One of the University of Iowa’s many campus landmarks — Carver-Hawkeye Arena — turned 25 years old on Jan. 3, 2008.
Today, the UI Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is well along in the planning of a “revitalization plan” for the home of the UI’s men’s and women’s basketball, wrestling and volleyball squads as well as the vast majority of the department’s coaching and administrative staffs.
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However, all Hawkeyes are invited to celebrate the Arena’s history at three events to be held in the facility during the month of February 2008. The men’s basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 2, between Coach Todd Lickliter’s Iowa Hawkeyes and Ohio State will be the first athletic event to recognize the building’s silver anniversary. The facility named in honor of Quad City area industrialist Roy J. Carver will also be recognized the following day, Feb. 3, when Coach Lisa Bluder’s Iowa women’s basketball team plays host to Indiana and the evening of Feb. 17 when Coach Tom Brands’ nationally ranked Hawkeye wrestlers entertain Michigan.
The UI will also celebrate some of the special moments and events that have happened in the facility as compiled by the staff of the UI’s Sports Information Office in this space of hawkeyesports.com, the official world wide web site of the Iowa Hawkeyes. We will also compile here for the enjoyment of fans of the Iowa Hawkeyes and friends of the University of Iowa items written or created by others that celebrates the Arena’s first 25 years of existence.
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The “House that Lute Built” continues to meet its primary purpose — a place where fans of the Iowa Hawkeyes can gather and cheer the Black and Gold. As Steve Batterson wrote in the Quad City Times, “While four Big Ten universities have opened new venues since the Iowa City arena opened during the winter of 1983, the home of the Hawkeyes continues to accomplish what is was intended to do.”
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25 YEARS OF CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Some Events That All Fans of the Hawkeyes Remember
MEN’S BASKETBALL
January 8, 1983 — Iowa 79, Michigan 72
Iowa claimed its first win in Carver-Hawkeye Arena as Coach Lute Olson gave credit to the Iowa fans. “Today they were with us right from the start, and this was very, very critical for us, especially with our slow start. They tried to help us before we could help ourselves,” said Olson. Iowa trailed by as many as eight points in the early going before three straight three-point baskets keyed a Hawkeye rally. The teams were tied at 30 at halftime. After connecting on just 3-9 free throws in the first half Iowa hit 21-28 over the final 20 minutes. Bobby Hansen led Iowa with 24 points, including 9-12 free throws. Steve Carfino added 17 points and five assists, Greg Stokes and Michael Payne each added 14 points and eight rebounds.
January 29, 1983 — Iowa 63, Indiana 48
Iowa outscored the Hoosiers 38-21 in the second half to post this win over Indiana, keeping the Hoosiers from moving to the top of the national rankings. Indiana entered the contest with a 15-1 record and led 27-25 at halftime. Iowa’s defense took over in the second half, holding the Hoosiers to just 21 points. Greg Stokes had a dominating game for the Hawkeyes, collecting 23 points and 12 rebounds. Stokes connected on 10-16 field goals in 38 minutes of action. Andre Banks added 11 points and six rebounds.
January 22, 1987 — No. 1 Iowa 101, No. 3 Indiana 88Top-ranked Iowa’s 101-88 win over third-ranked Indiana marked the first time the Hoosiers allowed over 100 points in 466 games under Coach Bob Knight. The win was Iowa’s third straight over a team ranked among the top 10 in the nation as Indiana’s 11-game winning streak came to an end. Six Iowa players scored 13 or more points, as Kevin Gamble and Jeff Moe each scored 17 to lead the way. Ed Horton added 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Hawkeyes held a dominating 46-19 advantage on the boards. Indiana was led by Daryl Thomas with 22 points. Steve Alford, who would later become Iowa’s head coach, added 21. While Iowa advanced to the Elite Eight in the 1987 NCAA Tournament, the Hoosiers ended the season as the national champions.
February 26, 1987 — Iowa 93, Michigan State 64
Iowa established a school record with its 24th win of the season in the 93-64 win over Michigan State. Iowa improved its Big Ten record to 14-4. The 30 wins during the 1986-87 season still stands as the most in school history. The Hawkeyes wasted little time in taking the win over the Spartans, using a 22-2 scoring run in building a 44-26 halftime advantage. The Hawkeyes shot 52% from the field and held a 56-24 rebounding advantage while also forcing 16 MSU turnovers. A pair of Michigan natives, Roy Marble and B.J. Armstrong, led the Iowa attack. Marble collected 18 points, while Armstrong scored 13 and added four assists. Brad Lohaus contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds.
