conference
NCAA	Division I
Athletics director	Gary Barta
Location	Iowa City, IA
Varsity teams	24
Football stadium	Kinnick Stadium
Basketball arena	Carver-Hawkeye Arena
Baseball stadium	Duane Banks Field
Other arenas	Iowa Field House
Mascot	Herky the Hawk
Nickname	Hawks
Fight song	Iowa Fight Song
Colors	Black and Gold
Homepage	HawkeyeSports.com

Fans rush the field after Iowa's 27–17 football victory over Iowa State on September 16, 2006.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletics teams that represent the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 24 sports, 11 for men and 13 for women. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and are members of the Big Ten Conference. Currently, the school's athletic director is Gary Barta.

Historically, Iowa has been very successful in wrestling, with 32 Big Ten championships and 21 national championships. The Hawkeyes have also won national championships in three other sports: men's gymnastics, football and field hockey.¹² In basketball, Iowa has reached the Final Four on four occasions. The men's team has done this three times, most recently in 1980, while the women's team has done it once, in 1993. The baseball team has reached the College World Series once, in 1972. Iowa's softball team has played in the Women's College World Series on four occasions, most recently in 2001.

The term "Hawkeye" originally appeared in the book, The Last of the Mohicans, and was later used in its plural form to describe the people of Iowa. Soon thereafter, the University of Iowa borrowed this nickname for its athletic teams. The nickname was granted a symbol in 1948 when a mascot named Herky was created.³ Herky, along with all of Iowa's athletic teams, is attired in the school's colors, black and gold.⁴ The Hawkeyes have three fight songs, two of them being "On Iowa" and the "Iowa Fight Song", and the third being their victory march "In Heaven There Is No Beer'.⁵

Football home games are played at Kinnick Stadium,⁶ while basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, and wrestling events are held at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.⁷ The school's baseball and softball teams play at Duane Banks Field and Bob Pearl Softball Field, respectively.

Varsity sports

The University of Iowa currently fields 24 varsity teams. Participating in the Big Ten and the NCAA's Division I, they are:

Men's sports

Baseball

Iowa began playing baseball in 1890, when the Hawkeyes went a combined 2–1 (two wins and one loss) against two teams, Cornell and Vinton. To date, Iowa has won eight Big Ten titles, and has also played in the College World Series once, in 1972. The Hawkeyes played in only two College World Series games that year, losing to Temple in their final game.⁸ Iowa plays its home games at Duane Banks Field, whose namesake is the winningest baseball coach in school history.⁹ Jack Dahm is the Hawkeyes' current coach.¹⁰

Basketball

Players warm up before a men's basketball game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on January 26, 2008.

Main article: Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball

Men's basketball as a varsity sport at the University of Iowa began in 1902,¹¹ but it was on January 18, 1896, that Iowa played the University of Chicago in the first five-on-five college basketball game. The Maroons won that game, 15–12.¹² Six years later, men's basketball became a sanctioned varsity sport under head coach Ed Rule. Rule coached the Hawkeyes in four non-consecutive seasons until 1908, compiling a 37–15 record.¹¹

Iowa began competing in Big Ten games in 1909, and since then the Hawkeyes have won eight regular season Big Ten championships, the last in 1979. Iowa's first Big Ten title came in 1923, under coach Sam Barry. Barry also led the Hawkeyes to their second conference championship in 1926. Following Rollie Williams' 13 seasons, which lasted until 1942, Pops Harrison became coach. Harrison coached at Iowa until 1951, leading the Hawkeyes to their first unshared Big Ten championship in 1945.¹¹

Perhaps the most-successful time period in Iowa basketball came under head coach Bucky O'Connor, who coached at Iowa until his death in 1958. Under O'Connor, the Hawkeyes played in two Final Four events, while winning two unshared Big Ten championships.¹¹¹³ Iowa played in the national championship game against San Francisco in 1956, but lost by 12 after taking an early double-digit lead.¹⁴ The Hawkeyes played in a third Final Four in 1980, and have also won the Big Ten Tournament twice since its 1998 inception, in 2001 and 2006. Iowa's current coach is Todd Lickliter, who coached at Butler University before coming to Iowa in 2007.¹⁵ Lickliter led Iowa to a 13–19 record in 2008, his first season.¹⁶ The Hawkeyes have played their home games in Carver-Hawkeye Arena since 1983; the arena can currently hold up to 15,500 people.⁷

Cross country

The Hawkeyes' men's cross country team won team Big Ten titles in 1961 and 1966 and have also had nine individual Big Ten champions, most recently with Larry Wieczorek in 1967. Wieczorek's time in the 8,000 meter race still stands as the sixth-quickest time in school history.¹⁷ To date, Deacon Jones is Iowa's lone national champion, having won the award in 1957. Both Jones and Wieczorek were all-Americans for the Hawkeyes, along with Kevin Herd, Stetson Steele, and Ted Wheeler.¹⁸

Football

Iowa's defense lines up against Syracuse on September 8, 2007.

