'Hawkeye Heroes' will be on hand at the Iowa State Fair

Aug. 9, 2007

IOWA CITY – – During the 2007 Iowa State Fair Aug. 9-19, University of Iowa sports fans can meet standout alumni athletes, broadcasters and coaches, get their autographs, and recall some special moments in Iowa sports history.

These “Hawkeye Heroes” will be at the UI booth in the Varied Industries Building. Todd Lickliter, UI’s new men’s basketball coach, will greet Hawkeye fans from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 14. Lickliter came to the UI in April from Butler University, where he was named 2007 National Coach of the Year. Gary Barta, director of intercollegiate athletics at the UI, is scheduled to be in the UI exhibit from 1 to 3 p.m., Friday, Aug. 10.

Other “Hawkeye Heroes” scheduled to appear include the following:

Al Lorenzen — Basketball 1985-1988 (3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9)

Lorenzen played basketball for the Hawkeyes from 1985 to 1988, scoring a career high 18 points as a senior before an injury kept him out the rest of the season. He made it to the NCAA tournament in all four years as a Hawkeye, and the 1987 team made it to the Sweet Sixteen. He was a four-year letter winner.

Wilburn Hollis — Football 1959-1961 (1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10)

Hollis, a star quarterback, was honored Second Team All American and First Team All Big Ten in 1960.

Brooks Simpson — Wrestling 1987-1990 (1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10)

Simpson was All American and Big Ten Champion in 1990 at 190 lbs.

Steve Krafcisin — Basketball 1978-1981 (5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10)

Krafcisin was second on the Iowa men’s basketball team as a senior with 15 blocked shots. He played in every game as a senior and led the team in free throws, free throws attempted and rebounds as a senior. He was also third in scoring as a senior. Krafcisin was also on the 1980 Final Four team.

Bobby Hansen — Basketball 1980-1983 (2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11)

As a collegian at Iowa, Hansen played in four NCAA tournaments between 1978 and 1981 and helped the Hawkeyes to the Final Four as a freshman in 1980. As a senior in 1983, he was Iowa’s most valuable player. He ranks 22nd on the Hawkeyes’ career scoring chart with 1,145 points. He also played for the NBA with the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls, where he helped win the final 1992 NBA championship game.

Bob Brooks — Broadcaster (2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 12)

Brooks is a long-time broadcaster who provided play-by-play coverage of Hawkeye football and basketball for 55 years. Brooks worked at WSUI from 1943-1948 and worked at KCRG and KHAK before assuming his current post at KMRY. Brooks was the recipient of the 2002 Chris Schenkel Award, which is presented annually by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, Inc.

Mark Ironside — Wrestling 1995-1998 (1 to 3 p.m. Monday, Aug. 13)

Ironside was a Big Ten wrestling champ and an All-American from 1995-1998. He was Big Ten Wrestler of the Year 1996-1998 and was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the Big Ten Championship in 1997. Mark was the NCAA champion at 134 pounds in 1997-98.

Marc Long — UI Head Swimming Coach (1 to 3 p.m. Monday, Aug. 13)

From 1987-1989 he swam for the Hawkeyes and was a six-time All American and three-time Big Ten Champion, winning two conference titles in the 100 fly and one as part of the 400 free relay.

Jim Zabel– Broadcaster (5 to 6 p.m., Monday, Aug. 14 through Friday Aug. 17)

Zabel is a long-time Iowa broadcaster who replaced Ronald Reagan at WHO in Des Moines and went on to call Iowa sporting events for more than 50 years. Joining Zabel on Monday, Aug. 13 and Wednesday, Aug. 15 will be WHO Radio’s Jon Miller. He founded the popular Hawkeye Nation Web site in April 2001 and continues to serve as the site’s publisher. He also supplies the sports updates for 1040 WHO and the Iowa Radio Network.

Craig Clemons — Football 1969-1971 (1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16)

Clemons was honored First Team All-American and First Team All Big Ten in 1971.

Ryan Hogan — Basketball 2000-2002 (1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17)

A basketball guard, Hogan transferred to Iowa from the University of Kentucky after his sophomore year.

Ed Podolak — Football 1966-68 (11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18 11 a.m to 1 p.m.)

A former Hawkeye football star, received first team all-Big Ten status in 1968 as a tailback, when he was selected for First Team all-Big Ten honors and Hawkeye MVP. He went on to enjoy a stellar NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs (1969-1977). Podolak won a Super Bowl ring with the Chiefs in 1970. Podolak is part of the Hawkeye radio broadcast team, joining Gary Dolphin on the play-by-play of Iowa football.

James Moses — Basketball 1989-1992 (1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19)

In 1991, Moses was named MVP of the Hawkeye team.

Greg Stokes — Basketball 1981-1985 (1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19)

Stokes was No. 3 on the all-time career-scoring list at the UI while scoring 638 points (fifth all-time) and averaging 19.9 as a senior. He led the team in scoring three years in a row and led team in blocked shots all four years. He was a member of the 1980 UI All-Decade team and 100th anniversary All Century team. He was honored First Team All Big Ten in 1985 and team co-MVP in 1985.

The UI State Fair exhibit also will feature Herky, Perky and the UI cheer and dance squads. They will greet fairgoers in the afternoons of Saturday, Aug. 11; Sunday, Aug. 12; Friday, Aug. 17; and Saturday, Aug. 18.

Visitors can see trophies including the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Trophy and a display from the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame highlighting significant people and events in Hawkeye athletic history.

Fans can also enter daily drawings for tickets to Hawkeye football games, wrestling matches and men’s and women’s basketball games, get free Hawkeye football posters and temporary tattoos, and visit the Hawk Shop. The Hawk Shop will again offer a wide variety of merchandise for fans of all ages.

For the complete schedule of the Iowa State Fair, visit http://www.uiowa.edu/statefair.

SOURCE: University of Iowa News Services, 300 Plaza Centre One, Suite 371, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-2500.

CONTACT: George McCrory 319-384-0012, george-mccrory@uiowa.edu.