Hawkeyes Wire reflects on the legacy of legendary Iowa coach Hayden Fry

Coach Andy Mac · July 11, 2023

The USC Trojans drifted through most of the 1950s. The program which had been so powerful from the late 1920s through World War II had fallen on hard times. It needed a coach who could restore lost glories and make up for lost time. John McKay became that man, beginning his tenure as USC head coach in 1960 and — in two short years — bringing the Trojans a national championship. USC remained formidable and successful for the next decade and a half under McKay, who then handed off the program to a superb successor, John Robinson. USC football had been healed and improved.

Who is that kind of figure for Iowa football? There can be only one answer: Hayden Fry. Iowa football thrived in the late 1950s but then fell on very hard times in the 1960s and 1970s. Fry had toiled in relative obscurity at SMU and North Texas. His arrival in Iowa City in 1979 elicited questions more than a sense that Iowa had found its restorative genius.

LINK: https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/2023/07/11/hawkeyes-wire-reflects-on-the-legacy-of-legendary-iowa-coach-hayden-fry/

NT80 · July 11, 2023

North Texas likewise had fallen into a rut with Rod Rust as coach. Coach Fry was hired and turned around the program with a new program image, nickname, logo, marketing, and donor campaign. Then he left for Iowa, Jerry Moore gutted the team, and Hurley demoted us to 1-AA.

cogido · July 12, 2023

9 hours ago, NT80 said:

North Texas likewise had fallen into a rut with Rod Rust as coach. Coach Fry was hired and turned around the program with a new program image, nickname, logo, marketing, and donor campaign. Then he left for Iowa, Jerry Moore gutted the team, and Hurley demoted us to 1-AA.

That’s what happened ! So close and then it was gone.

YOU YOUNGER GUYS NEED TO KEEP THE HEAT ON NOW , DON’T LET THIS NEW GROWTH ERA SLIP AWAY.

UNTLifer · July 12, 2023

18 hours ago, NT80 said:

North Texas likewise had fallen into a rut with Rod Rust as coach. Coach Fry was hired and turned around the program with a new program image, nickname, logo, marketing, and donor campaign. Then he left for Iowa, Jerry Moore gutted the team, and Hurley demoted us to 1-AA.

We were family friends with Coach Rust. Great coach, super nice man, but not the personality or recruiting prowess of Coach Mitchell. He lost the recruiting edge and his record suffered. He left for the CFL and then NFL making a name for himself as a top defensive assistant coach.

Jonnyeagle · July 12, 2023

19 hours ago, NT80 said:

and Hurley demoted us to 1-AA.

Has there ever been any explanation for this? Did the state decide to stop supporting us and lowered the budget or was this a decision Hurley made on his own. Hurley seems to have a real mixed bag of review. On the one hand many give him a lot of due credit for maneuvering UNT into a very large enrollment growth phase but he also seemed very short sided in terms of reinvesting back into the university through things like athletics and facilities. He seemed like a guy that always wanted to do things on the cheap. Again, that may not be his fault but the fact we had little political support in Austin and a budget to match.

NT80 · July 12, 2023

1 hour ago, Jonnyeagle said:

Has there ever been any explanation for this? Did the state decide to stop supporting us and lowered the budget or was this a decision Hurley made on his own. Hurley seems to have a real mixed bag of review. On the one hand many give him a lot of due credit for maneuvering UNT into a very large enrollment growth phase but he also seemed very short sided in terms of reinvesting back into the university through things like athletics and facilities. He seemed like a guy that always wanted to do things on the cheap. Again, that may not be his fault but the fact we had little political support in Austin and a budget to match.

Long story but here is the short version. I was a student during part of this period. CC Nolen was President from 71-79. He built the SuperPit, hired Coach Fry, built a new AD office by Fouts, and was very supportive of Athletic growth at NT.

Frank Vandiver was Pres 80-81. Academics, not pro athletics. Al Hurley was hired at NT as VP for Admin Affairs in 1980, then named President in 1982, also not pro athletics.

Major College Football was splitting into 1-A and 1-AA. Part of the criteria to stay in 1-A was 15K attendance over a period and/or a home stadium that could seat 30K, etc and funding 85 scholarships. NT in the mid-late 70's was splitting home games between Fouts (seated 20K) and the new Texas Stadium (65K), as well as playing UTA and SMU at Texas Stadium. NT was also Independent at the time, trying to get into a better conference since the MVC was losing football, which meant more road football games and difficulty scheduling minor sports.

