Northern Iowa
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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The Northern Iowa Panthers football squad is an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision team, playing for the University of Northern Iowa in the Gateway Football Conference. Northern Iowa has established itself as one of the most accomplished in the FCS, winning a title in almost every decade since leaving the independent scene in the 1920's. UNI's football program made its debut in 1895, managing to win against Coe, 12-10, despite playing without a coach. After the 1922 season, the Panthers parted for the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and started to make its mark in the late 1920's under the tutelage of Coach Paul Bender. In 1927, the Panthers finished with a conference-best 6-0-0 card to record its first ever championship. NIU managed to successfully defend the title the following year for its second straight title. NIU left the IIAC to join the North Central Conference in 1935 but only started to show its dominance in the NCC in the 1940's with Coach Clyde Starbeck on the helm. The Panthers won three straight conference titles from 1940-42, four straight from 1946-49, and one in 1952 to extend the team's conference titles to ten. A new era began for NIU when Starbeck stepped down in 1957, and Stan Sheriff took over in 1960 from William Hammer (coached for two seasons, 1958-59). Sheriff and the Panthers managed to strung up four conference titles in five seasons (1960-62, '64) as well as one Small College title, the NCAA College Division Midwest Region Championship in 1964 after finishing the season with a 9-2-0 record. Another milestone achieved in that span was the team's first ever Bowl Game appearance (lost to Hillsdale in the 1960 Mineral Water Bowl, 6-17) and first ever Bowl Game win (defeated Lamar in the 1964 Pecan Bowl Game, 19-17). NIU joined the Mid-Continent Conference in 1978 and three years later, won back-to-back conference titles (1981-82) for Sheriff's 5th and 6th conference titles and the Panthers' 16th conference title overall. NIU claimed one more title in the M-CC before departing for the Gateway Football Conference in 1985. Since then, the Panthers have won 12 GFC championships, including a 7-consecutive titles from 1990-96 (Northern Iowa currently leads GFC in titles won).
As of 2006, the Panthers have compiled over 500 wins and have a winning percentage of 60%. NIU has also won 29 conference championships, one Small College national title, and two Bowl Game appearances. NIU has appeared in the NCAA FCS Polls in 19 different occassions, reaching as high as #2 (2005).
Contents |
Ranking
- Have not ranked in the final major college polls.
| Year | Record | NCAA Rank | Sports Network Rank | USA/ESPN Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 9-2-0 | 18 | ||
| 1985 | 11-2-0 | 4 | ||
| 1987 | 10-4-0 | 4 | ||
| 1989 | 8-3-0 | 20 | ||
| 1990 | 8-4-0 | 11 | ||
| 1991 | 11-2-0 | 4 | ||
| 1992 | 12-2-0 | 3 | ||
| 1993 | 8-4-0 | 13 | ||
| 1994 | 8-4-0 | 11 | ||
| 1995 | 8-5-0 | 18 | ||
| 1996 | 12-2-0 | 3 | ||
| 1998 | 7-4-0 | 25 | ||
| 1999 | 8-3-0 | 15 | 17 | |
| 2000 | 7-4-0 | 19 | 18 | |
| 2001 | 11-3-0 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2003 | 10-3-0 | 5 | 6 | |
| 2004 | 7-4-0 | 25 | 25 | |
| 2005 | 11-4-0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 7-4-0 | 17 | ||
| 2007 | 12-1-0 | 4 |
Scouting Report
| Category | GFC Rank | Nat'l Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring Offense | 3 | 12 |
| Scoring Defense | 1 | 7 |
| Total Offense | 1 | 7 |
| Total Defense | 1 | 11 |
| Turnover Margin | 2 | 13 |
| Pass Efficiency Defense | 3 | 29 |
| Kickoff Returns | 6 | 68 |
| Net Punting | 5 | 77 |
| Passing Offense | 2 | 33 |
| Passing Defense | 6 | 70 |
| Passing Efficiency | 1 | 3 |
