In 1907, Iowa helped form the new Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association with the other three university members of the former WIUFA and participated in football in the new league, while retaining its existing membership in the Western Conference.

Nicknamed the "Ironmen" because a small number of players shouldered the brunt of the time played, the 1939 Hawkeyes scored several upset victories and vaulted into the national rankings.

Though Iowa fell a game short of winning the Big Ten title, team MVP Nile Kinnick won almost every major national award, including the 1939 Heisman Trophy.

Among the legacies that Fry left behind is the now iconic Tiger Hawk logo and a widely reviled pink visitors' locker room (better to "calm" the opponents).

[9][10] The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) awarded the Grantland Rice Trophy and their national championship to Iowa after the bowl games were played.

It served to commemorate the family of linebacker Mark Mitchell, who were involved in a fatal vehicle accident while en route to the game.

The Tiger Hawk was removed for a fifth time during the 2019 Holiday Bowl in San Diego, California to honor the passing of former Iowa Hawkeye football coach, Hayden Fry.

The second was a small black sticker on the back of the helmet, with white letters that spelled out "EVY", the nickname of legendary Iowa head coach, and athletic director, Forest Evashevski, to commemorate his death in 2009.

The third was in memory of Iowa high school football coaching legend Ed Thomas, who was killed in his team's weight room by a former player.

The fourth was a small green sticker, with the number 30 on it to honor former Hawkeye Safety Brett Greenwood, who had recently fallen into a coma while working out at his old high school.

Fifth was a small black sticker with a gold "TS", worn on the back of the helmet to commemorate the death of former Hawkeye safety Tyler Sash.

For the remainder of the season, the Hawkeyes wore a decal on the back of their helmets bearing his initials "RS" within a sheriff's badge in his memory.

[25] Most recently, a special helmet decal was worn to honor former Iowa Hawkeye football player Damon Bullock, who died at the age of 25 in March 2019.

Varrichione has since admitted that the injuries were fake, in Steve Delsohn's book, Talking Irish: The Oral History Of Notre Dame Football.

In addition, Notre Dame Heisman winner Johnny Lattner praised his team's tactics calling it "Pretty smart thinking, wasn't it?".

This game was lopsided and by the end of the third quarter, with a 22–6 advantage over the California Golden Bears, Iowa could smell victory (eventually winning by a final margin of 38–12).

2 Iowa Hawkeyes (8–1–1) won the Grantland Rice Trophy (in recognition of the national champion) as awarded by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) following the bowl games.

Official recap—There weren't many among the 60,160 who jammed Iowa's Kinnick Stadium who thought they were watching a matchup of the eventual Midwest entries in the Rose and Orange Bowls.

NU was stymied in the fourth quarter by a missed 30-yard field goal, a fumble, and Lou King's diving interception, which secured Iowa's victory with 39 seconds remaining.

In the first half, the Hawkeyes capitalized on a short punt and an interception to set up a two-yard TD run by Eddie Phillips and a 35-yard field goal by Lon Olejniczak.

Meanwhile, the Huskers were held scoreless through three quarters for the first time since 1973 and didn't get out of their own territory until late in the second period, partly because of Iowa punter Reggie Roby's 50-plus yard average.

Iowa scored another touchdown on their next drive, following a Georgia Tech punt, with Stanzi hitting Colin Sandeman for 21 yards, extending the Hawkeyes lead to 14–0.

A week after being humbled 41–14 at Penn State, in the midst of a three-game home losing streak, and after trailing 10–0 in the second quarter of this game, the Hawkeyes put forth a gritty, spirited effort.

The second half belonged to the Hawkeyes as they sliced through the Ohio State defense on TD drives of 78, 60 and 47 yards on their way to a resounding 55–24 win.

Many pundits remarked after the season that the lop-sided loss to Iowa was the reason that Ohio State was excluded from the College Football Playoff, even though the Buckeyes had won the Big Ten championship.

[38] Since 2008, Iowa is 5–1 against AP-top 10 teams at home, their lone loss coming in 2017 to Penn State on a touchdown pass as the clock expired.

Before the game (since 2005) the team has exited the tunnel together to "Back in Black" by AC/DC before joining hands and running onto the field in unison to "Enter Sandman" by Metallica.

The term "Hawkeye" originally appeared in the 19th century historical novel The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper; it was later used in its plural form to describe the people of the state of Iowa.

In February of that year, the university's children's hospital, which has long had a close relationship with the Iowa football program, opened a new 12-story building across the street from Kinnick Stadium, with the top few floors featuring an unobstructed view of the playing field.

[41] The top floor of the hospital features the Press Box Café, a lounge area with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the field that is reserved for patients and their families on Hawkeyes game days, with big-screen TVs available when Iowa plays on the road.