The Iowa Hawkeyes football team was founded in 1889 to represent the University of Iowa in intercollegiate competition, and it has participated in the sport every season since. Over the course of the team's history, individual Hawkeye players of exceptional ability have received many accolades.
Iowa has had several players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame, Canadian Football Hall of Fame, and Iowa Sports Hall of Fame. Individual Hawkeyes have won many prestigious national awards, including the Outland Trophy, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Doak Walker Award, the Jim Thorpe Award, and the Heisman Trophy. 113 Hawkeyes have been named a first-team or second-team All-American, and 35 have been named consensus first-team All-Americans.
The Iowa Hawkeyes have had ten players win the Big Ten Most Valuable Player Award, and 219 Hawks have earned All-Big Ten recognition. Iowa has had 244 NFL draft picks, and several former Hawkeye players have gone on to become NFL head coaches or Division I college head coaches.
National honorees
Annual awards
Individual award winners
Heisman Trophy Nile Kinnick – 1939 Maxwell Award Nile Kinnick – 1939 Chuck Long – 1985 AP Athlete of the Year Nile Kinnick – 1939 AP Player of the Year Brad Banks – 2002 Davey O'Brien Award Chuck Long – 1985 Brad Banks – 2002 UPI Lineman of the Year Alex Karras – 1957 Mosi Tatupu Award Kahlil Hill – 2001 John Mackey Award Dallas Clark – 2002 T. J. Hockenson – 2018 Ozzie Newsome Award T. J. Hockenson – 2018 Jack Tatum Trophy Desmond King – 2015 Josh Jackson – 2017 Jack Lambert Trophy Josey Jewell – 2017 Lott IMPACT Trophy Josey Jewell – 2017 Lou Groza Award Nate Kaeding – 2002 Doak Walker Award Shonn Greene – 2008 Jim Brown Award Shonn Greene – 2008 Jim Thorpe Award Desmond King – 2015 Outland Trophy Cal Jones – 1955 Alex Karras – 1957 Robert Gallery – 2003 Brandon Scherff – 2014 Rimington Trophy Tyler Linderbaum – 2021 Butkus Award Jack Campbell - 2022 Ray Guy Award Tory Taylor - 2023 Jet Award Kaden Wetjen - 2024
Coaching award winners
AFCA Coach of the Year Eddie Anderson – 1939 AP Coach of the Year Award Kirk Ferentz – 2002 Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award Kirk Ferentz – 2002 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award Kirk Ferentz – 2015 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award Kirk Ferentz – 2015 Woody Hayes Trophy Kirk Ferentz – 2015 Amos Alonzo Stagg Award Hayden Fry – 2005 Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year Hayden Fry – 1981
Team Awards
Joe Moore Award Iowa – 2016 Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award Iowa – 2017 Laureus World Sports Award for Best Sporting Moment Iowa – 2017
Heisman Trophy nominees The most prestigious of these individual awards is the Heisman Trophy. Nile Kinnick won the award in 1939, and four other Hawkeyes have placed second in the voting. In all, nine Hawkeye players have finished in the top ten in the Heisman Trophy balloting, with Chuck Long doing so twice:Heisman history .
SeasonPlayerHeisman Finish 1939 Nile Kinnick First 1955 Cal Jones Tenth 1956 Ken Ploen Ninth 1957 Alex Karras Second 1958 Randy Duncan Second 1984 Chuck Long Seventh 1985 Chuck Long Second 1997 Tim Dwight Seventh 2002 Brad Banks Second 2008 Shonn Greene Sixth
Hall of Fame inductees
College Football Hall of Fame
Nile Kinnick, Duke Slater, and coach Howard Jones were all inducted in the inaugural College Football Hall of Fame class in 1951. In all, eleven players and six coaches now represent Iowa in the College Football Hall of Fame:
College Football Hall of Fame NamePositionTenureYear Inducted Howard Jones Coach 1916–23 1951 Duke Slater T 1918–21 1951 Nile Kinnick QB 1936–39 1951 Gordon Locke FB 1920–22 1960 Eddie Anderson Coach 1939–49 1971 Aubrey Devine QB 1919–21 1973 Slip Madigan Coach 1943–44 1974 Cal Jones G 1952–55 1980 Alex Karras DT 1954–57 1981 Randy Duncan QB 1956–58 1997 Chuck Long QB 1981–85 1999 Forest Evashevski Coach 1952–60 2000 Hayden Fry Coach 1979–98 2003 Larry Station LB 1982–85 2009 Andre Tippett DE 1979–82 2021 Bob Stoops Coach 1983-87 2021 Robert Gallery T 2000-03 2023
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Five Hawkeyes have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame:Pro Football Hall of Fame .
