Hayden Fry
Encyclopedia
John Hayden Fry is a former American football
player and coach. He served as the head coach at Southern Methodist University
(1962–1972), North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas
(1973–1978), and the University of Iowa
(1979–1998), compiling a career college football
record of 232–178–10. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
as a coach in 2003.
, Hayden Fry was descended from one of the Texas First Families; his great-great-grandfather fought beside General Sam Houston
in the Mexican War
. Fry's family moved to Odessa, Texas
, when he was eight years old.
Fry worked multiple jobs as a child to help his family through the Great Depression
. He also played sports, partly to stay out of trouble. Hayden played basketball, football, and track, but he most loved and was most successful at football, and Odessa was a football town.
When Fry played safety and quarterback for Odessa High School
in the 1940s, their stands routinely had sellout crowds. In Fry's senior year, Odessa won 14 straight games, scoring almost 400 points and allowing about 50. Odessa did not commit a single turnover all season. The Texas state playoffs placed every school into a single bracket. At the end of the year, Hayden Fry quarterbacked Odessa to the Texas state high school championship in 1946.
Fry then played at Baylor University
from 1947–1950. Baylor had a 26–13–2 record during Fry's four years there. Fry started a few games as an upperclassman at Baylor, but he could never win the full-time starting quarterback job. He graduated from Baylor with a degree in psychology
in 1951.
Fry was an American history teacher and assistant football coach at Odessa High School for a year in 1951 before joining the U.S. Marine Corps
in 1952. During his time in Odessa, Fry met and befriended a young George H. W. Bush
, who would become the 41st President of the United States.
Fry served in the U.S. Marine Corps
from 1952–1955. He played with the Quantico Marines football team in 1953, winning the Marine Corps championship and playing in the Poinsettia Bowl
. Fry also coached a six man football team while in the Marines, and the unique style of play allowed Fry to innovate and invent new creative schemes. He became friends with Al Davis
, who was coaching a rival military team; Davis would later become the famous owner of the Oakland Raiders
. Fry's time coaching and serving in the Marines were an asset as he began his coaching career. Fry was discharged from the Marines in February 1955 with the rank of captain.
freshmen varsity coach Cooper Robbins was promoted to athletic director, and Hayden Fry took his first head coaching job. At 26 years old, he was coaching the high school he had led to the state title less than 10 years earlier.
He served as Odessa's head football coach for three years. During that time, he first met and befriended the head coach at Texas A&M, Bear Bryant
. Fry also continued as a history teacher at Odessa, and one of his students, Roy Orbison
, later became a musical star.
After the 1958 season, the new head football coach at Baylor hired Hayden Fry as an assistant coach. Fry spent two years at Baylor coaching the defensive backs. In 1960, Baylor had an 8–2 record in the regular season and finished the year with a one point loss to Florida
in the Gator Bowl
. That season, Fry's defensive secondary helped Baylor lead the nation in pass defense.
Fry left Baylor to become an assistant coach at Arkansas
under Frank Broyles
. Broyles had been Fry's position coach when Fry played at Baylor. Fry was the offensive backfield coach at Arkansas in 1961. Arkansas won the Southwest Conference co-championship with an 8–2 record and narrowly lost the Sugar Bowl
to Bear Bryant's Alabama
squad. After one year at Arkansas, Southern Methodist University
tabbed Fry as their next head football coach for the 1962 season.
Mustangs were members of the Southwest Conference at the time. Fry won the conference coach of the year award in his first season. In 1963, SMU opened the season with a 27–16 loss to a Michigan team coached by Bump Elliott
, Fry's future boss at Iowa. SMU lost to Oregon
in the 1963 Sun Bowl
, 21–14. After the season, Fry was also appointed as SMU's athletic director.
When Fry took the job at SMU, he was promised that he would be allowed to recruit black athletes. Fry and the school wanted to make certain that the player they recruited was not only a good athlete but also a good student and citizen and someone with the mental toughness to be one of the first black players in conference history. Fry found that player in Jerry LeVias
. LeVias was a great player, an exceptional student, and mentally tough. He had never had discipline problems and was deeply religious. LeVias was the perfect player for SMU.
Jerry LeVias had many other scholarship offers to good integrated schools, but he chose to attend SMU. LeVias became the first black player signed to a football scholarship in the Southwest Conference. In 1966, LeVias made his debut, one week after John Hill Westbrook of Baylor
became the first black player to play for a conference team. Fry received abuse for recruiting a black player to SMU in the form of hate mail and threatening phone calls, but he downplayed the treatment, because the harassment of LeVias was much, much worse.
SMU had an 8–2 record in 1966 and won its first Southwest Conference title in 18 years. LeVias was named to the all-conference team and handled the racial incidents well. SMU lost in the Cotton Bowl Classic to Georgia
but finished the year ranked #10 in the nation. SMU had a down year in 1967, but LeVias was again an all-conference selection.
In 1968, SMU went 7–3 and defeated Oklahoma in the Bluebonnet Bowl
. LeVias was selected as an all-conference player as a senior for the third time. Fry's Mustangs then had just a 12–20 record over the next three years from 1969–1971. That put Fry's job in jeopardy, and rumors started to swirl after Fry's Mustangs started the 1972 season at 4–4. Not even a three game winning streak could save Fry. After a 7–4 season in 1972, Fry was fired at SMU, which robbed the Mustangs of a bowl berth.
