Hayden Fry, who turned around Iowa football, 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 is well known,” the family said.
At Iowa, Fry not only produced winning teams, but also a long line of assistants who went on to successful head coaching careers.
Bill Snyder, Barry Alavrez, Bob Stoops, Bret Bielema and current Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz were among the 13 Fry assistants who became college head coaches.
“Hayden Fry is a college football icon and an Iowa legend,” Ferentz said. “His Hall of Fame career is well known, but personally, he will always be the man who took a chance on me at the start of my coaching career. I was proud to coach with him and honored to succeed him when he retired. He’s been a great mentor and a true friend. I am forever grateful to him.”
Fry started his coaching career at Odessa (Texas) High in the 1950s. His first college head coaching job was at SMU. FRESNO STATE HIRES INDIANA ASSISTANT AS NEW COACH >> Fresno State hired former offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer as its new head coach. DeBoer spent the 2017-18 on coach Jeff Tedford’s staff for the Bulldogs before leaving to take the same job at Indiana this season.
Tedford stepped down for medical reasons after this season and DeBoer was quickly identified as the leading contender to take over the job. Indiana ranked second in the Big Ten this year averaging 443.6 yards per game on offense.
NEW MEXICO TABS ASU DC AS NEXT HEAD COACH >> New Mexico is hiring Arizona State defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales as its head coach, according to published reports. Gonzales, who is from Albuquerque and played for the Lobos, would replace Bob Davie, whose eightyear run ended last month after a 2-10 season in which he missed two games for what was described as a “serious medical incident.” He was 35-64 as the head coach at New Mexico.
Gonzales, 43, has been ASU’s defensive coordinator for the past two seasons under coach Herm Edwards.
Gonzales, a former walk-on at New Mexico, was a punter and safety before starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Lobos from 1999-2002.
UTAH STATE QB LOVE, THREE OTHERS, CITED FOR MARIJUANA USE >> Star quarterback Jordan Love is one of three Utah State players who have been charged with possession of a controlled substance, according to published reports. Love, senior running back Gerold Bright and junior receiver Sean Carter face one misdemeanor charges after an incident Saturday in which police were called to an apartment building in response to calls about athletes smoking marijuana.
Freshman women’s track and field athlete Elani Rice also was charged in the incident. All four athletes are scheduled for arraignment on Dec. 30.
Soccer
CHARLOTTE GETS EXPANSION FRANCHISE >> David Tepper’s vision of bringing a Major League Soccer team to Charlotte, North Carolina, has been realized. Charlotte was awarded an MLS expansion team on Tuesday by MLS commissioner Don Garber at a news conference in downtown Charlotte. The team will begin play in 2021 and can sign players immediately.
Charlotte is one six teams joining the league over the next three years. Nashville and Miami will join in 2020, Charlotte and Austin, Texas in 2021 and then Sacramento and St. Louis will begin play in 2022. Garber indicated the league, which will stand at 30 teams by 2022, is likely done with expansion for a while.
Garber also confirmed that the expansion fee for the new Charlotte franchise was between $300 million and $325 million.
“Dave really wanted a team,” Garber said.
Tepper owns the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, and the team will play its games at Bank of America Stadium, where the Panthers play.
“The city is just right for the sport,” Tepper said.
Tepper will hope to build on the city’s strong Hispanic population. When Mexico has played here in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, it has drawn more than 50,000 fans to Bank of America Stadium.
Golf
TIGER, PEBBLE BEACH TO UNDERTAKE PAR-3 REDESIGN >> Two of the more iconic brands in golf will partner when Tiger Woods and his TGR Design firm hook up with the Pebble Beach Company to redesign the lesserknown par-3 course on the oceanside property.
Known as the Peter Hay Golf Course, the shorter design at Pebble Beach has been in operation since 1957. The redesign is expected to take less than a year, with the smaller course scheduled to reopen in the fall of 2020. The primary Pebble Beach Golf Links course will be unaffected during the process.
College water polo
STANFORD’S HALLOCK IS NATIONAL PLAYER OF YEAR >> Stanford redshirt junior Ben Hallock became just the second player in program history to repeat as men’s national player of the year when the 2019 AllAmerica teams were announced by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches.
Tony Azevedo of Stanford won the award three consecutive years in 2001-2003.
Hallock, a strong candidate for the U.S. Olympic team in Tokyo next summer, was one of six members of the newly-crowned NCAA champion Cardinal to receive All-America honors by the ACWPC and made the first team for the third straight year. He was joined on the first team by junior driver Tyler Abramson.
Senior driver Bennett Williams made the second team, while junior 2M AJ Rossman and sophomore driver Quinn Woodhead were selected to the third team. Senior goalkeeper Andrew Chun earned honorable mention.
John Vargas was selected national coach of the year for guiding Stanford to a 21-2 record and the program’s 11th national championship.
• Four Cal players were named All-America. Seniors Jordan Hoover and Safak Simsek earned spots on the second and third teams, respectively, while freshmen Nikolaos Papanikolaou and Adrian Weinberg were tabbed with honorable mentions.