Pro Football Hall of Fame NamePositionTeamsYear Inducted Emlen Tunnell DB New York Giants, Green Bay Packers 1967 Paul Krause S Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins 1998 Andre Tippett LB New England Patriots 2008 Duke Slater OT Milwaukee Badgers, Rock Island Independents, Chicago Cardinals 2020 Alex Karras DT Detroit Lions 2020
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Three Hawkeyes have been inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame for their play in the Canadian Football League: Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Canadian Football Hall of Fame NamePositionTeamsYear Inducted Ken Ploen QB Winnipeg Blue Bombers 1975 Willie Fleming RB BC Lions 1982 Frank Rigney OT Winnipeg Blue Bombers 1985
Iowa Sports Hall of Fame
The Iowa Sports Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Des Moines Register, honors outstanding athletes and sports contributors. To be eligible, members must have either been born in Iowa or gained prominence while competing for a college or university in Iowa. Aubrey Devine, Nile Kinnick, and Duke Slater were three of the five football players inducted when the Hall was founded in 1951. 25 Hawkeye players and 3 Hawkeye coaches have been inducted into the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame: Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.
Iowa Sports Hall of Fame NameYear Inducted NameYear Inducted Aubrey Devine 1951 Mike Enich 1983 Duke Slater 1951 Paul Krause 1985 Nile Kinnick 1951 Ed Podolak 1986 Clyde Williams 1956 Wally Hilgenberg 1987 Gordon Locke 1958 Jack Dittmer 1988 Billy Edson 1959 Forest Evashevski 1989 Joe Laws 1961 Larry Station 2000 Eddie Anderson 1962 Chuck Long 2001 Stub Stewart 1965 Ken Ploen 2002 Cal Jones 1971 Reggie Roby 2003 Willis Glassgow 1973 Hayden Fry 2004 Emlen Tunnell 1975 Andre Tippett 2006 Randy Duncan 1976 Tavian Banks 2013 Alex Karras 1977 Tim Dwight 2014
University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame
The University of Iowa started an Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989. Ten football players were inducted in the initial class, and it has since expanded to include 50 football players and coaches:Iowa Football Fact Book (PDF), 2008 Iowa Hawkeye Football Media Fact Book, Iowa Sports Information Department, Page 126.
University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame NameYear Inducted NameYear Inducted Aubrey Devine 1989 Stub Barron 1998 Willis Glassgow 1989 Emlen Tunnell 1998 Cal Jones 1989 Paul Krause 2000 Alex Karras 1989 Stub Stewart 2000 Nile Kinnick 1989 Bill Reichardt 2001 Gordon Locke 1989 Homer Harris 2002 Erwin Prasse 1989 Francis Schammel 2003 Ozzie Simmons 1989 Hayden Fry 2004 Duke Slater 1989 Mike Reilly 2005 Forest Evashevski 1989 Larry Station 2005 Mike Enich 1990 John Niland 2006 Ken Ploen 1990 Reggie Roby 2006 Lester Belding 1991 Andre Tippett 2007 Joe Laws 1991 Marv Cook 2008 Dick Crayne 1992 Fred Becker 2009 Randy Duncan 1992 Bob Jeter 2010 Frank Cuhel 1993 Tim Dwight 2011 Jack Dittmer 1993 Sherwyn Thorson 2011 Clyde Williams 1993 Bashir Yamini 2012 Howard Jones 1993 Brad Banks 2013 Jerry Hilgenberg 1995 Craig Clemons 2013 Emerson Nelson 1995 Nate Kaeding 2014 Al Couppee 1996 Don Norton 2015 Jim Gibbons 1996 Willie Brashier 2015 Chuck Long 1997 Dave Haight 2016
Retired numbers
Iowa Hawkeyes retired numbers No.PlayerPositionTenure 24 Nile Kinnick QB 1936–39 62 Cal Jones OG 1952–55
Two numbers have been retired by the Hawkeye football program, Nile Kinnick's #24 and Cal Jones' #62. Both Kinnick and Jones were consensus first team All-Americans, and both men died in separate plane crashes before their 25th birthday.