Hayden Fry compiled a 49–66–1 record in 11 seasons at SMU, including the school's only three winning seasons since the late 1940s. In Fry's autobiography, Fry stated that he believed his firing was related to several boosters' desire to start a slush fund
to pay players and recruits. SMU was the second-smallest school in the Southwest Conference, and had found it difficult to compete over the last two decades against schools double its size or more. When he refused to go along with the plan, Fry said, the boosters pressured the school's new president to fire him. As it turned out, SMU would be hit with NCAA sanctions five times after Fry's departure before having its program completely shut down for the 1987 season due to a massive litany of misconduct
. Most of the violations were related to the slush fund Fry had opposed several years earlier.
Hayden Fry was hired as the coach and athletic director at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas
) before the 1973 season. North Texas appeared to be on the verge of dropping from Division I football or even ending the sport altogether. In 1973, North Texas won a share of the Missouri Valley Conference
title. However, North Texas left the conference after the year in hopes of joining a more football-oriented conference. While Fry was there, North Texas never did. He also coached three of his sons while at North Texas.
Fry turned North Texas' program around, compiling a 40–23–3 record over six seasons from 1973–1978. In his final four seasons, North Texas had winning records, including a 10–1 mark in 1977 and a 9–2 record in 1978. Still, North Texas never received a bowl invitation. Fry wanted to go to a school where he would be assured of a bowl game with a solid record and where he did not need to also serve as athletic director.
, by this time the university's athletic director. Iowa had had 17 straight non-winning seasons, but Fry was impressed at the fan support for a program that had struggled for so long.
Fry turned his attention to changing a losing attitude and starting new traditions at Iowa. Hayden would not celebrate close losses or moral victories. He hired a marketing group to create the Tigerhawk, a logo to represent the University of Iowa's athletic programs. Since both shared the colors of black and gold, Fry gained permission from the Pittsburgh Steelers
, the dominant NFL program of the time, to overhaul Iowa’s uniforms in the Steelers’ image. Fry had the team "swarm" onto the field together as they left the locker room, holding hands in a show of solidarity. And Fry had the visitors’ locker room painted pink. Fry, a psychology major at Baylor, knew that pink is occasionally used in jails and mental institutions to relax and pacify the residents, and Fry claimed that it might have the same effect on the visiting team. Principally, though, Fry hoped that the unusual color would distract and fluster the opposing players and coaches. Visiting head coaches, particularly Michigan
head coach Bo Schembechler
, would occasionally try to cover the pink walls with paper to shield their players from the color.
On the field, Hayden assembled a terrific coaching staff, bringing his assistant coaches with him from North Texas, including Bill Brashier, his defensive coordinator and a childhood friend from Eastland, Texas, and Bill Snyder
, his offensive coordinator. Fry retained some of the Iowa coaches from the previous staff, including Dan McCarney
and Bernie Wyatt. Finally, Fry hired the head coach at Mason City High School, Barry Alvarez
. Fry would later add Kirk Ferentz
as his offensive line coach and hire his former players Bob Stoops
, Mike Stoops
, Chuck Long
, and Bret Bielema
as assistant coaches. Fry also gave former USF Head Coach Jim Leavitt
one of his first breaks in college football, making him a graduate assistant coach at Iowa in 1989.
But the team broke through in 1981, a magical season for Hawkeye fans. Iowa began the year by upsetting sixth ranked Nebraska, a team that had defeated Iowa 57–0 the previous season. Two weeks later, Iowa defeated sixth ranked UCLA to give Fry win #100 in his career. Later that season, Iowa defeated Michigan
in Ann Arbor for its first victory over the Wolverines in 19 years. A victory over Purdue
in 1981 snapped a 20 game losing streak to the Boilermakers and clinched Iowa's first winning season in 19 years, as well as its first bowl appearance in 23 years.
In the final game of the 1981 regular season, Iowa's win over Michigan State
, coupled with an Ohio State
upset of Michigan in Ann Arbor, gave Iowa a share of the 1981 Big Ten title. Since Iowa had last been to the Rose Bowl
in 1959, the Hawkeyes got the conference's berth in the 1982 Rose Bowl
. Either Michigan or Ohio State had gone to the Rose Bowl in each of the last 12 seasons, prompting critics to nickname the Big Ten the "Big Two and Little Eight". While the Hawks lost to Washington
, they had nonetheless altered the balance of the Big Ten.
in the 1982 Peach Bowl to earn Iowa's first bowl victory since 1959.
In 1983, Fry's Hawkeyes had a 9–2 record overall and a 7–2 mark in the Big Ten as the Hawks earned an invitation to the Gator Bowl. Iowa's seven Big Ten wins set a school record, and Iowa's nine wins overall tied the school record for wins in a single season set in 1903. Iowa was ranked in the top ten in the country before losing in the Gator Bowl to Florida.
A five game conference winning streak in 1984 helped put Fry and Iowa in contention for the league title, but injuries contributed to Iowa's 0–2–1 finish to the conference schedule. Iowa carried a 7–4–1 record into the 1984 Freedom Bowl
against Texas. It was Fry's first game against a Texas school since leaving the state in 1978. The Hawkeyes set the stage for the 1985 season by routing Texas, 55–17. It was the most points scored against Texas in eighty years and the second most points ever allowed by the Longhorns.
scored a last minute touchdown on a bootleg run to clinch a 35–31 victory over Michigan State
. Two weeks later, one of the most celebrated games in Iowa history was set to be played.
The Michigan Wolverines came into Iowa City with a perfect 5–0 record and the #2 ranking in the AP poll. It was just the 12th time in college football history that the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the AP poll would meet for a regular season game. It was the first such meeting where the victor scored the winning points on the game's final play. With two seconds remaining in the game and Iowa trailing 10–9, kicker Rob Houghtlin booted his fourth field goal of the day, this one from 29 yards out, as time expired to give Iowa a dramatic 12–10 victory over Michigan at Kinnick Stadium
.
