In 1963 when my wife Pat, daughter Kay and I arrived in Cedar Falls, the University of Northern Iowa was the State College of Iowa (SCI) with an enrollment of 5,000. The athletic program was a member of the North Central Conference which included North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Morningside and Augustana College. Jim Witham was the athletic director and head of the men’s Physical Education Department. Stan Sheriff was the head football coach.
I was the football line coach (working both offense and defense), assistant wrestling coach and physical education instructor. In addition, I was involved with going on the road recruiting. As the only assistant on staff, I did the bulk of the traveling to high schools. When Coach Sheriff talked to me about coming to SCI to work with football, he said I would be the first assistant, and then I found out that basically I was the ONLY assistant! The other assistants were temporary and part-time. They were good men who were devoted to making football competitive. There were seven coaches on the total athletic staff for all sports, and every coach taught in the Physical Education Department.
In addition to Coach Sheriff and me, the football program had two graduate assistants. One was the varsity backfield coach and the other, head freshman coach. These coaches had academic responsibilities as graduate students that required time in addition to their coaching. The freshmen were not eligible to play varsity football and had their own four-game schedule. Freshmen assistants were former players who had completed their eligibility and were working on their degrees.
The first football game that I coached at SCI in 1963 was at Northern Michigan in Marquette. This was the first time the college had an athletic team fly to a contest, and the majority of the athletes were also flying for the first time. UNI won a physical battle, 12-11. It was a great start. In the win over South Dakota State, Randy Schultz rushed for 253 yards, a national record. Later in the season, SCI would lose to North Dakota State whose new coach, Darrell Mudra, would take a mediocre NDSU program and make it into a national power. Coach Mudra would come to Cedar Falls at a future date and help develop the strong football program that UNI has today. SCI finished the 1963 season 5-3-1 overall.
In 1964, SCI opened with wins over Northern Michigan and Mankato State before a loss to North Dakota State. Winning the next six games, SCI was tied for the conference title going into the final game with non-conference Northern Illinois. In spite of losing 14-9, SCI was selected to play in the Pecan Bowl in Abilene, Texas. The opponent would be Lamar Tech. The Pecan Bowl was one of four national contests that the NCAA set up in anticipation of having a future national playoff for Division II and Division III football teams.
State College of Iowa’s 19-17 victory over Lamar Tech was the crowning touch to an outstanding 1964 season. Schultz, Loren Buser and Doug Korver were honored for their outstanding play in the Pecan Bowl. Schultz was named first team All-American in both 1963 and 1964.
The rest of the ‘60s were average years for football. UNI had some outstanding athletes, but depth was always a problem, with most schools playing two-platoon football. With platoon football, the North Dakota schools became powers in the conference. The bright spot of the ‘60s was the 41-14 thumping of North Dakota State in the final game of 1966. NDSU was the no. 1 team in the nation. SCI discarded its traditional running game and threw the ball. SCI quarterback Dick Olin completed 21 passes for 275 yards in the victory.
The great win over North Dakota State also marked the end of the five-year history of SCI football. In 1967, SCI became the University of Northern Iowa. The first UNI football team was 7-3. The three losses were by four points to Northern Michigan, one point to North Dakota State and by a field goal to Drake. The small coaching staff and lack of depth were still a problem.
There were several outstanding linemen who would become excellent coaches and leaders in their field. Ray Pederson was a first-team All-American. Other standout and all-conference linemen were Rick Price, Ken Beverlin, Jim Jackson, Kent Stephenson (who coached professional football), Phil Minnick (who played professional football in Canada), Merle Masonholder, Gary White, Dennis Cook, Phil Roberts, Tom Barbatti (All-American), Bruce Gulick, Larry Green, Dan Goddard, Larry Rater, Bob Hampton, Jim Rudd (All-American), Doug Walter and Nelson White.
Winning consistently in the ‘70s was difficult. UNI still had a small coaching staff and lacked scholarships. But in 1975 (9-3) and 1976 (8-3), the situation improved. There were some outstanding players on defense, and the offensive backfield had Bill Salmon at quarterback with Tom Haning, Pat Batten and Tom Scalissi running the ball. In 1975, UNI played at Nevada-Las Vegas which was a great trip for everyone. Wives, families and boosters had an opportunity to make this trip.
UNI ended the regular season 9-2 and was selected to play Western Kentucky in the first round of the Division II Championships in Cedar Falls. UNI lost the game 14-12, missing two field goal attempts in the closing minutes of the game. The game was played in a drizzle that made the field a muddy quagmire. The game has become famous as the “Mud Bowl”. This was also the last game at O.R. Latham field and the same day the UNI-Dome was inflated for the first time.
The 1976 season initiated football play in the newly opened UNI-Dome. The opening contest was a disappointing 41-7 loss to Northern Michigan. This was an eye opener for the coaches and players. UNI rebounded with six straight wins before a sickening 16-13 loss to South Dakota State. On 4th and 10 with one second remaining on the clock, the SDSU quarterback lofted a 53-yard pass that the tight end caught at the two-yard line and was knocked into the end zone with no time left on the clock. UNI would lose another heartbreaker 10-9 to North Dakota State. Winning the final game 42-20 over Wisconsin-Whitewater gave UNI a 9-3 record. The loss to SDSU probably kept a good UNI football team from making the playoffs.
Some of the outstanding linemen who played so well in the 1970’s were Mike Timmermans (first team All-American), Kevin Barz, Dallas Deike (whose son Ben played at UNI a few years ago), Dick Blau, Rick Hodam, Tom Jones, Dennis Harms, Charles Frisk, Randy Scott, Neil Phipps, Paul Christenson, Jim Pitlik, Ron Fiacco, Lynn Stickfort, Dave Skibsted, Dave Bright, Tom Moorehouse, Ed Brown, Steve Lounsberry, Doug Walter, Bob Wentzel, Bob Klavis, Mike Allen and Steve Wright (who had an outstanding pro career). All of these young men have had outstanding coaching and business careers.
After coaching the 1978 season, I left the football staff and became Intramural Director at UNI. I have remained close to UNI football and attempt to stay involved as much as possible. The football program, the coaches, the athletes and the games have been a big part of my life.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The football locker room at the north end of the UNI-Dome is named for Coach Don Erusha. Coach Erusha still can be seen on the field with today’s UNI football players as a volunteer coach.
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