Kirk Ferentz is beginning his 10th year as Iowa's head football coach. The only other Hawkeye head football coach who led the school for a longer period of time was Hayden Fry (20 years, 1979-98). Ferentz ranks third in longevity among league football coaches.

Ferentz took the Hawkeyes to six straight bowl games (2001-06). It's the second longest bowl streak in school history. Hayden Fry took the Hawkeyes to eight straight (1981-88). The 2007 Hawkeyes, despite not being selected for a bowl berth, became bowl eligible following their sixth win. It was the seventh straight season for Iowa to be bowl eligible.

The 2007 season can be characterized in two words; youth and inconsistency. The Hawkeyes put together a 6-6 record and a tie for fifth place in the Big Ten. It was the sixth time in the last seven years Iowa has finished in the league's upper division. The Hawkeyes won their first two games before dropping the next four. Iowa then won four of its next five.

But, key injuries, some off the field problems and being forced to play 31 true or redshirt freshmen were obstacles too great to overcome. Junior defensive tackle Mitch King was first team all-Big Ten while senior defenders Bryan Mattison, Charles Godfrey and Mike Humpal were second team choices.

The Hawkeyes have sold out their entire home schedule the last four years and have strung together 30 straight home sellouts. The 70,585 average for six home games in 2005 and 2007 and seven games in 2006 is an Iowa record for average home attendance.

The 2006 Hawkeyes climbed as high as 12th in the polls while winning five of their first six games. Offensive lineman Mike Jones was a first team all-Big Ten pick. Injuries and inopportune mistakes reared its head during the second half of the season. Only two offensive players (Busch and Chandler) started the same position all 12 games. A key defensive starter (Iwebema) missed much of the season. The Hawkeyes played defending national champion Texas in the Alamo Bowl and came out on the short end of a 26-24 contest.

Prior to the 2006 season the Hawkeyes, under Ferentz, had put together the greatest four-year run in school history. Iowa had a 7-5 record in 2005 and a 10-2 mark in 2004. Add that to 10-3 in 2003 and 11-2 in 2002 and you have the greatest four-year run in Iowa history (38-12). And, Iowa's 25 Big Ten wins were the most ever by a Hawkeye team in a four-year span. No other Big Ten team had won more than 25 games in that four-year run.

The two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year led the Hawkeyes to a 2005 third place finish in the Big Ten. An overtime loss to Michigan and a last minute one-point loss to Northwestern is all that kept the Hawkeyes out of contention for a third Big Ten title in four years. And, the Hawkeyes played in a January bowl game for the fourth straight year, something never previously accomplished at the University of Iowa. Only four teams in the country had played in four straight January bowl games (Iowa, Southern Cal, Georgia and Florida State).

Iowa won a Kinnick Stadium record 22 straight home games before losing one in overtime in 2005. The home streak was the fourth longest in the nation.

Ferentz led the 2004 Hawkeyes to their second Big Ten title in three years and won the league's Coach of the Year honors for the second time. Iowa's 10-2 (7-1 in the Big Ten) record was expected by very few. A victory in the 2005 Capital One Bowl capped off a third straight appearance in a January bowl game.

In addition to Ferentz being named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2004, five Hawkeyes were named the to first all-Big Ten team. And the Hawkeyes finished eighth in the final polls. Most pre-season polls picked Iowa somewhere in the bottom third of the 2003 Big Ten race. But the Hawkeyes fooled the experts by rising into the nation's top ten four times during the year, getting as high as eighth in the season-ending poll. The Hawkeyes ended the 2002, 2003 and 2004 seasons with an eighth place ranking in the polls.

Iowa put the topping on the 2003 and 2004 seasons by beating favored SEC teams in New Years Day bowl games. The Hawkeyes beat Florida (37-17) in the 2004 Outback Bowl and LSU (30-25) on the final play of the 2005 Capital One Bowl.

The 2003 Hawkeyes were the only Big Ten team to beat league champion Michigan (30-27). And, five Iowa players were named to the 2003 first all-Big Ten team while two were named first-team all-America. Hawkeye offensive lineman Robert Gallery was named winner of the 2003 Outland Award, which goes to the nation's top collegiate interior lineman.

The 2002 team was probably the most decorated in Iowa football history.

Kirk was named 2002 Associated Press and The Walter Camp Football Foundation's Coach of the Year in college football. He was also named Big Ten Coach of the Year in a season that saw his team climb as high as third in the national rankings.