Iowa would finish the season with a 10–1 record, losing only in Columbus to Ohio State. Still, Iowa would win its first outright Big Ten title in 27 years and secure Fry's second Rose Bowl berth and a top ten final ranking. The Hawkeyes set a new school record for wins in 1985, and Long finished second to Bo Jackson
for the Heisman Trophy
by the narrowest margin in the history of the award.
A win in 1986 over Iowa State
was Fry's 53rd at Iowa, giving him more wins than any coach in Hawkeye history. Iowa had an 8–3 record in 1986 and accepted an invitation to the Holiday Bowl
. The Hawkeyes won the 1986 Holiday Bowl, 39–38, again on a kick by Houghtlin as time expired.
In 1987, the Hawkeyes had a 9–3 record and returned to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl. A second straight Holiday Bowl victory gave Iowa another ten win season. Iowa's 62 victories from 1981–1987 were the most of any Big Ten team in that span, more than Michigan or Ohio State. Fry had taken a team with 19 consecutive non-winning seasons and turned them into one of the best teams in the Big Ten conference.
In 1989, the television show Coach
debuted, starring Craig T Nelson as "Hayden Fox". The title character, created by Iowa alumnus Barry Kemp, was loosely based on Hayden Fry (Fry later appeared in commercials for the NCAA with the female lead of the TV series, Shelley Fabares
), and exterior scenes for the show were shot on campus, mainly around Hillcrest Dormitory. Iowa had a disappointing season, however, as a season ending loss to Minnesota cost Iowa a ninth straight bowl game and a Copper Bowl berth, as the Hawkeyes finished the year 5–6.
The Hawks bounced right back in 1990, as Iowa started the season with a 7–1 record. Iowa's final regular season game in 1990 was against Minnesota, and Iowa entered the game with records of 8–2 overall and 6–1 in the Big Ten. Early in the game, results of other Big Ten games gave Fry his third conference title and third Rose Bowl berth in ten years more than any other Big Ten Conference team. However, Iowa's loss to Minnesota cost the Hawkeyes the outright conference crown; the Hawks finished tied atop the Big Ten Conference
standings with Illinois
, Michigan, and Michigan State, all of which compiled 6–2 league records. Iowa earned the trip to Pasadena, since the Hawks had beaten all three teams during the regular season, and all of them on the road. Although the Hawkeyes lost in Pasadena for the third time under Fry, many fans expected 1991 to be an even better year.
The Hawks had a better record in 1991, posting a 10–1 record, but the lone loss to Michigan cost Fry a fourth Big Ten title and Rose Bowl berth. Iowa's season ending win against Minnesota in 1991 was win number ten on the season, tying the school record for wins in a season. The win over Minnesota was also Fry's 100th victory at Iowa. The Hawkeyes accepted a third invitation to the Holiday Bowl, and the 13–13 tie with BYU
gave Iowa a 10–1–1 final record and a top ten finish in the final AP rankings.
Iowa's winning percentage from 1981 to 1991 ranked second in the Big Ten behind Michigan and ahead of Ohio State. The Hawkeyes played in 10 bowl games in 11 years and won three Big Ten titles during that span.
berth. Iowa's final win of the 1993 season over Minnesota gave Fry the 200th victory of his coaching career.
However, Iowa lost the inaugural Alamo Bowl to California
, 37–3. The Hawkeyes then struggled to a 5–5–1 record the following year in 1994, and some critics wondered if Fry's coaching career was at an end.
But Fry had one last run of winning seasons. In 1995, the Hawkeyes had a 7–4 record and played Pacific 10 Conference co-champion Washington
in the Sun Bowl
. Fry got a measure of revenge against Washington, who had defeated Iowa in two of their three trips to the Rose Bowl under Fry, by defeating the heavily favored Huskies, 38–18. The Hawks then had an 8–3 record in 1996 and ended the year by recording the first bowl shutout in school history with a 27–0 victory over Texas Tech
in the Alamo Bowl
.
defeated Iowa for the first time in 20 years. Iowa also led eventual co-national champion Michigan at halftime, 21–7, before falling in Ann Arbor, 28–24. The Hawkeyes ended the disappointing year in fitting fashion, losing in the Sun Bowl
to Arizona State
.
The 1998 season marked Fry's 20th at the University of Iowa. It was his worst season at Iowa, as the Hawks finished with a 3–8 record. That season included a home loss to intrastate rival Iowa State (Fry's first loss to Iowa State in 15 years). It would be his last season at Iowa. Fry, who was secretly undergoing radiation treatments for prostate cancer all year, announced his retirement on November 22, 1998.
In 2002, Fry reportedly expressed an interest in the open head coaching position at Baylor University (his Alma Mater) that ultimately went to Guy Morriss.
Former Fry assistants or players who have taken over as head coach at a Division I-A college football programs include:
After undergoing successful treatment for prostate cancer
, Fry moved to Nevada
to live in retirement
. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 2003, alongside former SMU star Jerry LeVias
. He received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
, presented by the American Football Coaches Association
, in 2005.
In 2009, prior to the first football game of the Hawkeye's season, First Avenue in adjoining Coralville
was co-named Hayden Fry Way in his honor. This road is one of the main routes that can be taken to Kinnick Stadium
from Interstate 80
.
On December 30, 2010, Fry was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Pasadena Convention Center
. As part of being honored, Fry participated in the 122nd Annual Tournament of Roses Parade
and was recognized for his induction at the 2011 Rose Bowl
following the 3rd quarter. In the Rose Bowl game during which Fry was honored, his former player Bret Bielema's Wisconsin Badgers
lost to the TCU Horned Frogs
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and coach. He served as the head coach at Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
(1962–1972), North Texas State University, now the University of 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...