| Punt Returns | 1 | 7 |
| Rushing Offense | 2 | 15 |
| Rushing Defense | 1 | 6 |
Championships
Conference Championships
- 1927 - Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champions
- 1928 - Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champions
- 1940 - North Central Conference Champions
- 1941 - North Central Conference Champions
- 1942 - North Central Conference Co-Champions
- 1946 - North Central Conference Champions
- 1947 - North Central Conference Co-Champions
- 1948 - North Central Conference Champions
- 1949 - North Central Conference Co-Champions
- 1952 - North Central Conference Champions
- 1960 - North Central Conference Champions
- 1961 - North Central Conference Co-Champions
- 1962 - North Central Conference Co-Champions
- 1964 - North Central Conference Co-Champions
- 1981 - Mid-Continent Conference Co-Champions
- 1982 - Mid-Continent Conference Co-Champions
- 1984 - Mid-Continent Conference Co-Champions
- 1985 - Gateway Football Conference Champions
- 1987 - Gateway Football Conference Champions
- 1990 - Gateway Football Conference Champions
- 1991 - Gateway Football Conference Champions
- 1992 - Gateway Football Conference Champions
- 1993 - Gateway Football Conference Champions
- 1994 - Gateway Football Conference Champions
- 1995 - Gateway Football Conference Co-Champions
- 1996 - Gateway Football Conference Champions
- 2001 - Gateway Football Conference Champions
- 2003 - Gateway Football Conference Co-Champions
- 2005 - Gateway Football Conference Co-Champions
- 2007 - Gateway Football Conference Champions
Small College National Championships
- 1964 - NCAA College Division Midwest Region Champions
UNI Bowl History
- No Major Bowl Games Played
| Year | Bowl Game | Opponent | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 12, 1964 | Pecan Bowl | Lamar | W | 19-17 |
| Nov 26, 1960 | Mineral Water Bowl | Hillsdale | L | 6-17 |
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Location | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08.30.08 | BYU | Provo, Utah | |
| 09.06.08 | South Dakota | Cedar Falls, Iowa | |
| 09.20.08 | South Dakota State | Cedar Falls, Iowa | |
| 09.27.08 | Southern Illinois | Carbondale, Ill. | |
| 10.04.08 | Nicholls State | Cedar Falls, Iowa | |
| 10.11.08 | Illinois State | Cedar Falls, Iowa | |
| 10.18.08 | North Dakota State | Cedar Falls, Iowa | |
| 10.25.08 | Youngstown State | Youngstown, Ohio | |
| 11.01.08 | Western Illinois | Macomb, Ill. | |
| 11.08.08 | Missouri State | Cedar Falls, Iowa | |
| 11.15.08 | Indiana State | Terre Haute, Ind. | |
| 11.22.08 | Southern Utah | Cedar City, Utah |
Roster
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Pos. | Cl. | Hometown/Prev. School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corey Lewis | 6-0 | 197 | RB | RS SR | St. Paul, Neb./St. Paul |
| 2 | Kane Thompson | 5-11 | 205 | CB | RS SO | Woodbine, Iowa/Woodbine |
| 3 | Ben Alford | 6-2 | 215 | WR | RS JR | Dade City, Fla./Pasco HS/NIACC |
| 4 | Johnny Gray | 5-9 | 185 | WR | SR | Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach |
| 5 | D.P. Eyman | 6-1 | 176 | QB | RS JR | Iowa City, Iowa/City High |
| 5 | Darren Hudak | 6-4 | 205 | WR | RS SR | Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Cedar Rapids Xavier/Kirkwood CC |
| 6 | Victor Williams | 6-4 | 227 | WR | SR | Clewiston, Fla./Clewiston/Louisburg College |
| 7 | Colin Dietrich | 6-4 | 215 | WR | RS SO | Walford, Iowa/Prairie |
| 7 | Michael Penn | 6-3 | 212 | WR | FR | Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest |
| 8 | Nick Nelson | 5-11 | 200 | S | RS SR | Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls |
| 8 | J.P. Helgens | 6-2 | 238 | FB | RS JR | Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier/Hawkeye CC |
| 9 | Montari Leonard | 5-9 | 165 | WR | SO | DeLand, Fla./Mainland |