Main article: Iowa Hawkeyes football

Football at the University of Iowa dates back as far as November 27, 1872, when the Iowa Academics played a game against the University of Iowa College of Law. However, football was not officially recognized as a varsity sport until November 16, 1889, when the Hawkeyes played against and lost to Grinnell. The next year, Iowa got its first win against Iowa Wesleyan,¹⁹ and since then, the Hawkeyes have won 11 Big Ten championships and have played in 22 post-season bowl games. The Hawkeyes are 11–10–1 in such games, having most recently lost to Texas, 26–24, in the 2006 Alamo Bowl. Iowa's first bowl game was the 1957 Rose Bowl, which ended in a 35–19 win over Oregon State.²⁰

Currently, the Hawkeyes' coach is Kirk Ferentz. In nine seasons under Ferentz, the Hawkeyes have won two Big Ten titles and have played in six bowl games. Preceded by Hayden Fry, Ferentz has the second-longest head coaching tenure in Iowa football history.²¹ Fry, who coached the Hawkeyes for 20 seasons, had 143 wins and 14 bowl trips in his tenure at Iowa.²² Fry also led the Hawkeyes to eight-straight bowl games from 1981–1988, the longest such streak in Iowa football history.²¹ Fry was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.²³

Since 1929, the Hawkeyes have played their home games in Kinnick Stadium. Renamed in 1972 in honor of Iowa's lone Heisman Trophy winner, Nile Kinnick,²² the stadium can currently hold up to 70,585 fans.⁶ Kinnick won the Heisman Award following the conclusion of the 1939 season, but died on June 2, 1943, in the Gulf of Paria during a World War II training flight. His face can still be seen today, on the coins that officials toss at the beginning of some Big Ten games.²²

Golf

Since Iowa began competing in men's golf, the Hawkeyes have won the Big Ten team title once, in 1992. Brad Klapprott won an individual Big Ten championship that year, becoming only the second Iowa men's golfer to do so. He was preceded only by John Jacobs, who achieved the individual conference championship in 1946. Sean McCarty also added to the 1992 team's accolades in winning the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award. In 1995, McCarty became Iowa's first and only men's golf all-American.²⁴

Gymnastics

Iowa's men's gymnastics team is credited with winning the first national championship in school history. This, in turn, allowed the University of Iowa to become the last Big Ten school to have won a national championship in any sport.¹ The Hawkeyes have also won seven Big Ten team titles, the last coming in 1998. On the individual level, 12 Hawkeyes have won national championships. Michael Reavis is Iowa's most-recent national champion, having won on vault in 2005.²⁵

Swimming

Men's swimming became a sanctioned varsity sport at the University of Iowa in 1917, with David Armbruster as the team's coach. Coaching from 1917–1958, Armbruster led the Hawkeyes to one Big Ten championship, in 1936. He was followed by Robert Allen, who coached the Hawkeyes until 1975. Under Allen, Iowa's best finish in the Big Ten was fifth, on two occasions. Glenn Patton was next in the line of coaches, and during his tenure, the Hawkeyes won two Big Ten championships and finished as high as eighth on the national level.²⁶ Currently, Marc Long is Iowa's men's and women's swimming coach.²⁷

On 19 occasions has a men's swimmer at Iowa won an individual national championship. Ray Walters was the Hawkeyes' first national champion, having won the 50 meter freestyle in 1936. Nine of Iowa's national championships in men's swimming, however, are credited to Artur Wojdat, who competed at the collegiate level from 1989–1992. Wojdat was an 18-time all-American, a 10-time Big Ten champion, and a four-time national champion in the 500 meter freestyle event. Wojdat also won the bronze medal in the 400 meter freestyle at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.²⁸

Tennis

Men's tennis became a varsity sport at Iowa in 1939, and from that time to the present, the Hawkeyes have won the Big Ten championship once, in 1958. That year, the Hawkeyes recorded a 10–1 team record and finished third at the national level.²⁹ In 1998, Tim Cleveland won the Big Ten Freshman of the Year Award. He later won the Big Ten Player of the Year Award twice, in 2000 and 2001. Cleveland and 14 other men's tennis players have named to an all-Big Ten team; Stuart Waters is the most-recent player to have accomplished this, doing so in 2002 and 2003.³⁰

