Hayden Fry, the Texan who revived Iowa football and became a Hawkeye State institution, has died
Hayden Fry, the Texan who revived Iowa 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 after a long battle with cancer.
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.
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.