Northern Iowa Panthers

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Northern Iowa Panthers
Logo
University University of Northern Iowa
Conference Missouri Valley Conference
Missouri Valley Football Conference
Mid-American Conference (wrestling)
NCAA Division I (FCS)
Athletic director Jean Berger, Interim[1]
Location Cedar Falls, IA
Varsity teams 15
Football stadium UNI-Dome
Basketball arena McLeod Center
Mascot TC/TK Panther
Nickname Panthers
Fight song "UNI Fight"
Colors
     Purple       Gold
Website www.unipanthers.com

The Northern Iowa Panthers are the athletic teams of the University of Northern Iowa. The university is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, (Division I FCS in football).

UNI's Offense getting to work against the St. Francis Red Flash September 19, 2009

Teams

A member of the Missouri Valley Conference, the University of Northern Iowa sponsors seven men's and ten women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports:[2]

Men's Intercollegiate Sports Team Article Head Coach Women's Intercollegiate Sports Team Article Head Coach
Basketball Panthers men's basketball Ben Jacobson Basketball Tanya Warren
Cross Country Dave Paulsen Cross Country Dave Paulsen
Football [v 1] Panthers football Mark Farley Golf John Bermel
Golf John Bermel Soccer James Price
Track & Field (Indoor & Outdoor) Dave Paulsen Softball Ryan Jacobs
Wrestling Doug Schwab Swimming & Diving Doug Humphrey
Tennis Chris Sagers
Track & Field (Indoor & Outdoor) Dave Paulsen
Volleyball Bobbi Petersen
Notes
  1. ↑ The football team competes as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

History

The school's mascot is the Panther. They participate in the Missouri Valley Conference for all sports except football and wrestling, in which they are a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (formerly the Gateway Football Conference) and the Mid-American Conference. Northern Iowa previously competed in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, North Central Conference, and the Mid-Continent Conference.

History of UNI nickname

On September 8, 1931, the following appeal appeared in the student newspaper, the College Eye, under the headline "Contest Started for School Name":[3]

"Who wants to be called Tutors, Pedagogues, and Teachers all the time? Every leading school in the country has some name by which they are known in the realm of sport. Iowa is known as the Hawkeyes, Minnesota as Gophers, Chicago as Maroons, and so forth. Why not give Iowa State Teachers College a name which signifies something characteristic about the school besides the fact that it is a teachers college?"[3]

The article goes on to note that entries would be judged by a member of the Department of Physical Education, other faculty, and students.[3]

When the contest was announced, the Iowa State Teachers College had already been participating in intercollegiate athletics on a regular and organized basis for over thirty-five years. Teachers College teams had participated in contests with other Iowa colleges, and occasionally with teams from outside the state, in baseball, football, basketball, and track and field. Until the end of World War I, students certainly did get excited about these contests, but they probably took just as much pleasure in the success of the school's debate and oratorical teams. The school's sole mission, the preparation of teachers, tended to attract many more women than men to the Teachers College. And, consequently, the school did not have an abundance of material from which to draw its athletes in the days when only men participated in intercollegiate athletics. Following the war, however, the college made a distinct effort to attract men to the teaching profession. An important part of this effort was the addition of physical education courses to the curriculum that would help to prepare men for teaching positions that included athletics coaching responsibilities. Improved athletics facilities, including the construction of the West Gymnasium, showed that the school was taking a more serious attitude toward intercollegiate athletics.[3]

On September 18, 1931, the College Eye announced that Paul Bender, acting head of the Department of Physical Education for Men; George Holmes, professor of journalism; Robert Burley, president of the Student Council; and the sports editor of the College Eye would judge entries. The winner would receive a leather briefcase from the Berg Drug Company. Second place would be a dresser alarm clock from Chase Jewelry Store. Third place would be a season football pass.[3]

Burl Berry, a center on the football team and later its most valuable player, submitted the winning entry: the Iowa State Teachers College athletics teams would be known as the Purple Panthers. Keith Stapley and Kenneth Erwin won second and third places, respectively.

Wrestling

The University of Northern Iowa Wrestling team, founded in 1923, won the NCAA (Single division) national championship in 1950 and the NCAA Division II national championships in 1975 and 1978. They competed in the Western Wrestling Conference until 2012, when UNI became an associate member of the Mid-American Conference since the MVC is a non-wrestling conference.