(1973–1978), and the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
(1979–1998), compiling a career college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
record of 232–178–10. He was 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...
as a coach in 2003.
Background
Born in Eastland, TexasEastland, Texas
Eastland is a city in Eastland County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,769 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Eastland County.During the 1920s, Eastland, like nearby Cisco, Ranger, and Desdemona, were petroleum boomtowns....
, Hayden Fry was descended from one of the Texas First Families; his great-great-grandfather fought beside General Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
in the Mexican War
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
. Fry's family moved to Odessa, Texas
Odessa, Texas
Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small portion of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 99,940 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Odessa, Texas Metropolitan...
, when he was eight years old.
Fry worked multiple jobs as a child to help his family through 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...
. He also played sports, partly to stay out of trouble. Hayden played basketball, football, and track, but he most loved and was most successful at football, and Odessa was a football town.
When Fry played safety and quarterback for Odessa High School
Odessa High School
Odessa High School is a public high school located in Odessa, Texas and is part of the Ector County Independent School District. The full name of the school is Odessa Senior High School. This name was originally to differentiate it from Odessa Junior High School...
in the 1940s, their stands routinely had sellout crowds. In Fry's senior year, Odessa won 14 straight games, scoring almost 400 points and allowing about 50. Odessa did not commit a single turnover all season. The Texas state playoffs placed every school into a single bracket. At the end of the year, Hayden Fry quarterbacked Odessa to the Texas state high school championship in 1946.
Fry then played at Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
from 1947–1950. Baylor had a 26–13–2 record during Fry's four years there. Fry started a few games as an upperclassman at Baylor, but he could never win the full-time starting quarterback job. He graduated from Baylor with a degree in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
in 1951.
Fry was an American history teacher and assistant football coach at Odessa High School for a year in 1951 before joining the U.S. Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
in 1952. During his time in Odessa, Fry met and befriended a young George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, who would become the 41st President of the United States.
Fry served in the U.S. Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
from 1952–1955. He played with the Quantico Marines football team in 1953, winning the Marine Corps championship and playing in the Poinsettia Bowl
Poinsettia Bowl
The Poinsettia Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that was created in 2005. The game was created by the organizers of the Holiday Bowl and is played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The game is currently sponsored by the San Diego...
. Fry also coached a six man football team while in the Marines, and the unique style of play allowed Fry to innovate and invent new creative schemes. He became friends with Al Davis
Al Davis
Allen "Al" Davis was an American football executive. He was the principal owner of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League from 1970 to 2011...
, who was coaching a rival military team; Davis would later become the famous owner of the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Fry's time coaching and serving in the Marines were an asset as he began his coaching career. Fry was discharged from the Marines in February 1955 with the rank of captain.
High school and assistant coach
In 1955, Hayden returned to Odessa as a teacher and assistant football coach. The following season, Odessa head coach and former Texas A&MTexas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
freshmen varsity coach Cooper Robbins was promoted to athletic director, and Hayden Fry took his first head coaching job. At 26 years old, he was coaching the high school he had led to the state title less than 10 years earlier.
He served as Odessa's head football coach for three years. During that time, he first met and befriended the head coach at Texas A&M, Bear Bryant
Bear Bryant
Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an American college football player and coach. He was best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships...
. Fry also continued as a history teacher at Odessa, and one of his students, Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
, later became a musical star.
After the 1958 season, the new head football coach at Baylor hired Hayden Fry as an assistant coach. Fry spent two years at Baylor coaching the defensive backs. In 1960, Baylor had an 8–2 record in the regular season and finished the year with a one point loss to 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...
in the Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
. That season, Fry's defensive secondary helped Baylor lead the nation in pass defense.
Fry left Baylor to become an assistant coach at Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
under Frank Broyles
Frank Broyles
John Franklin Broyles is a former American football player and coach, athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach the University of Missouri in 1957 and at the University of Arkansas from 1958 to 1976...
. Broyles had been Fry's position coach when Fry played at Baylor. Fry was the offensive backfield coach at Arkansas in 1961. Arkansas won the Southwest Conference co-championship with an 8–2 record and narrowly lost the Sugar Bowl
Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...
to Bear Bryant's Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
squad. After one year at Arkansas, Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
tabbed Fry as their next head football coach for the 1962 season.
Head coaching career
The SMUSouthern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
Mustangs were members of the Southwest Conference at the time. Fry won the conference coach of the year award in his first season. In 1963, SMU opened the season with a 27–16 loss to a Michigan team coached by 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...
, Fry's future boss at Iowa. SMU lost to Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
in the 1963 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...
, 21–14. After the season, Fry was also appointed as SMU's athletic director.
When Fry took the job at SMU, he was promised that he would be allowed to recruit black athletes. Fry and the school wanted to make certain that the player they recruited was not only a good athlete but also a good student and citizen and someone with the mental toughness to be one of the first black players in conference history. Fry found that player in Jerry LeVias
Jerry LeVias
Jerry LeVias was the first African-American scholarship athlete and second African-American football player in the Southwest Conference.-Early years:Born in Beaumont, Texas, LeVias played quarterback for Hebert High School...
. LeVias was a great player, an exceptional student, and mentally tough. He had never had discipline problems and was deeply religious. LeVias was the perfect player for SMU.