December 5, 1987 — Iowa 124, Cal-Irvine 88
Iowa established a school record for points in a game in a 124-88 win over Cal-Irvine in the title game of the Amana Hawkeye Classic. The sixth-ranked Hawkeyes made 14 of their first 16 field goal attempts in racing to a 68-52 halftime advantage. Iowa shot 57.7% from the field and reached the record point total with just two three-point field goals. Five Hawkeyes scored in double figures, with Jeff Moe (24) and Bill Jones (20) leading the way. B.J. Armstrong added 18 points and five assists, Al Lorenzen added 16 points and eight rebounds and Roy Marble scored 15.
February 5, 1989 — No. 9 Iowa 86, Illinois 82
Ninth-ranked Iowa depended on the spectacular play of three seniors in taking an 86-82 win over second-ranked Illinois. B.J. Armstrong, Roy Marble and Ed Horton scored 68 points in leading Iowa to the win, while Horton added 17 rebounds and Armstrong had five assists. The trio scored Iowa’s final 23 points and 38 of Iowa’s 42 second half points as Illinois suffered just its third loss in 21 games. The Fighting Illini would advance to the Final Four before a national semi-final loss to Michigan.
March 10, 1991 — No. 20 Iowa 80, No. 2 Ohio State 69
Senior Rodell Davis scored 19 points as Iowa defeated second-ranked Ohio State on national television in the final regular season game. The win was No. 20 for Iowa and the Hawkeyes ended the league race with a 9-9 record heading into the NCAA Tournament. The victory also ended a three-game losing streak in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, with the three losses coming by a combined total of 11 points. Davis hit 9-13 field goal attempts and added six rebounds in the final home game of his career. Acie Earl added 17 points and eight rebounds. James Moses added 12 points and Kevin Smith scored 11.
January 31, 1993 — Iowa 88, Michigan 80
In the first home game following the death of Iowa player Chris Street, the Hawkeyes scored an 88-80 win over the “Fab Five” of Michigan. The victory took place in front of one of the loudest crowds ever in Carver-Hawkeye Arena and a national television audience as the game was telecast by CBS. The 11-ranked Hawkeyes played inspired basketball throughout the contest, as the Street family watched from the front row. Trailing 75-73 at the four minute mark, Iowa closed the game with a 15-5 scoring run against the fifth-ranked Wolverines, who would later advance to the championship game in the NCAA Tournament. When the contest ended, the Hawkeyes presented the game ball to the Street family.
December 18, 1994 — Iowa 102, Long Island 72
Dr. Tom Davis became Iowa’s winningest men’s basketball coach with victory No. 169 as the Hawkeye head coach as Iowa defeated Long Island 102-72. Long Island played a zone defense for most of the contest, and Iowa’s three-point accuracy proved to be the difference. As a team, Iowa set school records for three-point field goals (15) and three-point attempts (36). Individually, sophomore Chris Kingsbury led the Hawkeyes by making 9-19 three-point attempts, figures that still rank as the best single game totals in school history. Jim Bartels made 11-15 field goal attempts to lead Iowa with 28 points, while Kingsbury ended the night with 27. Kenyon Murray added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
January 27, 2001 — Iowa 71, Indiana 66
Iowa trailed 43-26 at halftime before a near-perfect second half earned the Hawkeyes a hard-fought win. Indiana increased its advantage to 19 points to start the second half before Iowa rallied.The Hawkeyes used a 24-4 scoring run over a seven minute period to take a 52-49 lead with 12 minutes remaining. Iowa shot just 36.4% (8-22) in the opening half before improving to 48.6% in the second half.More importantly, the Hawkeyes held Indiana to just 33.3% shooting over the final 20 minutes. Former Hoosier Luke Recker led Iowa with 27 points, but he suffered a knee injury in the game and missed the remainder of the season. This was the only meeting between the two teams during the regular season. The Hawkeyes took a 63-61 win in the second meeting of the season in the championship game of the Big Ten Conference tournament.