Doug Schwab is the current head coach for the Northern Iowa Wrestling Team. Mission Statement - To communicate with UNI wrestling fans to support, encourage, promote a successful UNI wrestling tradition.[4]

In the 2013-2014 season, head coach Doug Schwab led the Panthers to a perfect 13-0 season in dual meets,[5] the only division one wrestling team to go undefeated.

Northern Iowa Panther Wrestling Accomplishments:[6][7][8]

  • NCAA (Single division) Team Champions in 1950[9]
  • NCAA Division II Team Champions in 1975[10]
  • NCAA Division II Team Champions in 1978[11]
  • NCAA (Single division) Team Runner-Up in 1946, 1947, 1949 and 1952
  • NCAA Division II Team Runner-Up in 1970, 1972, 1974 and 1980
  • NCAA (Single division) Team Third Place in 1937
  • NCAA Division II Team Third Place in 1963, 1967, 1969, 1976, 1977 and 1979.

Notable wrestlers:[12][13][14]

  • Olympic Gold Medalist (1952) William Smith wrestled for Iowa State Teachers College (1949 and 1950 NCAA champion)
  • Olympic Silver Medalist (1948) Gerald Leeman wrestled for Iowa State Teachers College (1946 NCAA champion)
  • Pan American Games Gold Medalist (1975) Mike McCready
  • Pan American Games Gold Medalist (1993) Justin Greenlee
  • Pan American Games Silver Medalist (1990) Mark Pustelnik
  • Three-time NCAA Champion (1946-47-48) Bill Koll and member of the 1948 U.S. Olympic team, finishing 5th
  • Three-time NCAA Champion (1947, 1949–50) Bill Nelson and member of the 1948 U.S. Olympic team
  • Three-time NCAA Champion (1949-50-51) Keith Young
  • Three-time NCAA Division II Champion (1976-77-78) Gary Bentrim
  • Three-time NCAA Division II Champion (1978-79-80) and six-time All-American Kirk Meyers[15]

Men's basketball

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Main article: Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball

NCAA Tournament history

Season Seed Eliminated
Round		 Teams Defeated Lost to
1962 (College Division) N/A 2nd Round Hamline Nebraska Wesleyan
1964 (College Division) N/A 4th Place Washington University
Mankato State
Southeast Missouri		 Evansville
North Carolina A&T
1979 (College Division) N/A 2nd Round Nebraska-Omaha Wisconsin-Green Bay
1990 (14) 2nd Round (3) Missouri (6) Minnesota
2004 (14) 1st Round — (3) Georgia Tech
2005 (11) 1st Round — (6) Wisconsin
2006 (10) 1st Round — (7) Georgetown
2009 (12) 1st Round — (5) Purdue
2010 (9) 3rd Round(Sweet 16) (8) UNLV
(1) Kansas		 (5) Michigan State
2015 (5) 3rd Round (12) Wyoming (4) Louisville

Other tournaments

Women's basketball

Coach Record When Coached No. of Years
Tanya Warren 41-52 2007–Present Current
Tony DiCecco 183-161 1995–2007 12 years
Wanda Green 78-59 1968–1978 10 years
J.D. Anderson 59-55 1980–1984 4 years
Kim Mayden 36-96 1984–1989 5 years
Terri Lasswel 35-125 1989–1995 6 years
Sandra Williamson 7-40 1978–1980 2 years

NCAA Tournament history

Season Seed Eliminated
Round		 Teams Defeated Lost to
2010 (16) 1st Round — (1) Nebraska

WNIT history

Season Seed Eliminated
Round		 Teams Defeated Lost to
2013 N/A 2nd Round Marquette Ball State

Baseball

UNI's men's baseball program was discontinued after the 2008-2009 season.

In 1961, the Panthers led by future Baltimore RP Eddie Watt[18] qualified for the NCAA Division 1 Baseball Tournament losing in the District 5 Final to eventual CWS Runner-Up Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

Other MLB players who attended UNI include Duane Josephson, the first Panther named All-American and who led the nation in HR's.[19]

References

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External links

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