Iowa Football: Top 10 head coaches in program history

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IOWA CITY, IOWA- NOVEMBER 18: Wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette #6 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs back a punt return during the fourth quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers on November 18, 2017 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

8. Burt Ingwersen: 1924-1931

Career Record: 33-27-4

A coach that is mostly remembered for being apart of a shady time in Iowa football history is Burt Ingwersen. Ingwersen played his college football at the University of Illinois under Hall of Fame head coach Robert Zuppke from 1917 to 1919. He played one season with the NFL’s Decatur Staleys (now Chicago Bears) before returning to coaching in 1921. He spent three seasons as an assistant at Illinois, coaching legendary running back Red Grange before becoming head coach at Iowa in 1924.

Ingwersen had the tough task of replacing Iowa legend Howard Jones, who had taken the football program to heights they had never seen before. His first season was a success, finishing with a 6-1-1 record, but the rest of his Iowa career was marred by inconsistent results, most of the time with Iowa having an OK overall record, but a bad conference record. Ingwersen saw his days numbered when the Big Ten punished Iowa for an alleged slush fund set up by alumni, dating back to the days of Howard Jones. Ingwersen lost much of his talent and following a dismal 1931, resigned from Iowa.

After leaving the Hawkeyes, Ingwersen spent three seasons as an assistant at LSU under head coach and good friend, Biff Jones. From there, Ingwersen spent seven seasons as an assistant at Northwestern under Pappy Waldorf and even coached the baseball team for a few seasons. Following his discharge from the Navy, Ingwersen spent the next 22 years as an assistant at Illinois until his retirement after the 1966 season.

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