By Anna Kayser
Iowans love their college sports, and the ones lucky enough to be Hawkeye fans live and breathe Black and Gold.
When it comes to football, there’s no place Iowa fans would rather be on a fall Saturday than in Kinnick Stadium when the team races out onto the field alongside head coach Kirk Ferentz.
Being tied for the most wins by a head coach in program history and the national nature of college football and the Big Ten, Ferentz has a spotlight on him not quite like any other.
Iowa has talented head coaches from the volleyball court to the baseball diamond who have helped shape each program and bring it back from losing ways.
Bond Shymansky — Volleyball
Iowa volleyball head coach Bond Shymansky’s first season at the helm of an Iowa program was in 2014, and since then, the team has grown and improved substantially.
In his first year as head coach, the Hawkeyes went 14-17 with 6 conference wins — the most since 2008. In 2015, the team was off to its best start in nine years with a 10-3 record before going 2-18 in tough Big Ten action. Attendance in Carver-Hawkeye was on the rise, which continued during the next two seasons.
In 2016, Iowa volleyball had one of its best seasons in history and the first winning season since 2000 with a 19-13 overall record. 2017 ended with a 18-15 overall record and marked the first time since 1990 that the Hawkeyes had consecutive winning seasons.
Shymansky’s mindset of True Mental Toughness bleeds in the volleyball program today, and it has brought a quality that the squad lacked in the seasons before his arrival. The team strives to be mentally tough both on the court and in staying focused toward the goal of making the NCAA Tournament.
Rick Heller — Baseball
In 2013, the Hawkeyes were a sub-.500 baseball team.
Then, in 2014, Rick Heller entered the Iowa baseball program after spending time at Northern Iowa and Indiana State. The Hawkeyes began the season with their best start since 1940 and continued from there, going 30-23 and gaining a Big Ten Tournament berth.
Heller turned the offense into a weapon, and it worked. Iowa led or was the runner-up in the Big Ten in eight offensive categories.
In 2015, the term “Hellerball” took full effect, quite literally. The pitching staff lowered its ERA from 4.34 in 2014 to 2.95 in 2015, and the change didn’t stop there.
Six walkoffs and 18 wins by fewer than 2 runs later, Iowa tallied a 41-18 overall record just two years into Heller’s reign.
The Hawkeyes were made into real contenders in the Big Ten just two years into a culture shift, and a second-place finish in the Big Ten led Iowa to an NCAA regional.
Going into 2017 after losing 25 players lost, a Big Ten championship didn’t seem to be on the horizon for Iowa baseball. But with Heller at the helm, it was, and through his tenure, Iowa has advanced to the postseason five-straight seasons for the first time ever (including 2018).
Joey Woody — Track and Field
In 2015, the Hawkeye track and field team had a familiar face as its new director. Joey Woody had been part of the coaching staff since 2006, serving in two different roles.
In his first season as director, numerous athletes had success in the school, in the conference, and nationally. To go along with seven new school records, the squad had 11 named All-American.
In 2016 — Woody’s second year at the helm — the Hawkeyes earned five more Big Ten titles than the season before with nine and qualified just three fewer for the NCAA Championships (25).
The number of NCAA berths jumped from 2016 to 2017 with 33 athletes qualifying. The men made an impact on the national meet, finishing its best in 50 years.