January 28, 2006 — Iowa 67, No. 16 Ohio State 62
The Hawkeye defense held Ohio State without a field goal in the final 6:33 in defeating the 16th-ranked Buckeyes in the only meeting between the two teams during the regular season. Iowa’s defense held Ohio State to 35.1 percent shooting from the field. Adam Haluska led Iowa with 18 points and Greg Brunner added 17 points and nine rebounds. Doug Thomas came off the Iowa bench to contribute 10 points and five rebounds, along with a solid defensive performance against OSU’s Terence Dials. OSU won the Big Ten regular season title by one game over Iowa, while the Hawkeyes won the Big Ten Tournament with a win over the Buckeyes in the championship game. Iowa ended the season with 25 wins, second most in school history.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
February 3, 1985 – Ohio State 56, Iowa 47
Hawkeye fans showed an amazing amount of support as an NCAA Women’s Basketball record 22,157 fans crammed into the 15,500-capacity Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a game that pitted two of the Big Ten’s elite against each other. Ultimately, Ohio State downed the Hawkeyes 56-47 in front of the record crowd. The Buckeyes finished the Big Ten season undefeated that year.
March 25, 1993 – Iowa 63, No. 7 Auburn 50
Iowa built a comfortable 11-point halftime lead and cruised to a 63-50 victory over seventh-ranked Auburn in the NCAA Regional Semifinals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The two teams played in front of a NCAA Regional Semifinals attendance record of 8,376 fans as Iowa advanced to play Tennessee in the Elite Eight. Surprisingly, only five Hawkeyes scored in the victory. Iowa forced 19 Auburn turnovers and outscored the Tigers by eight at the free throw line (18-10). Tia Jackson netted a game-high 19 points, while Necole Tunsil and Toni Foster each added 14.
March 27, 1993 – Iowa 72, No. 2 Tennessee 56
A trio of Hawkeyes helped propel Iowa to a 72-56 triumph over second-ranked Tennessee in the NCAA Regionals Finals in front of a Regional Finals attendance record 12,343 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The win earned Iowa its first trip to Atlanta and the NCAA Women’s Final Four. Tia Jackson poured in a game-high 21 points, Laurie Aaron tallied 18, while Toni Foster contributed eight and snagged a game-high 12 rebounds. Iowa was extremely successful at the foul line, whereas Tennessee struggled. The Hawkeyes made 28-34 (.824) from the charity stripe, while the Lady Vols converted only 12-24 (.500). The win was Iowa’s second in three days over a top-10 ranked opponent.
February 14, 1999 — Iowa 86, Northwestern 69
Senior Amy Herrig poured in an arena record 42 points and 13 rebounds in her last game at Carver-Hawkeye to help lift Iowa to a 17-point victory (86-69) over the Northwestern Wildcats. Herrig also matched a Big Ten record for most field goals in a single-game (17) and tied the Iowa record set by Tangela Smith the previous season. The 42 points was the fourth-highest point total for an individual in a conference game. Additionally, Herrig made her first 3-pointer of the year late in the second half en route to breaking the arena scoring mark.
February 8, 2001 — Iowa 96, No. 5 Purdue 87
Iowa put a stop to the nation’s second-longest winning streak with a thrilling 96-87 win over fifth-ranked Purdue. Unfortunately, due to a heavy snow storm in Eastern Iowa that night, only 3,292 fans were in attendance to see Coach Lisa Bluder’s first victory over a top-ten ranked opponent. Junior Lindsey Meder and senior Mary Berdo had the hot hand for the Hawkeyes, scoring 29 and 23 points, respectively. The duo helped Iowa jump out to a 52-36 halftime advantage, as both were a blistering 4-5 from behind the arc the first 20 minutes. As a team, the Hawkeyes made eight of their 11 attempts from 3-point range in the first stanza. Additionally, Iowa converted 25-29 (.862) from the foul line to help secure the upset.
December 4, 2005 — No. 6 Rutgers 57, Iowa 51
Iowa lost a close one, 57-51, to sixth-ranked Rutgers in the championship game of the KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge. Despite the loss, the build-up, excitement and emotion for this game was intense as former Iowa Head Coach and Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer made her return and first appearance in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in 10 years; she left the Hawkeyes in 1995. Iowa pulled to within two points (46-44) midway through the second half, but Tournament MVP Cappie Poindexter made clutch baskets down the stretch to help the Scarlet Knights earn a victory in their head coach’s return to Iowa City.
February 2, 2006 — Iowa 77, Purdue 71 (OT)
Iowa did not hold a lead the entire 40 minutes of regulation, but rallied to whip eighth-ranked Purdue 77-71 in overtime. The win halted Purdue’s 13-game overall winning streak and nine-game streak in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes trailed the entire game, by as much as 11 points in the second half, but a Wendy Ausdemore baseline jumper with 17 seconds left concluded a 6-0 Iowa run to tie the game at 65 and send the contest to overtime. Iowa scored the first four points of the extra session and never looked back as it out-scored Purdue 12-6 in overtime. A trio of Iowa freshmen (Wendy Ausdemore 23, Megan Skouby 19, Kristi Smith 15) combined for 57 of its 77 points.