Jerry LeVias had many other scholarship offers to good integrated schools, but he chose to attend SMU. LeVias became the first black player signed to a football scholarship in the Southwest Conference. In 1966, LeVias made his debut, one week after John Hill Westbrook of Baylor
Baylor Bears football
The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. The team plays its home games at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.-History:...
became the first black player to play for a conference team. Fry received abuse for recruiting a black player to SMU in the form of hate mail and threatening phone calls, but he downplayed the treatment, because the harassment of LeVias was much, much worse.
SMU had an 8–2 record in 1966 and won its first Southwest Conference title in 18 years. LeVias was named to the all-conference team and handled the racial incidents well. SMU lost in the Cotton Bowl Classic to Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
but finished the year ranked #10 in the nation. SMU had a down year in 1967, but LeVias was again an all-conference selection.
In 1968, SMU went 7–3 and defeated Oklahoma in the Bluebonnet Bowl
Bluebonnet Bowl
The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 1959 through 1967, and again in 1985 and 1986. The game was...
. LeVias was selected as an all-conference player as a senior for the third time. Fry's Mustangs then had just a 12–20 record over the next three years from 1969–1971. That put Fry's job in jeopardy, and rumors started to swirl after Fry's Mustangs started the 1972 season at 4–4. Not even a three game winning streak could save Fry. After a 7–4 season in 1972, Fry was fired at SMU, which robbed the Mustangs of a bowl berth.
Hayden Fry compiled a 49–66–1 record in 11 seasons at SMU, including the school's only three winning seasons since the late 1940s. In Fry's autobiography, Fry stated that he believed his firing was related to several boosters' desire to start a slush fund
Slush fund
A slush fund, colloquially, is an auxiliary monetary account or a reserve fund. However, in the context of corrupt dealings, such as those by governments or large corporations, a slush fund can have particular connotations of illegality, illegitimacy, or secrecy in regard to the use of this money...
to pay players and recruits. SMU was the second-smallest school in the Southwest Conference, and had found it difficult to compete over the last two decades against schools double its size or more. When he refused to go along with the plan, Fry said, the boosters pressured the school's new president to fire him. As it turned out, SMU would be hit with NCAA sanctions five times after Fry's departure before having its program completely shut down for the 1987 season due to a massive litany of misconduct
Southern Methodist University football scandal
The Southern Methodist University football scandal was an incident in which the football program at Southern Methodist University was investigated and punished for massive violations of NCAA rules and regulations. The most serious violation was the maintenance of a slush fund used for "under the...
. Most of the violations were related to the slush fund Fry had opposed several years earlier.
Hayden Fry was hired as the coach and athletic director at North Texas State University (now the University of 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...
) before the 1973 season. North Texas appeared to be on the verge of dropping from Division I football or even ending the sport altogether. In 1973, North Texas won a share of the Missouri Valley Conference
Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference is a college athletic conference whose members are located in the midwestern United States...
title. However, North Texas left the conference after the year in hopes of joining a more football-oriented conference. While Fry was there, North Texas never did. He also coached three of his sons while at North Texas.
Fry turned North Texas' program around, compiling a 40–23–3 record over six seasons from 1973–1978. In his final four seasons, North Texas had winning records, including a 10–1 mark in 1977 and a 9–2 record in 1978. Still, North Texas never received a bowl invitation. Fry wanted to go to a school where he would be assured of a bowl game with a solid record and where he did not need to also serve as athletic director.
Iowa coaching career
Hayden Fry was hired as Iowa's 25th head football coach after the 1978 season. Fry had never been to Iowa, but he knew and liked Bump ElliottBump 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...
, by this time the university's athletic director. Iowa had had 17 straight non-winning seasons, but Fry was impressed at the fan support for a program that had struggled for so long.
Fry turned his attention to changing a losing attitude and starting new traditions at Iowa. Hayden would not celebrate close losses or moral victories. He hired a marketing group to create the Tigerhawk, a logo to represent the University of Iowa's athletic programs. Since both shared the colors of black and gold, Fry gained permission from the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, the dominant NFL program of the time, to overhaul Iowa’s uniforms in the Steelers’ image. Fry had the team "swarm" onto the field together as they left the locker room, holding hands in a show of solidarity. And Fry had the visitors’ locker room painted pink. Fry, a psychology major at Baylor, knew that pink is occasionally used in jails and mental institutions to relax and pacify the residents, and Fry claimed that it might have the same effect on the visiting team. Principally, though, Fry hoped that the unusual color would distract and fluster the opposing players and coaches. Visiting head coaches, particularly Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
head coach Bo Schembechler
Bo Schembechler
Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler, Jr. was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989, compiling a career record of 234–65–8...
, would occasionally try to cover the pink walls with paper to shield their players from the color.
On the field, Hayden assembled a terrific coaching staff, bringing his assistant coaches with him from North Texas, including Bill Brashier, his defensive coordinator and a childhood friend from Eastland, Texas, and Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder is the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was rehired to the position on November 24, 2008, making Snyder one of the rare college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school. Snyder previously served as head coach at the school from 1989 to...
, his offensive coordinator. Fry retained some of the Iowa coaches from the previous staff, including Dan McCarney
Dan McCarney
-External links:* * * * *...
and Bernie Wyatt. Finally, Fry hired the head coach at Mason City High School, Barry Alvarez
Barry Alvarez
Barry Alvarez is a former American football player and coach and currently the Director of Athletics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He served as the head football coach at Wisconsin for 16 seasons from 1990 to 2005, compiling a career college football record of 118–73–4...
. Fry would later add 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...
as his offensive line coach and hire his former players 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....
, Mike Stoops
Mike Stoops
Michael J. Stoops is a former American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at the University of Arizona, a position he held from 2003 until his firing in 2011. Stoops previously served as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa, Kansas State University, and the...
