The Hawkeyes We’d Carve in Stone
Hawkeyes were clear: Caitlin Clark, Nile Kinnick, James Van Allen, and Hayden Fry earned the most votes for Iowa's Mount Rushmore.
With more than 310,000 alumni and countless more members of the University of Iowa family, it felt like an impossible question for our community: Which four icons would you carve into a Mount Rushmore for Hawkeyes?
“I think this question needs categories ... coaches, football, basketball; too many good people to be four total,” said John McCloud, in response to the question we posted recently to UI alumni and friends.
Some chose their family members or closest friends. Others, like Scott Carruthers (93BBA), gave all four spots to Caitlin Clark (24BBA). Many Hawkeyes thought about Iowa’s literary legacy, expansive research into space, and the coaches who led our teams to the moments we’ve talked about, and will talk about, for decades to come.
While there’s a long list of Hawkeyes who’ve made history, these are the four icons named the most by alumni and friends:
Caitlin Clark (24BBA) | Iowa women’s basketball great and current WNBA star
PHOTO: hawkeyesports.com
Nile Kinnick (40BA) | Heisman Trophy winner, law student, World War II naval aviator
PHOTO: IOWA DIGITAL LIBRARY
James Van Allen (36MS, 39PhD) | physicist, discovered Van Allen radiation belts
PHOTO: engineering at uiowa.edu
Hayden Fry | head coach, Iowa football (1979–98)
PHOTO: hawkeyesports.com
And since, “we’re Hawkeyes; we deserve six or seven people 😉” (Nick Olinger), and “we need more mountain space … there are so many to honor” (Tamara Paxton Wagner), here are a few honorable mentions:
“Questions like these always prompt the athletics side of answers. Not that there is anything wrong with that! ... But let’s be real, we need our research, laboratories, and experienced professors to make students shine, even the athletes AFTER their potential pro careers to be successful members of society. It’s why I give to the academic parts of Iowa. So, my picks? Kurt Vonnegut, James Van Allen, Max Stanley (76BA), and Gene Wilder (55BA).” —Kris Yager Rushton (94BA)
PHOTO COURTESY RACKSTRAW PERSONAL COLLECTIONS