Iowa Football: Former Hawkeye Greats Show Up For Homecoming
On the evening of Wednesday, October 4th, this writer had the opportunity to attend the Back in Black and Gold Alumni Event at the Levitt Center on the University of Iowa Campus. With seven former Hawkeyes in attendance, there was sure to be some great memories and a few laughs.
And there were.
Here is part one of a look at that night at the Levitt Center.
On Wednesday, October 4th at 6 pm, the University put on an event called the Back in Black and Gold Alumni Event. The event was moderated by former Iowa kicker Nate Kaeding and featured a total of seven former Iowa Hawkeye Football players.
The group went over some of their favorite memories from homecoming’s past and the coaches that they played for. It was fun listening to the stories that they shared about especially about Hayden Fry and memories from the 1950s. There were some interesting revelations and fascinating facts told by every member of the panel.
I won’t go through everything that was said by everyone by the panel but instead, will just highlight some of the fun and interesting things that happened. First, let’s see who was there.
Nate Kaeding was the panel’s moderator. Kaeding played for the Hawks from 2000 to 2003. As a kicker, he ended up as the Hawks all-time leading scorer, and is a Lou Groza Award winner.
Tim Dwight was at Iowa from 1994 through 1997 and held several records when he finished up his time there. He was a two time First Team All-American and came in seventh in Heisman voting in 1997. Dwight was a wide receiver, running back and return specialist.
Chuck Long is one of the most popular players in Iowa football history. The Wheaton, Illinois native played from 1981 to 1985 and is, statistically, the school’s best quarterback. His accolades are too numerous to mention here, but he was selected for such honors as being named First-Team All-Big Ten as well as seventh in Heisman Trophy balloting as a junior and second to Bo Jackson as a senior.
Iowa Hawkeyes Football
Mike Haight, an offensive tackle, played for Iowa from 1981 to 1981 as an offensive tackle. Haight went on to play for New York Giants and Washington Redskins in the NFL.
Lou Matykiewicz played with the Hawkeyes from 1952 to 1954. He played wide receiver and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 20th round of the 1955 NFL Draft. He provided a lot of great highlights.
Anthony Gair was a defensive back for Iowa from 2012 to 2016. He was a starter in his final three games with the Hawkeyes and played in 45 total games.
Jim Molini played at Iowa from 1976 to 1979 as a defensive end. Molini ended up in the NFL for a time and played with the Atlanta Falcons.
The forum opened with everyone talking about what they were currently doing. Most everyone was involved in business or sports-related activity following their career in football. For example, Long was a coach and now works for the Big Ten Network as an announcer. Both Kaeding and Haight are local businessmen.
The guy who stole the show was Matykiewicz. Playing back in the 1950’s, he had a unique insight into what it was like to play back in those days. Matykiewicz talked about how the game didn’t stop for anything but a timeout or an injury. He discussed his coach at the time, Forest Evashevski. Evashevski went 52-27-4 in his time with Iowa and was eventually named the Athletic Director of the University of Iowa.
Matykiewicz’s look back into the distant past of Iowa football was the highlight of the night. He talked about how he was drafted by the U.S. Army and had to get a six-month deferment. Lew talked with me afterward about his service in the Army as we shared a common bond as US Veterans. He introduced some of his closest family to the 50 or so members of the audience.
There were several stories that came throughout the night. There were tales about Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz. They talked about the camaraderie, the passion, and the togetherness that playing for the Hawkeyes brought to these seven players.
They talked about the differences between a college locker room and a professional locker room. The differences were interesting.
Stories about Hayden Fry were some of the most popular that night. One thing that I was reminded of was the greatness of the coaching tree that had developed from his staff. He has several (over 20) current and former head coaches who have been his assistants at one time or another from his staff.
Some of those coaches include Iowa’s current head coach Kirk Ferentz, former Wisconsin coaches Barry Alvarez and Bret Bielema and of course Bob Stoops, the former coach of the Oklahoma Sooners.
Listening to those players who had played with Fry makes a person realize, even more, just how great a football coach he was and how great his time with the Hawkeyes ended up being.
Next Up: I will share a few stories from the other evening by some of the former players and give an update on what they are doing now.