, Chuck Long
Chuck Long
Chuck Long is an American football coach. He played quarterback in college at Iowa for Hayden Fry and professionally with the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams. He is an inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame. In the January 2008 issue of San Diego Magazine he was chosen as one of...
, and Bret Bielema
Bret Bielema
-Personal life:Bielema announced on April 1, 2011 that he was engaged to his girlfriend, Jen. The wedding is scheduled for spring 2012.-External links:* *...
as assistant coaches. Fry also gave former USF Head Coach Jim Leavitt
Jim Leavitt
Jim Leavitt is a former American football player and current linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He served at the head coach at the University of South Florida from the football program's inception in 1997 until 2009, compiling a record of 95–57.-Early years:Leavitt grew up in St...
one of his first breaks in college football, making him a graduate assistant coach at Iowa in 1989.
Big Ten Title (1979–1981)
Fry brought a wide-open passing game to the Big Ten for the first time. He had his tight ends stand at the line of scrimmage at the snap, creating an unusual and unique looking offensive formation. He tried a number of trick plays, or "exotics", to keep the opposition on its toes. 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, who had left Iowa after failing to produce a winning season.But the team broke through in 1981, a magical season for Hawkeye fans. Iowa began the year by upsetting sixth ranked Nebraska, a team that had defeated Iowa 57–0 the previous season. Two weeks later, Iowa defeated sixth ranked UCLA to give Fry win #100 in his career. Later that season, Iowa defeated Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in Ann Arbor for its first victory over the Wolverines in 19 years. A victory over 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 1981 snapped a 20 game losing streak to the Boilermakers and clinched Iowa's first winning season in 19 years, as well as its first bowl appearance in 23 years.
In the final game of the 1981 regular season, Iowa's win 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,...
, coupled with an 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...
upset of Michigan in Ann Arbor, gave Iowa a share of the 1981 Big Ten title. Since Iowa had last been to the Rose Bowl
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...
in 1959, the Hawkeyes got the conference's berth in the 1982 Rose Bowl
1982 Rose Bowl
The 1982 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game, played on January 1, 1982. It was the 68th Rose Bowl Game. The Washington Huskies defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes by a score of 28-0. Washington Freshman Jacque Robinson gained 142 yards on 20 carries and set up or scored three of the Huskies' four...
. Either Michigan or Ohio State had gone to the Rose Bowl in each of the last 12 seasons, prompting critics to nickname the Big Ten the "Big Two and Little Eight". While the Hawks lost to Washington
Washington Huskies football
College football has a long history at the University of Washington. The Washington Huskies have won 15 Pacific-10 Conference championships, seven Rose Bowl titles, and three national championships. Washington's all-time record of 653-398-50 ranks 20th by all-time winning percentage and 21st by...
, they had nonetheless altered the balance of the Big Ten.
Three more bowls (1982–1984)
Iowa started the 1982 season with an 0–2 record, but the Hawkeyes compiled a 6–2 record in the Big Ten to earn a berth in the Peach Bowl. The Hawkeyes defeated TennesseeUniversity of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
in the 1982 Peach Bowl to earn Iowa's first bowl victory since 1959.
In 1983, Fry's Hawkeyes had a 9–2 record overall and a 7–2 mark in the Big Ten as the Hawks earned an invitation to the Gator Bowl. Iowa's seven Big Ten wins set a school record, and Iowa's nine wins overall tied the school record for wins in a single season set in 1903. Iowa was ranked in the top ten in the country before losing in the Gator Bowl to Florida.
A five game conference winning streak in 1984 helped put Fry and Iowa in contention for the league title, but injuries contributed to Iowa's 0–2–1 finish to the conference schedule. Iowa carried a 7–4–1 record into the 1984 Freedom Bowl
Freedom Bowl
The Freedom Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California, from 1984 to 1994. Beginning with the 1995 season, the Freedom Bowl's WAC tie-ins were merged with that of the Holiday Bowl and the game was dissolved...
against Texas. It was Fry's first game against a Texas school since leaving the state in 1978. The Hawkeyes set the stage for the 1985 season by routing Texas, 55–17. It was the most points scored against Texas in eighty years and the second most points ever allowed by the Longhorns.
Another title and more bowls (1985–1987)
1985 was arguably Fry’s best season at Iowa. Iowa was ranked #1 in AP poll for the first time in 24 years and remained there for 5 weeks. During that time, the Hawkeyes scored two thrilling, last-minute victories as America's top team. Iowa quarterback Chuck LongChuck Long
Chuck Long is an American football coach. He played quarterback in college at Iowa for Hayden Fry and professionally with the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams. He is an inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame. In the January 2008 issue of San Diego Magazine he was chosen as one of...
scored a last minute touchdown on a bootleg run to clinch a 35–31 victory 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,...
. Two weeks later, one of the most celebrated games in Iowa history was set to be played.
The Michigan Wolverines came into Iowa City with a perfect 5–0 record and the #2 ranking in the AP poll. It was just the 12th time in college football history that the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the AP poll would meet for a regular season game. It was the first such meeting where the victor scored the winning points on the game's final play. With two seconds remaining in the game and Iowa trailing 10–9, kicker Rob Houghtlin booted his fourth field goal of the day, this one from 29 yards out, as time expired to give Iowa a dramatic 12–10 victory over Michigan at Kinnick 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...
.
Iowa would finish the season with a 10–1 record, losing only in Columbus to Ohio State. Still, Iowa would win its first outright Big Ten title in 27 years and secure Fry's second Rose Bowl berth and a top ten final ranking. The Hawkeyes set a new school record for wins in 1985, and Long finished second to Bo Jackson
Bo Jackson
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson is a former American baseball and football player. He was the first athlete to be named an All-Star in two major American sports, and also won the Heisman Trophy in 1985....
for the 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...
by the narrowest margin in the history of the award.
