Legendary Iowa Coach Hayden Fry Dies at 90

Hayden Fry, the Texan who revived Iowa football and became a Hawkeye State institution, has died. He was 90.

Fry’s family announced through the University of Iowa that the coach died Tuesday with his family at his side after a long battle with cancer.

“We are proud to know that our father’s life had a positive influence on so many people, the players, the coaches, and the fans who played for, worked with, and supported his long and successful coaching career,” the family said in a statement. “His legend will live forever with the people he touched and inspired, and the programs he led to greater heights.”

The native of Eastland, Texas, had never been to Iowa before taking over the Hawkeyes in 1979. The team had slogged through 17 consecutive years without a winning season. Fry changed everything from the uniforms to the logo to the attitude of the players. He coached at Iowa for 20 seasons, winning 238 games and three Big Ten championships.

“Though Hayden was born in Texas and moved there more recently to be closer to our family, his love for the University of Iowa, his players and coaches, the people of Iowa, and the state of Iowa, is well known,” the family said. “Hayden often shared, ‘I’ll Always Be a Hawkeye.’”

Fry started his coaching career at Odessa High School in the 1950s, not long after playing quarterback at Baylor. His first college head coaching job was at SMU, and then he did a six year stint at North Texas, where he went 40-23-3.