Ferentz led the 2002 Iowa football team to its first Big Ten title since 1990 and the most wins (11) in school history. The Hawkeyes also played in the BCS's FedEx Orange Bowl for the first time.

The only losses during the 2002 season came at the hands of Iowa State and Southern Cal. Iowa posted impressive road wins at Penn State and Michigan on its way to the school's first undefeated Big Ten campaign since 1922. The win over Michigan was the most convincing by a Wolverine opponent, in Ann Arbor, since 1967.

Winning three of its final four games during the 2001 season, Ferentz led the Hawkeyes to the Sylvania Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, TX, where Iowa defeated Texas Tech 19-16. It was the first bowl game for Ferentz as a head coach.

At Iowa, Ferentz has an overall record of 61-49 after starting out 2-18. He has posted a 38-34 record in Big Ten play. He has a career record of 73-70 in 12 years as a collegiate head coach.

Ferentz was named Iowa's 25th head football coach on December 2, 1998. He replaced Hayden Fry, who retired following 20 years at Iowa. He joined the Iowa staff after serving as assistant head coach and offensive line coach of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He had been a part of the Baltimore (Cleveland Browns prior to the move) staff for six years.

Ferentz was a member of Hayden Fry's Iowa staff for nine years as offensive line coach (1981-89). He coordinated Iowa's running game during his coaching stint with the Hawkeyes. Iowa appeared in eight bowl games during the time Ferentz was an Iowa assistant. A pair of Rose Bowls (1982 & 1986), two Holiday Bowl appearances (1986-87) and a pair of Peach Bowl visits (1982 & 1988), along with appearances in the Gator (1983) Freedom (1984) highlighted his previous Iowa stay. Iowa's record in those nine years was 73-33-4 and included two 10-win and two nine-win seasons.

Offensive lines under the direction of Ferentz anchored four of Iowa's highest scoring offenses. Five of Iowa's top offensive teams, in terms of yards gained per game, were operating behind Ferentz coached offensive lines. And, seven of Iowa's top 10 passing teams of all time occurred during the Ferentz years of the 1980's.

Kirk's coaching career began as a graduate assistant (1977) at his alma mater, Connecticut. The next two years (1978-79) were spent at Worcester Academy as defensive coordinator and offensive line coach. While at Worcester, Kirk also taught English literature for two years. He served as a graduate assistant offensive line coach at Pittsburgh during the 1980 season. That Pittsburgh team (coached by Jackie Sherrill) finished with an 11-1 record and a number two national ranking.

He joined Fry's staff in 1981 and the Hawkeyes won their first conference title and Rose Bowl berth in over 20 years. A string of 19 straight non-winning seasons ended in 1981. Ferentz continued as Iowa's line coach and running game coordinator thru the 1989 season.

Eleven Hawkeyes, coached by Ferentz (the assistant), went on to play in the National Football League. They were John Alt, Rob Baxley, Dave Croston, Scott Davis, Mike Devlin, Chris Gambol, Mike Haight, Ron Hallstrom, Joel Hilgenberg, Bob Kratch and Brett Miller. Alt, Haight and Hallstrom were first round picks in the NFL draft and five of his players were first team all-Big Ten.

He was named head coach of the Maine Bears in 1990 and held that position for three years. Iowa opens the 2008 season, at home, against Maine.

Kirk served as the honorary chair of the University of Iowa's 1999-00 United Way campaign and he serves on the National Advisory Board of the Bethesda Family Services Foundation. Kirk and his wife, Mary, have given two major financial gifts to the University of Iowa. The most recent was a $400,000 gift to the University's College of Liberal Arts and University Children's Hospital.

Ferentz was born August 1, 1955, in Royal Oak, MI. He attended Upper St. Clair High School in Pittsburgh. He was inducted into the Upper St. Clair High School Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. He graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in English Education. He was a football captain and an academic all-Yankee Conference linebacker at UConn.

Kirk and his wife, Mary, have five children. They are Brian (24), Kelly (22), Joanne (20), James (18) and Steven (14).

Ferentz' Coaching Career
Iowa	             HC, 1999-present
Baltimore/Cleveland   OL, 1993-98
Maine	             HC, 1990-92
Iowa	             OL, 1981-89
Pittsburgh	    GA, 1980
Worcester Academy	    OL, DC, 1978-79
Connecticut	    GA, 1977