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HOME ~ College Football History |
Floyd
of Rosedale
To the winner of the Iowa-Minnesota football game goes possession of a
statue of a pig named "Floyd of Rosedale."
A bet in 1935 between Minnesota Governor Floyd B. Olson and Iowa
Governor Clyde Herring gave birth to Floyd of Rosedale. Tensions between
the two state universities had been running high and a wager was made in
an effort to relieve the situation.
After Iowa lost the 1935 game, Herring presented Olson with Floyd of
Rosedale, a full-blooded champion pig and a brother of BlueBoy
 from Will
Rogers' movie "State Fair". Olson gave the pig to the University of
Minnesota and commissioned St. Paul sculptor Charles Brioscho to capture
Floyd's image.
The result is a bronze pig 21 inches long and 15 inches high. Floyd
currently resides in Minneapolis as a result of Minnesota's 25-21
victory last season in Iowa City. Minnesota holds a 37-26-2 advantage in
the series with Floyd of Rosedale on the line.
The winning university is entitled to keep the trophy until it loses the
annual battle.
Herky and the Hawkeyes
The University of Iowa borrowed its athletic nickname from the state of
Iowa 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 the book was published, people in the territory
of Iowa acquired the nickname, chiefly through the efforts of Judge
David Rorer of Burlington and James Edwards of Fort Madison.
Edwards, editor of the Fort Madison Patriot, moved his paper to
Burlington in 1843 and renamed it the Burlington Hawk-Eye. The two men
continued their campaign to popularize the name and territorial
officials eventually gave it their formal approval.
The Hawkeye nickname gained a tangible symbol in 1948 when a cartoon
character, later to be named Herky the Hawk, was hatched. The creator
was Richard Spencer III, instructor of journalism.
The impish hawk was an immediate hit and he acquired a name through a
statewide contest staged by the athletic department. John Franklin, a
Belle Plaine alumnus, was the man who suggested Herky.
Since his birth over 40 years ago, Herky has symbolized Iowa athletics
and epitomized University life. He even donned a military uniform during
the Korean War and became the insignia of the 124th Fighter Squadron.
During the mid-1950s Herky came to life at a football game as the Iowa
mascot. Since then Herky has been a familiar figure at Iowa athletic
events.
Winner of In-State Battle Earns Cy-Hawk Trophy
When The University of Iowa resumed its football series with Iowa State
in 1977, the Des Moines Athletic Club donated a trophy to be awarded to
the winner of the annual in-state battle.
The Cy-Hawk Trophy features a football player in the classic running
back pose, and also includes a likeness of both Herky the Hawkeye and Cy
the Cardinal on the front of the trophy.
The Hawkeyes hold a 33-14 advantage in the series that began in 1894,
including a 17-6 margin since 1977 when the Cy-Hawk Trophy was first
awarded.
Over the past 20 years, the climb of the Iowa Hawkeyes from the ranks of
also-rans to a position of national prominence, was orchestrated by
legendary Coach Hayden Fry.
With Kirk Ferentz, a former Fry assistant at Iowa for nine seasons, in
his second year as the Hawkeye head coach, loyal followers of Hawkeye
football are certain Iowa's football fortunes will continue to be as
rosy as the recent past.
Accomplishments of Iowa football over the past two decades;
Three Big Ten Conference titles and Rose Bowl appearances as the Big Ten
Conference representative (1981, 1985, 1990)
14 bowl game appearances since 1980
14 first-division finishes in the Big Ten Conference, including three
championships and seven additional finishes among the top three teams in
the league
11 seasons which included at least seven victories, including 10-win
seasons in 1985, 1987 and 1991.
In 1981, with Fry in his third season at Iowa and Ferentz in his first
year as the Hawkeye offensive line coach, Iowa found itself celebrating
victories over nationally ranked Nebraska, UCLA and Michigan, a Big Ten
title and its first trip to the Rose Bowl since the 1958 season.
Powered by an offense led by all-American quarterback Chuck Long and a
defensive unit led by all-America linebacker Larry Station, the 1985
Hawkeyes staked claim to the top of the college football world. Iowa's
1985 squad was ranked No. 1 nationally for five weeks en route to a
school-record 10 victories, another Big Ten title, and an appearance in
the 1986 Rose Bowl. Iowa's Mike Haight, under the guidance of Ferentz,
was named Big Ten Lineman of the Year.
Unranked and unheralded at the start of the season, the 1990 Hawkeyes
shocked the nation by defeating Big Ten rivals Michigan, Michigan State
and Illinois - all on the road - to claim the Big Ten crown and earn yet
another berth in the "Granddaddy of all bowl games," the 1991 Rose Bowl.
Iowa's 1991 squad also provided some surprises. The Hawkeyes used
another high-powered offense and solid defense to capture 10 victories
en route to a berth in the 1991 Holiday Bowl. The 10th victory -- a 23-8
verdict over Big Ten rival Minnesota -- was the 100th for Fry as head
coach of the Hawkeyes.
The Hawkeyes earned their third bowl invitation of the 1990s in 1993,
winning their final three regular season games to earn an invitation to
the inaugural Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, TX. The clinching victory, a
21-3 win over Minnesota in the season finale, was win No. 200 in Fry's
legendary coaching career.
Iowa's late-season success continued in 1995 as Iowa defeated Wisconsin
in Madison and Minnesota in Iowa City for a 7-4 record, earning an
invitation to the Sun Bowl. In El Paso, the Hawkeyes dominated Pac-10
co-champion Washington, winning 38-18.
Iowa maintained its status as one of the Best in the Big Ten in 1996,
posting a 9-3 record and placing third in the league. A 21-20 win at
Penn State sparked Iowa to a 6-2 Big Ten record and the Hawkeyes capped
the season with a 27-0 shutout over Texas Tech in the Builders Square
Alamo Bowl.
Iowa earned its third straight bowl invitation in 1997, posting a 7-5
record despite losing three road games by a total of just eight points.
The Hawkeyes featured the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year in RB
Tavian Banks and the Defensive Lineman of the Year in DT Jared DeVries.
Another measure of Iowa's success over the past 20 seasons is the
Hawkeyes' standing as nearly a full-time member of the various "Top 25"
polls. Iowa was ranked among the nation's elite at season's end 10 times
under Fry, including the aforementioned 1985 campaign when the Hawkeyes
were the top team in the land for five straight weeks.
The number of Hawkeyes singled out for post-season honors is also an
indication of Iowa's stature as one of the nation's premier programs.
More than 65 Hawkeyes earned all-American status and well over 135
earned all-Big Ten honors at Iowa during the 1980's and 1990's.
Two Hawkeyes - all-American quarterback Chuck Long and all-American
running back Nick Bell - have been named winners of the coveted Chicago
Tribune Silver Football, awarded annually to the Big Ten Conference's
most valuable player.
The Hawkeyes and Post-Season Bowl Games
1997 Sun Bowl
1996 Alamo Bowl
1995 Sun Bowl
1993 Alamo Bowl
1991 Holiday Bowl
1991 Rose Bowl
1988 Peach Bowl
1987 Holiday Bowl
1986 Holiday Bowl
1986 Rose Bowl
1984 Freedom Bowl
1983 Gator Bowl
1982 Peach Bowl
1982 Rose Bowl
1959 Rose Bowl
1957 Rose Bowl
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