February 25, 2007 — Iowa 103, Wisconsin 93
Five Hawkeyes scored in double figures as Iowa outlasted Wisconsin, 103-93 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the final regular season game of the 2006-07 season. The 103-point outburst by Iowa is the second-highest scoring total in school history and is an arena record. The Hawkeyes reached the century mark for the first time in 18 years and only the fifth time in school history. Wendy Ausdemore, Kristi Smith and Nicole VanderPol combined for 65 of the 103 points. Ausdemore drained four consecutive 3-pointers in the first 5:07 of the second half to fuel the Hawkeye offense. In fact, the sophomore finished the contest 6-8 from behind the arc. The six treys is an arena record by an Iowa player.
Tom Brands is one of a handful of Hawkeyes who have put their mark on the Arena’s history both as a student-athlete and as a coach. |
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WRESTLING
January 3, 1983 — No. 2 Iowa 35, No. 4 Oklahoma 7
It was the first athletic event ever held in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Arena opened to rave reviews on a Monday evening in a wrestling meet between two traditional NCAA powerhouses. But, the second-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes crushed fourth-ranked Oklahoma 35-7 in front of 8,031 fans. A few birds still flying inside the arena did nothing to what was labeled as, “the house Gable opened”. Iowa’s 118-pound Tim Riley, an Iowa City native, won the first match in the arena. The $17-million facility was now officially open. Iowa would play its first basketball game in the new arena three days later (Jan. 6 vs. Michigan State).
March 13-15, 1986 — 1986 NCAA Championships
The Hawkeyes won their ninth-straight NCAA title while hosting the NCAA tournament March 13-15, 1986, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa’s nine titles equaled the longest streak of national titles won by any school, in any sport – a distinction also held by Yale golf (1905-13) and Southern Cal track (1935-43).
Each of Iowa’s eight qualifiers earned all-America honors and helped the Hawkeyes set NCAA records for total points (158), victory margin (73.25) and number of national champions (5), and tied the record for most finalists (6). Winning titles for the Hawkeyes were Kevin Dresser (142), Duane Goldman (190), Jim Heffernan (150), Marty Kistler (167) and Brad Penrith (126). Kistler was named Outstanding Wrestler. Iowa went 39-5 at the tournament, with two of the five losses by one point.
January 16, 1988 — No. 4 Iowa, 22 No. 1 Iowa State 15In the 40th meeting between the two schools, the fourth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes played spoiler against top-ranked Iowa State on January 16, 1988, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa won half of the matches, including the last two to insure the 22-15 victory. Iowa started strong with decisions from sophomore Steve Martin at 118 and senior Brad Penrith at 126, but dropped the next five matches and faced a 15-6 deficit with three matches remaining. Top-ranked senior Royce Alger came up with an extra team point at 177, defeating No. 2 Mike VanArsdale, 11-3. Then sophomore Brooks Simpson stunned the crowd of 13,575 by pinning defending NCAA Champion and top-ranked Eric Voelker in 4:46 at 190 pounds. Voelker was leading 6-1 before Simpson reversed him to his back. Voelker fought off the pin for about 30 seconds, but finally gave up the fall. Many consider the roar of the crowd at that moment to be the loudest ever registered in the Arena. Senior heavyweight Mark Sindlinger sealed the Hawkeye victory with a pin. It was Iowa’s sixth straight win over Iowa State in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and the Hawkeyes’ 44th consecutive dual win the in the facility.
February 9-10, 1991 — No. 2 Iowa 35, No. 3 Oklahoma State 2
No. 2 Iowa 40, No. 4 Arizona State 5
It was going to be a tough weekend for the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes, hosting No. 3 Oklahoma State on February 9 and No. 4 Arizona State on February 10 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The two opponents had won the last three NCAA titles, with the Sun Devils winning in 1988 and Oklahoma State in 1989 and 1990. Iowa proved to be up to the challenge, whipping Oklahoma State, 35-2, in front of 12,112 fans, and then pounding Arizona State, 40-5. The margin of victory against Oklahoma State (33 points) was the second largest in the series (Iowa defeated OSU 40-6 in 1985) and broke a two-match losing streak to the Cowboys. For the Hawkeyes, junior Tom Brands won his 40th straight match at 134 pounds, junior Bart Chelesvig rallied from a 7-2 deficit to win. Against Arizona State, Iowa won the first nine matches, including Travis Fiser’s 4-3 upset over top-ranked and previously unbeaten Rex Holman at 197 pounds. Iowa improved to 23-0-1 after the weekend, en route to setting a school record for number of wins in a season (25).
