When is the last time Iowa football won the Big Ten?
By Ethan Lee
When did the Iowa Hawkeyes last win the Big Ten? It’s been well over a decade since Kirk Ferentz led Iowa to claim a conference title.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are in prime position to go out and win the Big Ten for the first time in well over a decade. It’s been years since Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes have even remotely been in a position to claim the conference championship (the last run which came up short happened in 2015), but it’s been considerably longer since they’ve actually won the Big Ten.
The 2015 Big Ten Conference Championship Game that the Hawkeyes lost against Michigan State is the closest Iowa has come to winning the Big Ten since 2004, a year in which the Hawkeyes technically claimed a share of the conference title.
When is the last time Iowa football won the Big Ten?
The Hawkeyes started the 2004 season off with wins over Kent State and Iowa State but was blown out 44-7 by the Arizona State Sun Devils in Iowa’s third game of the season. Iowa followed that up with a 30-17 loss to the Michigan Wolverines and, at 2-2, it started to seem as if the Hawkeyes wouldn’t be able to have a special season.
All Iowa did in response to that bumpy start was to go out and win every game that remained on the Hawkeyes’ schedule. That was good enough to technically split the Big Ten championship with Michigan.
However, it’s worth noting the Wolverines won the head-to-head matchup.
In 2002, the Hawkeyes also managed to claim a share of the Big Ten conference championship, but this time Iowa didn’t have any conference losses. The Hawkeyes managed to go a perfect 8-0 in conference play and then 11-2 overall. But because Ohio State also went 8-0 in Big Ten play, the Buckeyes split the conference title with Iowa.
Iowa also happened to be part of the split Big Ten title in 1990, when the Hawkeyes were joined by Michigan, Michigan State, and Illinois in claiming a share of the conference championship.
The last time Iowa won the conference outright without splitting or sharing or having anyone else have a claim on the title happened all the way back in 1985 under legendary Hawkeyes head coach Hayden Fry. With a 10-2 overall record and 7-1 conference record, Iowa won the conference without any interference from other teams.
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