A win in 1986 over 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...
was Fry's 53rd at Iowa, giving him more wins than any coach in Hawkeye history. Iowa had an 8–3 record in 1986 and accepted an invitation to the Holiday Bowl
Holiday Bowl
The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that has been played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, since 1978. Beginning with the 2010 playing the bowl will officially be known as the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl after...
. The Hawkeyes won the 1986 Holiday Bowl, 39–38, again on a kick by Houghtlin as time expired.
In 1987, the Hawkeyes had a 9–3 record and returned to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl. A second straight Holiday Bowl victory gave Iowa another ten win season. Iowa's 62 victories from 1981–1987 were the most of any Big Ten team in that span, more than Michigan or Ohio State. Fry had taken a team with 19 consecutive non-winning seasons and turned them into one of the best teams in the Big Ten conference.
Third Big Ten title (1988–1991)
The 1988 season marked the 100th season of Iowa football. It was also Fry's tenth at the school, making him the first Iowa football coach to lead the Hawkeyes for a full decade. Iowa compiled a 6–3–3 record and accepted its eighth consecutive invitation to a bowl game by playing in the 1988 Peach Bowl.In 1989, the television show Coach
Coach (TV series)
Coach is an American television sitcom that aired for nine seasons on ABC from 1989 to 1997. The series starred Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, head coach of the fictional Division I-A college football team, the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles...
debuted, starring Craig T Nelson as "Hayden Fox". The title character, created by Iowa alumnus Barry Kemp, was loosely based on Hayden Fry (Fry later appeared in commercials for the NCAA with the female lead of the TV series, Shelley Fabares
Shelley Fabares
Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares is an American actress and singer. Fabares is known for her roles as Donna Reed's oldest child, Mary Stone, on The Donna Reed Show , and as Craig T. Nelson's love interest and eventual wife, Christine Armstrong Fox, on the sitcom Coach. She also was Elvis...
), and exterior scenes for the show were shot on campus, mainly around Hillcrest Dormitory. Iowa had a disappointing season, however, as a season ending loss to Minnesota cost Iowa a ninth straight bowl game and a Copper Bowl berth, as the Hawkeyes finished the year 5–6.
The Hawks bounced right back in 1990, as Iowa started the season with a 7–1 record. Iowa's final regular season game in 1990 was against Minnesota, and Iowa entered the game with records of 8–2 overall and 6–1 in the Big Ten. Early in the game, results of other Big Ten games gave Fry his third conference title and third Rose Bowl berth in ten years more than any other Big Ten Conference team. However, Iowa's loss to Minnesota cost the Hawkeyes the outright conference crown; the Hawks finished tied atop 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...
standings with 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...
, Michigan, and Michigan State, all of which compiled 6–2 league records. Iowa earned the trip to Pasadena, since the Hawks had beaten all three teams during the regular season, and all of them on the road. Although the Hawkeyes lost in Pasadena for the third time under Fry, many fans expected 1991 to be an even better year.
The Hawks had a better record in 1991, posting a 10–1 record, but the lone loss to Michigan cost Fry a fourth Big Ten title and Rose Bowl berth. Iowa's season ending win against Minnesota in 1991 was win number ten on the season, tying the school record for wins in a season. The win over Minnesota was also Fry's 100th victory at Iowa. The Hawkeyes accepted a third invitation to the Holiday Bowl, and the 13–13 tie with BYU
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
gave Iowa a 10–1–1 final record and a top ten finish in the final AP rankings.
Iowa's winning percentage from 1981 to 1991 ranked second in the Big Ten behind Michigan and ahead of Ohio State. The Hawkeyes played in 10 bowl games in 11 years and won three Big Ten titles during that span.
Winning two more bowl games (1992–1996)
As Fry got older and several assistant coaches departed for other coaching jobs, Iowa had a down period from 1992–1994. A season ending loss to Minnesota in 1992 gave Fry just his second losing season in the last 12 years, as Iowa finished with a 5–7 record. After starting the 1993 season at 2–5, the Hawkeyes rebounded with four straight wins to garner an Alamo BowlAlamo 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...
berth. Iowa's final win of the 1993 season over Minnesota gave Fry the 200th victory of his coaching career.
However, Iowa lost the inaugural Alamo Bowl to California
California Golden Bears
The California Golden Bears is the nickname used for 29 varsity athletic programs and various club teams of the University of California, Berkeley...
, 37–3. The Hawkeyes then struggled to a 5–5–1 record the following year in 1994, and some critics wondered if Fry's coaching career was at an end.
But Fry had one last run of winning seasons. In 1995, the Hawkeyes had a 7–4 record and played Pacific 10 Conference co-champion Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in 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...
. Fry got a measure of revenge against Washington, who had defeated Iowa in two of their three trips to the Rose Bowl under Fry, by defeating the heavily favored Huskies, 38–18. The Hawks then had an 8–3 record in 1996 and ended the year by recording the first bowl shutout in school history with a 27–0 victory over 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
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...
.
Retirement (1997–1998)
In 1997, the Hawkeyes were expected to again challenge for the Big Ten title. Instead, Iowa settled for a disappointing 7–5 record. Although Iowa defeated Iowa State for the 15th consecutive time, WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
defeated Iowa for the first time in 20 years. Iowa also led eventual co-national champion Michigan at halftime, 21–7, before falling in Ann Arbor, 28–24. The Hawkeyes ended the disappointing year in fitting fashion, losing in 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...
to Arizona State
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
.
