Iowa Hawkeyes
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The Iowa Hawkeyes is the team name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the University of Iowa. Sports that are offered at Iowa include: baseball, basketball, field hockey, football, golf, gymnastics, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball and wrestling. The school is a member of the Big Ten Conference.
Teams
Iowa's football team plays its home games at historic Kinnick Stadium, named after former Iowa football player Nile Kinnick who won the Heisman Trophy in 1939. Kinnick Stadium hosts 70,585 fans. The stadium will unveil a new look in 2006 with the completion of a 90 million dollar renovation. The renovation included new stands in the south endzone and a new press box. In the past few years, the football team has enjoyed much success, making five national bowl appearances since 2001 including Big Ten titles in 2002 and 2004.
Iowa battles Iowa State University annually for the Cy-Hawk Trophy, a traveling award. It also has a Big Ten rivalry with Minnesota. The two schools' football teams meet yearly to battle for Floyd of Rosedale, a traveling trophy in the shape of a bronzed pig. In 2004, Iowa and Wisconsin unveiled the Heartland Trophy, a bronze bull, to be played for in their annual rivalry. The Hawkeye football team has won eleven Big Ten football titles.
The school is also famous for its collegiate wrestling program. Through 2005, the Hawkeyes grapplers have won an amazing 20 national titles and 31 Big Ten titles. Coach Dan Gable's Gang won nine straight NCAA team championships (1978 to 1986) and twice won three in a row (1991 to 1993 and 1995 to 1997). Iowa's 47 NCAA Champions have won a total of 73 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 13 two-time champions. Furthermore, Iowa's 127 all-Americans have earned all-America status 258 times, including 16 four-time, 27 three-time and 29 two-time honorees. Sports Illustrated named the Iowa program one of the top sports dynasties of the 20th century.[link] The program again made the news on March 29, 2006 when it was announced that wrestling coach Jim Zalesky's contract will not be renewed. About a month later Iowa hired former 4 time All-American and Olympic champion Tom Brands as the new head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
History of nickname
The University borrowed its athletic nickname from the state of Iowa (also known as the Hawkeye State) many years ago. The name Hawkeye was originally applied to a hero in a fictional novel, The Last of the Mohicans, written by James Fenimore Cooper. Author Cooper had the Delaware Indians bestow the name on a white scout who lived with them.In 1838, 12 years after Cooper's book was published, people in the territory of Iowa acquired the nickname, chiefly through the efforts of Judge David Rorer of Burlington and James G. Edwards of Fort Madison. Edwards, editor of the Fort Madison Patriot, moved his newspaper to Burlington in 1843 and renamed it the Burlington Hawkeye. The two men continued their campaign to popularize the name and were rewarded when territorial officials gave it their formal approval.
List of Iowa's Athletic Directors
- Nelson Kellogg (1910-1917)
- Howard Jones (1917-1924)
- Paul Belting (1924-1929)
- Edward Lauer (1929-1934)
- Ossie Solem (1934-1937)
- E.G. "Dad" Schroeder (1937-1947)
- Paul Brechler (1947-1960)
- Forest Evashevski (1960-1970)
- Bump Elliott (1970-1990)
- Bob Bowlsby (1990-2006)
- Gary Barta (2006-present)
See also
External links
- [The University of Iowa]
- [The Official Hawkeye Sports Web Site]
- [The Hawkeyes and Herky]
- [List of Iowa NFL players]
- [List of Iowa NBA players]
- [List of Iowa MLB players]
- [Hawkeyenation.com]
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