Track

In indoor track, the Hawkeyes have won three team Big Ten titles, the last coming in 1963. On the individual level, Iowa has had 64 Big Ten championships. Nine-time Big Ten champion Bashir Yamini won three of his Big Ten titles in indoor competitions. Named the 1996 Big Ten Indoor Freshman of the Year, Yamini won the indoor long jump every year from 1997–1999. 10 Iowa relays have also been named Big Ten champions, most-recently in 1989.³¹

In outdoor track competition, Iowa has won team Big Ten titles in 1963 and 1967. Since 1902, the Hawkeyes have had 92 separate individual Big Ten championships. Yamini currently shares the Big Ten Outdoor Championships long jump record with Ohio State's Jesse Owens. Former Iowa football player Tim Dwight also competed in track. Dwight won the 100 meter Big Ten championship in 1999 with a time of 10.51 seconds.³¹

Wrestling

Mark Perry wrestles Michael Patrovich of Hofstra on March 16, 2007, in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Main article: Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling

Wrestling at the University of Iowa began with the 1910–1911 season. Under coach E. G. Schroeder, the Hawkeyes wrestled and lost to one opponent that season: Nebraska. The next year, Iowa got its first dual win, over Iowa State. Soon later, in 1914, Oscar Hobbet became the Hawkeyes' first individual Big Ten champion. Iowa's first all-American and national champion came in the 1927–1928 season, with Leslie Beers achieving these honors. Beers wrestled at the 158-pound weight class.³²

Iowa's first Big Ten championship came in 1958, a year in which the Hawkeyes also had 10 dual wins for the first time. However, Iowa would not win another Big Ten title until 1974, under head coach Gary Kurdelmeier. Kurdelmeier led the Hawkeyes to their first national championship in 1975 and their second in 1976. Iowa lost only one dual match in those two seasons.³²

Following the 1976 national championship, Dan Gable took over as coach. The Hawkeyes finished third on the national level in Gable's first year,³² but with another national championship in 1978, Iowa began a streak that, at that time, was only matched by Yale's golf team and Southern California's track team. From 1978–1986, Iowa won nine consecutive national championships, a record which equals what Yale's golf team did from 1905–1913 and what Southern California's track team did from 1935–1943. In his career at Iowa, which lasted until 1997, Gable led the Hawkeyes to 15 national titles and 21 consecutive Big Ten championships. Gable's 355 dual wins at Iowa make him the university's all-time winningest wrestling coach.³³

Gable was replaced as coach by Jim Zalesky. Under Zalesky, the Hawkeyes won three straight national titles from 1998–2000 and placed ten individual national champions. However, Zalesky was fired following the 2005–2006 season, as the Hawkeyes began to fade on the national level.³⁴ He was replaced by Tom Brands, who in 2008 led Iowa to its first team national title since 2000. Brent Metcalf and Mark Perry won individual national championships in 2008, with Perry becoming Iowa's 17th four-time all-American.³⁵

Women's sports

Basketball

Women's basketball at the University of Iowa began in 1974, under head coach Lark Birdsong. The Hawkeyes finished 5–16 that season, getting their first win over Big Ten rival, Minnesota. Birdsong would continue to coach Iowa until the 1978–1979 season, the first winning season in Iowa women's basketball history.³⁶ Judy McMullen replaced Birdsong, and after coaching at Iowa for four seasons, McMullen was replaced by C. Vivian Stringer in 1983.³⁶ Prior to her tenure at Iowa, Stringer coached at Cheyney University, and took the school to new heights when she led the Wolves to the national championship game in 1982.³⁷

Beginning with the 1983–1984 season, Stringer coached at Iowa for 12 seasons. In that time, the Hawkeyes won six Big Ten championships, played in nine NCAA Tournaments, and reached the Final Four in 1993. Unprecedented attention was shown to the Hawkeyes under Stringer,³⁷ as evidenced by the record-setting 22,157 fans that watched Iowa play Ohio State on February 3, 1985, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.³⁸ Stringer, however, left Iowa to coach at Rutgers in 1995, following the death of her husband, Bill.³⁹

Angie Lee replaced Stringer, and led the Hawkeyes to a Big Ten championship in her first season. Under Lee, Iowa won another Big Ten title in 1998, but success began to wane soon thereafter. Lee's successor as head coach was Lisa Bluder, who remains as Iowa's current women's basketball coach. Under Bluder, the Hawkeyes have won one regular season Big Ten championship and two Big Ten Tournament championships.³⁶ The 2008–2009 season will be her ninth season as head coach.