Kinnick won the University of Iowa's only Heisman Trophy in 1939 and is the man for whom Kinnick Stadium is named. Jones was the first African-American to win the Outland Trophy and is the only Hawkeye to be named first-team All-American three times.Iowa Football Fact Book (PDF), 2008 Iowa Hawkeye Football Media Fact Book, Iowa Sports Information Department, Page 126.
All-American selections
Each year, numerous publications and organizations release lists of All-America teams, hypothetical rosters of players considered the best in the nation at their respective positions.All-American. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) uses officially recognized All-America selectors to determine the consensus selections. Over time, the sources used to determine the consensus selections have varied. Currently, the NCAA uses five "major" selectors to determine consensus All-Americans: the Associated Press (AP), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), The Sporting News (TSN), and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF).Award Winners and All-Americans (PDF), 2008 Division I Football Records Book, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Pages 218-219. Many other publications and organization compile their own "minor" All-America teams in addition to the selectors listed here.
Clyde Williams is often referred to as "Iowa's first All-American". Williams, who led the Hawkeyes to its first Big Ten championship in 1900, was named a third-team All-American by Walter Camp that season. Williams was the first player west of the Mississippi River to garner All-American honors.Williams' State of Iowa Hall of Fame bio.75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb (ASIN: B0007E01F8), Page 25. However, since the following list constitutes only first-team and second-team All-Americans, Williams is not included here.
Iowa has had 81 first-team All-Americans and 34 second-team All-Americans. Of Iowa's 81 first-team All-Americans, 37 were Consensus First-Team All-American selections (Cal Jones and Larry Station were named twice), while 17 were Unanimous First-Team selections.http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2013/FBS.pdf, "2013 NCAA Football FBS Records", NCAA.orghttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/iowa/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/Factbook11.pdf , 2011 Iowa Hawkeye Football Media Fact Book, Iowa Sports Information Department The Hawkeyes have had multiple consensus All-Americans eight times in program history (1981, 1985, 2002, 2003, 2017, 2023, 2024 and 2025). As of 2025, Iowa's 17 Unanimous All Americans is ranked 9th most in college football history.
Key Consensus/Unanimous* first-team selection First-team selection Second-team selection Season Player Remarks 1912 Jim Trickey 1916 Fred Becker 1919 Lester Belding 1919 Duke Slater 1920 Lester Belding Second selection 1921 Aubrey Devine 1921 Gordon Locke 1921 Duke Slater Second selection 1922 Max Kadesky 1922 Gordon Locke Second first-team selection 1924 John Hancock 1925 Dick Romey 1926 Emerson Nelson 1928 Willis Glassgow 1928 Peter Westra 1929 Willis Glassgow Second selection 1933 Joe Laws 1933 Francis Schammel 1934 Ozzie Simmons 1935 Ozzie Simmons Second selection 1939 Nile Kinnick 1939 Erwin Prasse 1940 Mike Enich 1948 Bill Kay 1951 Bill Reichardt 1953 Jerry Hilgenberg 1953 Cal Jones 1954 Cal Jones Second first-team selection 1955 Cal Jones Second consensus selection; Third first-team selection 1956 Frank Gilliam 1956 Alex Karras 1956 Ken Ploen 1956 Don Suchy 1957 Jim Gibbons 1957 Alex Karras Second first-team selection 1958 Randy Duncan* Unanimous selection 1958 Curt Merz