Birthplace of Air Raid offense in college football Iowa Wesleyan closes down after almost 200 years

Iowa Wesleyan, the university known to college football fans for being the birthplace of the Air Raid offense, is closing down for good after 181 years of academic service due to ongoing financial issues after holding its last commencement on May 6.

The university was founded in 1842 by a group of Methodist settlers and began playing football shortly after in 1890, but the program made its mark on the sport starting in 1989, when former Texas high school football coach Hal Mumme arrived on campus and would soon revolutionize the sport of college football forever.

Together with offensive coordinator and line coach Mike Leach, Dustin Dewald at quarterback, and Dana Holgorsen at wide receiver, Mumme created the Air Raid offense at the NCAA level — the aggressive, run and shoot attack that featured four wide receivers and one running back while playing from the shotgun formation — posting offenses that ranked in the top-two spots in each of the three seasons that Mumme led the program.

The 1990 team was No. 1 nationally in passing offensive production and Mumme's teams in 1989 and 1991 were No. 2 in total offense. He finished with a 25-10 mark at the school before moving on.

Dewald holds virtually every passing record for the Tigers team, including a 1991 game in which he completed 61 passes on 86 attempts.

He finished his three year career at Iowa Wesleyan with 1,064 completions, 1,671 attempts, 12,045 yards and 115 touchdowns.

Mumme took his offense to the Division II level to coach Valdosta State and then finally to the SEC, leading Kentucky from 1997 to 2000, in his first season recording an upset victory over a ranked Alabama team while quarterback Tim Couch set several records in the SEC and nationally, finishing No. 1 in several categories.

Iowa Wesleyan fell into financial trouble in recent years, culminating in Gov. Kim Richards declining to give the school a $12 million loan after it had secured a $26 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which will now take control of the campus after the board of trustees voted to close the school.

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