Cross country

• 1 Big Ten Title - 1982
• 1 Individual Big Ten Title
• 5 NCAA Appearances

Field hockey

• 11 Big Ten Titles

• 3 Big Ten Tournament Titles - 1994, 2006, 2007, 2008

• 18 NCAA Tournament Appearances

• 1 NCAA Title - 1986

Golf

• 1 Big Ten Title - 1991

• 1 Individual Big Ten Title

• 1 NCAA Appearance

Gymnastics

• 2 Individual Big Ten Titles

• 2 NCAA Appearances

Rowing

• 1 NCAA Appearance

Soccer

Softball

• 3 Big Ten Titles

• 2 Big Ten Tournament Titles

• 14 NCAA Tournament Appearances

• 4 College World Series Appearances

Swimming

• 15 NCAA Appearances

Tennis

• 6 NCAA Appearances

Indoor track

• 10 NCAA Appearances
• 3 Individual NCAA Titles

Outdoor track

• 10 NCAA Appearances
• 1 Individual NCAA Title

Volleyball

• 2 NCAA Appearances

Pageantry

The University of Iowa borrowed its nickname from the state of Iowa years ago. The term "Hawkeye" originally appeared in the novel, The Last of the Mohicans, written by Fenimore Cooper. In the book, a character named Natty Bumppo is given the word "Hawkeye" as a nickname from the Delaware Indians. 12 years following the publishing of the book, the nickname was also given to people in the territory of Iowa (now sometimes known as the Hawkeye State). Two men, Judge David Rorer and James G. Edwards, sought out to popularize the nickname, and were rewarded when territorial officials gave their approval.³

Herky the Hawk waves a flag at an Iowa football game on September 16, 2006.

The nickname gained a palpable symbol in 1948 when a cartoon character was created. Later named Herky, it was created by Richard Spencer III. The mascot was instantly popular among fans and gained its name through a statewide contest. A man named John Franklin suggested the Herky name. Since the mid-1950s, Herky has been a fixture at Iowa football games and has played a prominent role in all Iowa athletic events.³

Iowa's primary school colors are black and gold.⁴ The school's fight songs are "On Iowa," the "Iowa Fight Song," and "Roll Along Iowa." A fourth song, the "Hawkeye Victory Polka," is played specifically following Iowa football and basketball victories. The school's alma mater is "Alma Mater, Iowa."⁵

Athletic directors

Iowa has had 12 athletic directors in its history. They are:

• Nelson Kellogg, 1910–1917
• Howard Jones, 1917–1924
• Paul Belting, 1924–1929
• Edward Lauer, 1929–1934
• Ossie Solem, 1934–1937
• E.G. Schroeder, 1937–1947
• Paul Brechler, 1947–1960
• Forest Evashevski, 1960–1970
• Bump Elliott, 1970–1990
• Christine Grant, 1973–2000 as women's athletic director
• Bob Bowlsby, 1990–2006
• Gary Barta, 2006–ongoing

Championship history

National championships

• Men's
  • Gymnastics – 1969¹
  • Wrestling – 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2008
• Women's
  • Field hockey – 1986²

Big Ten championships

Members of Iowa's women's basketball team celebrate their 2008 regular season Big Ten championship on March 2, 2008.

• Men's

• • Baseball – 1927, 1938, 1939, 1942, 1949, 1972, 1974, 1990
  • Basketball – 1923, 1926, 1945, 1955, 1956, 1968, 1970, 1979
  • Cross country – 1961, 1966
  • Football – 1900, 1921, 1922, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1981, 1985, 1990, 2002, 2004
  • Golf – 1992
  • Gymnastics – 1937, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1974, 1986, 1998
  • Swimming – 1936, 1981, 1982
  • Tennis – 1958
  • Indoor track – 1926, 1929, 1963
  • Outdoor track – 1963, 1967
  • Wrestling – 1915, 1916, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2008

• Women's

• • Basketball – 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2008
  • Cross country – 1982
  • Field hockey – 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2004
  • Golf – 1991
  • Softball – 1997, 2000, 2003

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

University of Iowa athletics

• HawkeyeSports.com – Iowa Hawkeyes athletics website
• The University of Iowa – University of Iowa website
• Des Moines Register – Iowa Hawkeyes news from DesMoinesRegister.com
• Iowa Hawkeyes News and Views

v • d • e Sports teams based in Iowa Baseball PCL: Iowa Cubs · MwL: Burlington Bees · Cedar Rapids Kernels · Clinton LumberKings · Quad Cities River Bandits · AA: Sioux City Explorers · NwL: Waterloo Bucks Basketball D-League: Iowa Energy Football af2: Iowa Barnstormers · IFL: Sioux City Bandits · APFL: Iowa Blackhawks Hockey AHL: Iowa Chops · USHL: Cedar Rapids RoughRiders · Des Moines Buccaneers · Omaha Lancers · Sioux City Musketeers · Waterloo Black Hawks · NAHL: North Iowa Outlaws Soccer PDL: Des Moines Menace NCAA Div. I college athletics Drake · Iowa · Iowa State · Northern Iowa