| 11 | Adam Roberts | 5-11 | 199 | CB | SR | Oklahoma City, Okla./Southeast/Northeastern Oklahoma A&M CC |
| 13 | Pat Grace | 6-2 | 230 | QB | RS JR | Sioux City, Iowa/Bishop Heelan |
| 14 | Luke Warren | 6-1 | 197 | WR | RS JR | Cedar Falls, Iowa/Northern University |
| 15 | De'Veon Harris | 6-1 | 215 | LB | SR | Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Blanche Ely HS/NIACC |
| 16 | Sam Eischen | 6-6 | 223 | WR | RS FR | Humboldt, Iowa/Humboldt |
| 17 | Zach Davis | 6-2 | 190 | QB | RS FR | Washington, Iowa/Washington |
| 19 | Caleb Walter | 6-4 | 210 | QB | RS FR | West Branch, Iowa/West Branch |
| 21 | Josh Collins | 5-9 | 193 | WR | RS FR | Sioux City, Iowa/Sioux City West |
| 22 | Curtis Meier | 5-11 | 190 | S | SR | Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy/Iowa Central CC |
| 23 | Darrell Lloyd | 6-0 | 191 | CB | SR | O'Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt North HS/Iowa Central CC |
| 24 | Terrell McMoore | 6-1 | 185 | CB | RS SR | Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn |
| 25 | Ben Schmidt | 5-11 | 193 | DB | RS SR | Keswick, Iowa/Tri-County |
| 26 | Brook Black | 6-3 | 195 | P | RS JR | Houston, Texas/Second Baptist/Baylor University |
| 28 | Tre'Darrius Canady | 5-11 | 185 | SS | RS FR | Sioux City, Iowa/Sioux City East |
| 29 | Sean McMoore | 6-1 | 180 | CB | RS SR | Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn |
| 30 | Taylor Brookins | 5-9 | 210 | RB | RS SO | Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls |
| 31 | Derrick Law | 6-1 | 219 | RB | RS JR | Newton, Iowa/Newton |
| 32 | James Conley | 203 | DB | RS FR | Des Moines, Iowa/Roosevelt | |
| 36 | Billy Hallgren | 5-11 | 190 | PK | RS SO | Coal Valley, Ill./Moline |
| 38 | Matt Strathman | 5-11 | 230 | FB | RS SO | Rockford, Ill./Winnebago |
| 40 | Erik Piorkowski | 6-2 | 219 | LB | RS FR | Lake Saint Louis, Mo./Wentzville Holt HS |
| 42 | Dameko Brennen | 5-10 | 217 | LB | SR | North Lauderdale, Fla./Glades Central/Rainy River CC |
| 44 | James Ruffin | 6-4 | 265 | DL | RS JR | Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville |
| 45 | Jamar Thompson | 6-3 | 215 | LB | RS SO | Andover, Minn./Andover |
| 46 | Jordan Smith | 6-2 | 232 | LB | RS FR | Humboldt, Iowa/Humboldt |
| 47 | Josh Mahoney | 6-1 | 234 | LB | RS JR | Sioux Falls, S.D./O'Gorman |
| 48 | Ryan Mahaffey | 6-4 | 255 | TE | RS SO | Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell |
| 49 | Shawn Gerard | 6-3 | 225 | LB | RS FR | Eldridge, Iowa/North Scott |
| 51 | Justin Kirk | 6-4 | 255 | DE | RS SR | Bixby, Okla./Bixby |
| 52 | Dustin Morrow | 6-2 | 225 | LB | RS SR | Deep River, Iowa/Montezuma |
| 53 | Stacy Chinander | 5-11 | 225 | LB/LS | JR | Allison, Iowa/North Butler/Ellsworth CC |
| 55 | Nate Stoffel | 6-5 | 300 | OL | RS FR | Dubuque, Iowa/Dubuque Hempstead |
| 56 | August Hadenfeldt | 6-3 | 235 | DL | RS FR | Solon, Iowa/Solon |
| 57 | Brandon Burden | 6-2 | 180 | PK | SR | Mount Pleasant, Iowa/Mount Pleasant/Iowa Central CC |
| 57 | Nate Graves | 5-8.5 | 225 | LB | RS SO | Gilbert, Iowa/Gilbert |
| 59 | Austin Zlab | 6-5 | 295 | OL | RS SO | Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale |
| 60 | Jordan Limbaugh | 6-3 | 301 | OL | RS JR | Algona, Iowa/Algona |
| 64 | Evan Tecklenburg | 6-8 | 330 | OL | RS FR | Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine |
| 68 | Trent Flander | 6-4 | 270 | OL | JR | West Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling/NIACC |
| 70 | Jake Gonnering | 6-5 | 295 | OL | RS SO | Kenosha, Wis./Tremper |
| 71 | Bob Swift | 6-6 | 315 | OT | RS SR | Manchester, Iowa/West Delaware |
| 72 | Jay Teply | 6-7 | 325 | OL | RS FR | Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier |
| 73 | Brett Bergman | 6-3 | 320 | OL | RS SR | Union, Iowa/BCLUW/Iowa State |
| 74 | Austin Steichen | 6-3 | 300 | OL | RS JR | Remsen, Iowa/Saint Mary's |
