50 Fun Facts About Iowa Hawkeyes Football

In which town do the Hawkeyes play their home games?

Kinnick Stadium holds 69,250, the 25th-largest college football venue in the country.

Kinnick Stadium is named after the school's only winner of which award?

Nile Kinnick won it in 1939 and died in a 1943 training flight. The stadium was renamed for him in 1972.

Kinnick Stadium was renamed in honour of Nile Kinnick in which year?

It had opened as Iowa Stadium in 1929; before that the team played at Iowa Field.

Who has been Iowa's head coach since 1999, the longest current tenure in FBS?

He took over from Hayden Fry, for whom he had been an assistant, and is in his 28th season.

Nicknamed the 'Ironmen', Iowa's surprise 1939 team was coached by whom?

A handful of players took nearly every snap. Anderson missed 1943–45 to serve in World War II.

Which Hall of Fame coach led Iowa to 20 straight wins and national titles in 1921 and 1922?

He soon left to build a powerhouse at Southern California, and Iowa was dismal for most of the 1930s.

What happened to Iowa's Big Ten membership on May 25, 1929?

The reasons were never stated officially, but player compensation was suspected. Iowa was reinstated in February 1930.

Calvin Jones became the first Hawkeye, and first African-American, to win which award in 1955?

Coach Forest Evashevski recruited him. Jones and Larry Station are the only two-time consensus All-Americans in school history.

Iowa's Rose Bowl wins under its 1950s coach came in 1957 and which other year?

Iowa beat California 38–12 and was named 1958 national champion by the Football Writers Association after the bowls.

Who was MVP of the 1957 Rose Bowl, Iowa's first win in the game?

The quarterback ran for one touchdown and threw for another in a 35–19 win over Oregon State.

Why is the 1960 Hawkeye season known as the 'Forgotten Season'?

The Big Ten allowed only a Rose Bowl trip, and co-champion Minnesota was picked instead.

Which coach went 0–11 in 1973, the low point of Iowa's two-decade slump?

His three-year record was 4–28–1. Iowa did not have a winning season between 1961 and 1981.

Which Hall of Fame coach was hired after the 1978 season to revive the program?

He vowed to resign if Iowa did not reach a bowl within four years. It took three.

What color did the coach hired in 1979 have the visitors' locker room painted?

The stated idea was to 'calm' opponents. It remains widely reviled by visiting teams.

Iowa's uniforms were modelled, with permission, on which NFL team's?

Fry asked 'Mean' Joe Greene for a replica; the owners sent copies of Terry Bradshaw's home and away kits three days later.

What is the name of the helmet logo created in 1979 with the new coach's help?

It has been removed from the helmets five times as a symbol of mourning, including after a 1991 campus shooting.

What do the letters on Iowa's 'ANF' helmet sticker stand for?

First worn in 1985 during the farm crisis, it came off in 1992 under NCAA decal rules and Kirk Ferentz restored it in 2009.

Iowa's 1985 team spent most of October ranked where in both major polls?

Fry's best team won a then-record 10 games and Iowa's first outright Big Ten title in 27 years.

Which kicker beat No. 2 Michigan 12–10 with a field goal as time expired in 1985?

Quarterback Chuck Long drove Iowa from its own 22 with 5:27 left in what many call the greatest game at Kinnick.

Iowa's 1981 upset of No. 7 Nebraska avenged what scoreline from the year before in Lincoln?

Iowa won 10–7, held the Huskers to 234 yards and went on to its first winning season since 1961 and a Rose Bowl.

Who caught the 56-yard game-winning touchdown known as 'The Catch' in the 2005 Capital One Bowl?

It was his first and only career touchdown, beating Nick Saban's defending champion LSU 30–25.

Which quarterback threw 'The Catch' to beat LSU in January 2005?

Iowa had led all game before falling behind 25–24 with 46 seconds left.

Whose interception set up the last-second field goal that beat No. 3 Penn State in 2008?

Daniel Murray kicked the 31-yarder with one second left. Iowa later honoured Sash with a gold '#9' helmet decal after his death in 2015.

Iowa's first BCS bowl win came in the 2010 Orange Bowl against which team?

Ricky Stanzi threw for two first-quarter touchdowns. Iowa is one of only five Big Ten teams to win an Orange Bowl.

Which freshman kicker's 33-yard field goal beat No. 2 Michigan in 2016?