The 1998 season marked Fry's 20th at the University of Iowa. It was his worst season at Iowa, as the Hawks finished with a 3–8 record. That season included a home loss to intrastate rival Iowa State (Fry's first loss to Iowa State in 15 years). It would be his last season at Iowa. Fry, who was secretly undergoing radiation treatments for prostate cancer all year, announced his retirement on November 22, 1998.
In 2002, Fry reportedly expressed an interest in the open head coaching position at Baylor University (his Alma Mater) that ultimately went to Guy Morriss.
Legacy and honors
It is difficult to overstate Fry's positive impact on Iowa football. Fry coached two decades at Iowa, more than twice as long as any coach before him. Hayden had a 143–89–6 record at Iowa, easily the most in school history. He led the Hawkeyes to 14 bowl games; before his arrival they had only been to two bowl games in 90 years. He also led the Hawkeyes to three Big Ten titles and three Rose Bowl appearances. But more than that, 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.Former Fry assistants or players who have taken over as head coach at a Division I-A college football programs include:
- Kirk FerentzKirk FerentzKirk 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...
, Iowa, 1999–present - Bob StoopsBob StoopsRobert 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....
, Oklahoma, 1999–present - Mike StoopsMike StoopsMichael J. Stoops is a former American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at the University of Arizona, a position he held from 2003 until his firing in 2011. Stoops previously served as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa, Kansas State University, and the...
, Arizona, 2004-2011 - Bill SnyderBill SnyderBill Snyder is the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was rehired to the position on November 24, 2008, making Snyder one of the rare college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school. Snyder previously served as head coach at the school from 1989 to...
, Kansas State, 1989–2005, 2009–present - Barry AlvarezBarry AlvarezBarry Alvarez is a former American football player and coach and currently the Director of Athletics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He served as the head football coach at Wisconsin for 16 seasons from 1990 to 2005, compiling a career college football record of 118–73–4...
, Wisconsin, 1990–2005 - Bret BielemaBret Bielema-Personal life:Bielema announced on April 1, 2011 that he was engaged to his girlfriend, Jen. The wedding is scheduled for spring 2012.-External links:* *...
, Wisconsin, 2006–present - Dan McCarneyDan McCarney-External links:* * * * *...
, Iowa State, 1995–2006, North Texas 2011–present - Chuck LongChuck LongChuck Long is an American football coach. He played quarterback in college at Iowa for Hayden Fry and professionally with the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams. He is an inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame. In the January 2008 issue of San Diego Magazine he was chosen as one of...
, San Diego State, 2006–2008 - Jim LeavittJim LeavittJim Leavitt is a former American football player and current linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He served at the head coach at the University of South Florida from the football program's inception in 1997 until 2009, compiling a record of 95–57.-Early years:Leavitt grew up in St...
, South Florida, 1996–2009 - Bo PeliniBo PeliniMark "Bo" Pelini is the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He had previously been defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers...
, Nebraska, 2008–present
After undergoing successful treatment for prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
, Fry moved to Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
to live in retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
. He was 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...
in 2003, alongside former SMU star Jerry LeVias
Jerry LeVias
Jerry LeVias was the first African-American scholarship athlete and second African-American football player in the Southwest Conference.-Early years:Born in Beaumont, Texas, LeVias played quarterback for Hebert High School...
. He received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
The Amos Alonzo Stagg Award is presented annually by the American Football Coaches Association to the “individual, group or institution whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football’’. Recipients receive a plaque which is a replica of the one given to...
, presented by the American Football Coaches Association
American Football Coaches Association
The American Football Coaches Association is an association of over 11,000 football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and the profession of...
, in 2005.
In 2009, prior to the first football game of the Hawkeye's season, First Avenue in adjoining Coralville
Coralville, Iowa
Coralville is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is a suburb of Iowa City and part of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area...
was co-named Hayden Fry Way in his honor. This road is one of the main routes that can be taken to Kinnick 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...
from Interstate 80
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...
.
On December 30, 2010, Fry was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Pasadena Convention Center
Pasadena Conference Center
The Pasadena Conference Center is a convention center in Pasadena, California, near Los Angeles, owned by the City of Pasadena. It consists of three buildings.-Pasadena Civic Auditorium:...
. As part of being honored, Fry participated in the 122nd Annual Tournament of Roses Parade
Tournament of Roses Parade
The Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day , produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual...
and was recognized for his induction at the 2011 Rose Bowl
2011 Rose Bowl
The 2011 Rose Bowl was the 97th edition of the annual bowl game played on January 1, 2011, as part of the 2010 college football season. Played in Pasadena, California, the TCU Horned Frogs of the Mountain West Conference defeated the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference. The Pasadena...
following the 3rd quarter. In the Rose Bowl game during which Fry was honored, his former player Bret Bielema's Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers are the collegiate athletic teams from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This NCAA Division I athletic program has teams in football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling, track and field, rowing, golf, and softball...
lost to the TCU Horned Frogs
TCU Horned Frogs
The TCU Horned Frogs are the athletic teams that represent Texas Christian University, consisting of 18 varsity teams. The "horned frog" nickname and mascot refer to the Texas horned lizard, as known as the "horned frog". The women's athletics teams are often referred to often as the Lady Frogs...
.
Head coaching record
See also
- List of college football coaches with 200 wins
- List of presidents of the American Football Coaches Association
- Legends PollLegends PollThe Legends Poll is a college football poll that rates the Top 25 teams weekly during the college football season. Its aim is to identify the two best teams in its opinion by the end of the season to compete in the BCS national championship game. The group is currently made up of 17 retired...