| 75 | Mitch Houk | 6-7 | 275 | OL | RS FR | Ottumwa, Iowa/Ottumwa |
| 76 | Jeremy Robertson | 6-4 | 255 | DL | SR | Cedar Rapids, Iowa/C.R. Washington HS/NIACC |
| 77 | Austin Howard | 6-7 | 279 | OL | RS JR | Davenport, Iowa/Central |
| 78 | Andrew BlackLance | 6-6 | 302 | OL | RS FR | Thief River Falls, Minn./Lincoln Senior |
| 79 | Jason Fiacco | 6-2 | 310 | OL | RS JR | Oconomowoc, Wis./Arrowhead/Iowa State Univ. |
| 81 | Sam Peterson | 6-5 | 255 | TE | RS JR | Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls |
| 82 | Joel Gilson | 6-5 | 252 | TE | RS JR | Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale |
| 84 | Will Eilert | 6-4 | 235 | TE | RS FR | Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell |
| 85 | Kyle Bennett | 6-4 | 238 | DE | RS SO | Sioux City, Iowa/Sioux City Heelan |
| 86 | Eric Reimer | 6-6 | 275 | OL | RS SO | Reedsburg, Wis./Reedsburg |
| 87 | Schuylar Oordt | 6-7 | 244 | TE | RS SO | Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls |
| 88 | Maurice Turner | 6-2 | 210 | WR | RS SO | Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View |
| 90 | Nate Herrig | 6-4 | 277 | DL | RS JR | Clinton, Iowa/Clinton |
| 92 | Kaleb Admire | 6-3 | 290 | DL | RS FR | Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson |
| 93 | Wes Lane | 6-4 | 290 | DL | RS JR | Waterloo, IA/West |
| 94 | Ben Boothby | 6-0 | 280 | DL | RS FR | Clinton, Iowa/Clinton |
| 95 | Everette Pedescleaux | 6-6 | 305 | DL | SR | Plymouth, Minn./Armstrong/Minnesota |
| 96 | Mark Huygens | 6-6 | 277 | DL | RS SR | Sergeant Bluff, Iowa/Sergeant Bluff |
| 98 | Chuck Kinney | 6-3 | 275 | DL | RS JR | Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lincoln |
| Christian Albrecht | 6-5 | 230 | DE | RS SO | Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls HS/Augustana (S.D.) College | |
| Luke Walters | 5-10 | 195 | PK | RS FR | Marion, Iowa/Marion | |
| Trent Kos | P | RS FR | Kalona, Iowa/ | |||
| Julian Morris | 6-2 | 200 | WR | SO | Minneapolis, Iowa/Osseo/Iowa State | |
| Grant Lilly | 6-1 | 204 | S | JR | McIntire, Iowa/Riceville/NIACC/College of Dupage | |
| Bret Culpepper | 5-9 | 175 | CB | RS FR | Waterloo, Iowa/East | |
| Ryan Strottman | 6-3 | 200 | P | RS SO | Waterloo, Iowa/West |
Coaches/Team Officials
- Mark Farley - Head Coach/Interim Athletic Director
- Scott Frost - Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
- Chris Klieman - Co-Defensive Coordinator/Secondary
- Rick Nelson - Recruiting Coordinator/Offensive Line
- Bill Salmon - Assoc. Head Coach/Off. Coord./WR
- Mario Verduzco - Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
- Atif Austin - Running Backs
- Erik Chinander - Tight Ends
- Jerry Montgomery - Defensive Line
- Ryan Callahan - Athletic Trainer
- Matt Harken - Director of Football Operations
- Jeremiah Johnson - Video Coordinator
- Cindy Peters - Executive Assistant
Notable Alumni in NFL
Northern Iowa Panthers in NFL
- Derrick Frost - Washington Redskins, P
- Mike Furrey - Detroit Lions, WR
- Brandon Keith - Arizona Cardinals, T
- Brad Meester - Jacksonville Jaguars, C
- Chad Rinehart - Washington Redskins, T
- Justin Sandy - Cleveland Browns, DB
- Benny Sapp - Minnesota Vikings, DB
- Kurt Warner - Arizona Cardinals, QB
References
- CSTV Division I-AA Football Rankings
- NCAA.org's 2006 Gateway Football Conference Team Report
- Northern Iowa Alumni Tracker
- Northern Iowa Panthers Football Historical Data
- Northern Iowa Panthers Roster
- Northern Iowa Panthers Wikipedia
External Links
- UNIPanthers.com/Football
- Northern Iowa Panthers Football on USA Today
- University of Northern Iowa Website
| Missouri Valley Football Conference Teams |
|---|
| Illinois State • Indiana State • Missouri State • North Dakota State • Northern Iowa • South Dakota State • Southern Illinois • Western Illinois • Youngstown State |