A 5–4 Iowa team beat the 9–0 Wolverines on a day when Nos. 2, 3 and 4 all lost, something last seen on October 19, 1985.

By what score did Iowa stun No. 3 Ohio State at Kinnick in 2017?

Ohio State was a 21-point favourite. Tight end Noah Fant caught two touchdowns from Nate Stanley in the last three minutes of the half.

Iowa plays Minnesota each year for a bronze statue of what animal?

Floyd of Rosedale dates to a 1935 bet by Minnesota's governor. It is Iowa's oldest trophy game.

Iowa and Iowa State play annually for which prize?

The Des Moines Athletic Club donated it when the series resumed in 1977 after a 43-year gap. Iowa leads the trophy series 31–17.

Iowa and Nebraska have played for the Heroes Trophy on which day since 2011?

The series became a conference game when Nebraska joined the Big Ten. Iowa leads the trophy series 11–4.

Which prize have Iowa and Wisconsin played for since 2004?

The trophy series is tied 10–10, while Wisconsin leads the overall series 49–48–2.

Iowa fans throwing what at Illinois players in 1952 helped get the rivalry suspended until 1967?

Illinois won 33–13, but penalties and a punch between players led the Big Ten to shelve the series for 15 years.

What is the name of Iowa's mascot?

Created as a cartoon in 1948, he was named after Hercules and first appeared at a game in 1959.

The term 'Hawkeye' originally appeared in which 19th-century novel?

James Fenimore Cooper's name for his scout was later applied to the people of Iowa, then to the university's teams.

Which AC/DC song plays as the team leaves the tunnel before home games?

The players then join hands and run on together to Metallica's 'Enter Sandman', a ritual known as The Swarm.

What is the English title of the polka the band plays after Iowa victories?

The German original is 'Im Himmel gibt's kein Bier'. Iowa also has three fight songs, including 'On Iowa'.

At the end of the first quarter, Iowa fans turn and wave to whom?

The 12-storey hospital across the street opened in 2017 with a top-floor lounge overlooking the field. ESPN called it college football's coolest new tradition.

Which company gave Iowa its Wide World of Sports Spirit Award in 2017 for the Kinnick Wave?

The award goes annually to college football's most inspirational figure.

In which year did Iowa join the conference now known as the Big Ten?

The invitation followed its first undefeated season; it won a share of the title in its first conference season in 1900.

How many national championships does Iowa claim?

1921, 1922, 1956, 1958 and 1960, as chosen by NCAA-designated major selectors.

Which poll named 10–0 LSU champion in 1958 before the FWAA gave Iowa its trophy after the bowls?

Iowa finished 8–1–1 and earned the Grantland Rice Trophy after routing California in the Rose Bowl.

Which 2020 postseason game did Iowa accept a bid to, only for a COVID outbreak to cancel it?

The outbreak was on the opposing team. Iowa's bowl record stands at 19–18–1 in 38 appearances.

Iowa won the Big Ten West division in 2015, 2021 and which other year?

All three came under Kirk Ferentz; the division was scrapped when the conference expanded in 2024.

Which Iowa defensive coordinator won the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant in 2023?

Kirk Ferentz had won the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award in 2015.

What colour are Iowa's home jerseys?

White numerals with gold and white sleeve stripes, worn with gold pants, a scheme copied from the Steelers.

When was the Hawkeye Marching Band founded?

It predates the varsity football team, which the university first recognised in 1889.

The 'EVY' helmet sticker worn in 2009 honoured which former coach and athletic director?

He left coaching after the 1960 season to become athletic director, and died in 2009.

Iowa's 'FFF' helmet sticker honoured high school coach Ed Thomas and stands for what?

It was the motto Thomas preached to his players; he was killed in his team's weight room by a former player.

Iowa's 2021 win over No. 4 Penn State extended its winning streak to how many games?

Iowa came in on a 12-game run and won 23–20 after Penn State lost quarterback Sean Clifford to injury. Fans stormed the field despite being favourites.

In the famous 1953 tie at Notre Dame, what did Irish tackle Frank Varrichione do twice to stop the clock?

He went down with 2 seconds left in the half and 6 seconds left in the game, and returned on the very next play each time. The game ended 14–14.

How many Big Ten championships has Iowa won?

The school counts 13 conference titles overall, two of them from the Missouri Valley league it briefly belonged to.