From ‘The Catch’ to DeJean’s Pick Six: Hawkeyes’ Favorite Bowl Game Memories
If Hawkeyes have a steel trap for one thing, it’s athletic moments. No amount of time dulls the thrill of these memories—from Iowa’s second Rose Bowl win in 1959 to “The Catch,” Warren Holloway’s 56-yard touchdown reception to close out the 2005 Capital One Bowl. Even now, thinking about these victories feels like reliving them all over again.
So, as fans celebrated a victory in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31 to cap the most recent Hawkeye season, we asked UI alumni and friends: What’s your favorite bowl game memory?
PHOTOS: HAWKEYESPORTS.COM1959 Rose Bowl
“The 1959 Rose Bowl victory that earned Iowa a (Football Writers Association of America) national championship. Bobby ‘The Jet’ Jeter set a Rose Bowl rushing record. All-American Don Norton brought a football to me and my brother in Anamosa, autographed by the team. That memory will stay with me forever.”
—Kirk Ketelsen
1984 Freedom Bowl
“The Freedom Bowl annihilation of Texas in 1984. In my opinion, it was Hayden Fry’s best team, but injury-riddled during the season. Got healthy for the bowl game and absolutely smoked Texas.”
—Mike Huitink
1986 Rose Bowl
“Going to the 1986 Rose Bowl on a bus full of fellow Iowa students. It was the trip of a lifetime–only missing a Hawkeye victory. Great times!”
—Charlie Zimmerman (87BSE, 89MS)
1986 Holiday Bowl
“The 1986 Holiday Bowl. I got to visit my grandma in Los Angeles, watch the men’s basketball team rout the University of California-Irvine Anteaters in what was more or less a high school gym, then the pickle: David Hudson, Rick Bayless (88BS), and Rob Houghtlin (87BA) win a thriller 39-38.”
—David Murphy (88BS)
1995 Sun Bowl
“Being at the Sun Bowl in 1995 and going onto the field after the game to get Matt Sherman (97BS), Tavian Banks (97BS), Sedrick Shaw (97BA), and Hayden Fry’s autographs! Sedrick Shaw had a wonderful game!”
—Ryan Sirowy
2004 Outback Bowl
“The 2004 Outback Bowl. Second in line at the gate trying to get the attendant to open early when a Florida highway patrolman pulled up and told the guy to open it because these crazy Iowa fans had traffic backed up onto the interstate. Guy said he didn’t have the keys. The patrolman said, ‘You have five minutes to get them here before I shoot the lock off.’ Four minutes later, a guy comes flying up on a golf cart and opens the gate! We parked as close as you could to the stadium for general parking and found some Florida fans close by in the VIP area. We told them, ‘Good luck today,’ and they responded, ‘Luck will have nothing to do with the obvious outcome.’ By the end of the third quarter, virtually all of their fans were gone as our Hawkeyes were tearing up their Gators! Loved it!”
—Bill Polka
2005 Capital One Bowl and “The Catch”
“Hands down, ‘The Catch’! I witnessed it in person, and it was insane!”
—Erica Saufley (02BA)
“There’s only one answer: ‘The Catch.’”
—JD Smith
“Capital One Bowl, sitting on the 50-yard line, and winning on ‘The Catch’! We all fell on top of each other celebrating.”
—Cathy Berke (92BBA)
“Several Iowa bowl victories come to mind. A couple of one-point wins versus Wyoming and San Diego State in the Holiday Bowl. The big Orange Bowl win over Georgia Tech. A 55-17 thrashing of Texas in the 1984 Freedom Bowl. A 38-18 whipping of Washington in the 1995 Sun Bowl. However, I was in the stadium for the Warren Holloway (04BA) catch. The ball was snapped with 14 seconds on the clock, Drew Tate (08BA) back to pass. I remember saying out loud, ‘Oh my gosh, there is a guy open down there!’”
—John Oler (76BBA)
“In 2005, I was an assistant superintendent in East Baton Rouge Parish in Louisiana, supervising 64 elementary campuses in proximity to LSU. After weeks of ribbing and not-so-friendly jabs from coworkers who knew I was born and raised in Waterloo and a proud UI alum, my ‘Iowa’ came out. One persistent—OK, annoying—coworker goaded me daily for a week until I uttered, ‘Wanna bet on this game?’ It was game on, but I had faith because I knew the strength of Big Ten teams. As a transplanted Midwesterner, my faith in the Hawkeyes never wavered. And neither did Warren Holloway’s. When we returned to work, I collected big time and remained gracious. In 2006, I accepted a faculty position at LSU and am now a full professor and the Cecil ‘Pete’ Taylor Endowed Professor of Literacy Leadership and Urban Education. I LOVE to proudly wear my Iowa gear on campus.”
—Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell (99PhD)
2010 Orange Bowl
“Adrian Clayborn’s beatdown of Georgia Tech in the January 2010 Orange Bowl!”
—Nici Jo Bontrager
“Beating Georgia Tech in 2010! Awesome trip through the I-Club.”
—Brian S. Butler
2017 Pinstripe Bowl
“My family braved the bitter cold at the Iowa vs. Boston College game for the 2017 Pinstripe Bowl. It was cool seeing the Iowa hospital kids waving on the Jumbotron after the first quarter.”
—Karen Petitt-Bohrer
2019 Outback Bowl
“The 2019 Outback Bowl win over Mississippi State. I was on the sideline as my daughter was in the halftime show playing in a high school all-star band.”
—John Van Nostrand
“It’s the only bowl game I’ve attended, but all my memories from it are my favorite. The Outback Bowl in Tampa Bay versus Mississippi State, New Year’s Day, 2019. All the cowbells in the world couldn’t save Mississippi State from a Hawkeye win.”
—Linda M. Wilson
2022 Music City Bowl
“The 2022 Music City Bowl. My girlfriend and I decided spur of the moment to drive down to Nashville and attend. Cooper Dejean had a pick six, the Hawks shut out the Kentucky Wildcats, and we had a blast!”
—Cody Nieman