When Fry and Nolen left there was a distinct change and diminished priority on Athletics, noticeable on the campus. I heard funds budgeted for Athletics were instead funneled to Academics by Hurley. NT could have submitted a stadium waiver to the NCAA saying Texas Stadium was deemed our home stadium (even if shared with Fouts) and we could have remained in 1-A. But Hurley wanted to cut football expenses, drop to 1-AA and join a 1-AA conference, which we did in 1983.

No new Athletic facilities were built since 1975 until Dr. Pohl transferred the Eagle Point property to Athletics and built the Athletic Center in 2005. 30 years of lost growth in Athletics. Where would we be now if we had more pro-Athletics Presidents?

Edited July 12, 2023 by NT80

untjim1995 · July 13, 2023

23 hours ago, NT80 said:

Long story but here is the short version. I was a student during part of this period. CC Nolen was President from 71-79. He built the SuperPit, hired Coach Fry, built a new AD office by Fouts, and was very supportive of Athletic growth at NT.

Frank Vandiver was Pres 80-81. Academics, not pro athletics. Al Hurley was hired at NT as VP for Admin Affairs in 1980, then named President in 1982, also not pro athletics.

Major College Football was splitting into 1-A and 1-AA. Part of the criteria to stay in 1-A was 15K attendance over a period and/or a home stadium that could seat 30K, etc and funding 85 scholarships. NT in the mid-late 70's was splitting home games between Fouts (seated 20K) and the new Texas Stadium (65K), as well as playing UTA and SMU at Texas Stadium. NT was also Independent at the time, trying to get into a better conference since the MVC was losing football, which meant more road football games and difficulty scheduling minor sports.

When Fry and Nolen left there was a distinct change and diminished priority on Athletics, noticeable on the campus. I heard funds budgeted for Athletics were instead funneled to Academics by Hurley. NT could have submitted a stadium waiver to the NCAA saying Texas Stadium was deemed our home stadium (even if shared with Fouts) and we could have remained in 1-A. But Hurley wanted to cut football expenses, drop to 1-AA and join a 1-AA conference, which we did in 1983.

No new Athletic facilities were built since 1975 until Dr. Pohl transferred the Eagle Point property to Athletics and built the Athletic Center in 2005. 30 years of lost growth in Athletics. Where would we be now if we had more pro-Athletics Presidents?

Remember, Hurley didn't run into any trouble with this plan, either. No major voices in the fanbase, certainly none in the university's leadership or faculty, and absolutely none from Denton's Citizenry. It was a nuclear bomb to the program. It killed off almost all fans that graduated between the 40's thru the 90's. What has been accomplished since 2000 has been almost amazing considering what we have had to overcome, mindset-wise and from a lack of giving alumni. Where we are today is damn near miraculous when you consider what we have faced and where our university is located, basically surrounded by major universities and old money schools that have all got major media coverage. If we can sustain this same kind of growth going forward AND start getting alumni to care and fund the program at a level that is at least double where we are, then the odds of being a top G5 program are realistic. And when the Power Schools break away to create their NFL-lite level of play, it will be nice playing teams that we are similar to in resources and facilities while giving our football team a chance to win a national title some day.

Jonnyeagle · July 13, 2023

JT Hammons · July 13, 2023

Looks like Hurley's son James is doing quite well for himself at Tarleton State

https://www.beneaththesurfacenews.com/post/tarleton-president-dr-james-hurley-named-one-of-top-400-most-influential-people-in-north-texas

Mean Green 93-98 · July 13, 2023

13 minutes ago, JT Hammons said:

Looks like Hurley's son James is doing quite well for himself at Tarleton State

https://www.beneaththesurfacenews.com/post/tarleton-president-dr-james-hurley-named-one-of-top-400-most-influential-people-in-north-texas

Hmmm . . . maybe a candidate to be Dr. Smatresk's replacement when he retires?

EDIT: That's not Al Hurley's son. His bio says he is a first generation college graduate.

Edited July 13, 2023 by Mean Green 93-98