March 14-16, 1991 — 1991 NCAA Championships
Iowa had nine all-Americans and two national champions in winning its 12th NCAA title at the 1991 NCAA tournament March. 14-16 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes rode a 25-0-1 dual mark and Big Ten title into the tournament and used a solid team performance to take the title after a four-year absence from atop the winners stand. Tom Brands (134) and Mark Reiland (167) won national titles. Terry Brands, Tom Ryan, Troy Steiner and Chad Zaputil finished second.
January 27, 1992 — 1992 NWCA All-Star Dual
Iowa hosted the NWCA All-Star Dual in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, with five of the six competing Hawkeyes winning. Winning for Iowa was junior Chad Zaputil (118), senior Terry Brands (126), senior Tom Brands (134), junior Troy Steiner (142) and senior Travis Fiser (190). A crowd of 8,849 attended the all-star dual.
February 22, 1992 — No. 1 Iowa 29, No. 2 Iowa State 8
Fans turned out in record numbers to watch Iowa’s last home dual of the 1991-92 season and to say farewell to one of the best teams in Hawkeye wrestling history. The meet just happened to be against intra-state rival Iowa State. Iowa won the dual, 29-8, and set a national attendance record of 15,291 that stood for a decade. The 1991-92 squad went 16-0 en route to Big Ten and NCAA team titles. The Hawkeyes set NCAA regular season records for average margin of victory in a dual meet (36.9) and average points scored per dual (41.3), both of which still stand. Tom and Terry Brands, and Troy Steiner each won individual NCAA titles for the Hawkeyes. It was the second time that the Brands’ won individual titles in the same season, making them only the third set of twins in NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships history to do so.
March 16-18, 1995 — 1995 NCAA Championships
Iowa won its 15th national title while setting a tournament attendance record of 81,028 at the 1995 NCAA Championships at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes crowned nine all-Americans – including national champion Jeff McGinness (126) – en route to winning their fourth team title in the past five seasons. Lincoln McIlravy and Joel Sharratt finished second.
MISCELLANEOUS
July 8, 1984
USA Olympic Team 75, All-stars 59 (women)
USA Olympic Team 92, NBA all-stars (men)
It was the day the stars came out inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It was July 8, 1984 and both the men and women’s United States Olympic teams played exhibition games in Iowa City. A crowd of 15,450 packed the arena on a Sunday afternoon to see America’s best in action. Then-Iowa Head Coach George Raveling was an assistant coach under Head Coach Bobby Knight. The women played the first game and the Olympians came away with a 75-59 win over an all-star team. Lynette Woodard (16 points) along with Cheryl Miller (12) and Cindy Noble (12) led the winning squad.
The men’s Olympic team faced an NBA all-star team and came away with a 92-79 win over the professionals. The Olympic team included Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Sam Perkins, Chris Mullin and a young Steve Alford. The pro squad included former Hawkeyes Ronnie Lester and Bobby Hansen. Other notable NBA players included Bill Walton, Danny Ainge, Clark Kellogg and Clyde Drexler. The NBA team held a 43-42 halftime lead before the Olympians pulled away in a big second half.
FIRST VOLLEYBALL MATCH INSIDE CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
September 16, 1983 — Iowa 3, Lewis 0 (15-3, 15-2, 15-2)
Iowa defeated Lewis, 3-0 (15-3, 15-2, 15-2) in the first-ever volleyball match in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes dominated Lewis, recording 36 kills with a .403 hitting percentage. Julie Michelleti led Iowa with nine kills and a .692 hitting percentage along with six total blocks. Dee Ann Davidson added eight kills with a .583 hitting percentage.
The match served as first round action of the 1983 Hawkeye Invitational. Iowa went on to defeat Eastern Illinois and Northern Illinois twice to win the Hawkeye Invitational championship.
Check back periodically during the months of January, February and March 2008 for additions to this list of memorable events in the history of the University of Iowa’s award-winning Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA:
OTHER THOUGHTS AND MORE
Built to Last, by Steve Batterson, Quad City Times An Old Friend, by Mike Hlas, Cedar Rapids Gazette