Sept. 8, 2011
- 2011 Game Day Central
- 2011 Fall Camp Central
- America Needs Farmers
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
- gohawks.com
- Iowa Football Wallpaper
IOWA CITY, Iowa – – Four members of the media, who covered University of Iowa athletics over the past 40 years, will be inducted into the Kinnick Stadium Media Wall of Fame on Sept. 16-17, in conjunction with Iowa’s home football contest against Pittsburgh. The group will be honored on the field prior to the game.
The inductees are Phil Haddy, a member of the UI athletic staff for 41 years and Iowa’s sports information director from 1993-2010; Chuck Schoffner, who covered Iowa events for both United Press and the Associated Press (1972-05); Kevin Evans, sportswriter and sports editor at the Waterloo Courier (1965-2006), and John Campbell, current sports director at KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids (1979-present).
Haddy joined the Iowa athletic staff as assistant sports information director in 1971. He became the third sports information director in school history in 1993. He began a two-year phased retirement in 2010. Only two athletic department employees, former SID Eric Wilson (46 years) and former swimming coach Dave Armbruster (41 years) have worked for the Hawkeyes as long, or longer, than Haddy. Haddy and his wife, Elaine, have worked at the University of Iowa a total of 86 years.
During his career, Haddy served as media director for press operations at six NCAA wrestling and one NCAA gymnastics championships; assisted or directed media operations at 19 football bowl games attended by Iowa; worked more than 24 NCAA basketball tournaments, including the 1981 Final Four; assisted the NCAA with media operations at the last 10 Final Four men’s basketball tournaments; and assisted the NCAA with media operations at the NCAA wrestling tournament since the early 1980s.
He is currently the longest-serving member of a Big Ten Sports Information Office. His 41 years in a Big Ten SID office is third longest in the league’s history, behind Iowa’s Wilson and Northwestern’s Walt Paulison (47 years).
Haddy was named Wrestling Publicist of the Year in 1992 by the Wrestling Media of America and was recognized with the 2001 Elmer “Scoop” Hudgens Lifetime SID Award from the All-America Football Foundation. His UI wrestling guides were judged “Nation’s Best” three times, as picked by the College Sports Information Directors of America and Amateur Wrestling News.
Haddy is a native of Cedar Rapids, where he graduated from Washington High School. He holds two degrees from the University of Iowa. Haddy joins former Iowa SIDs Eric Wilson (1923-68) and George Wine (1968-93) as members of the Wall of Fame.
Schoffner began his career at United Press International (1972-79). He joined the Associated Press as a sportswriter in 1979 and later served as AP Iowa sports editor until his retirement in November, 2005. Schoffner continues to work as a freelance writer, covering women’s college basketball, the Drake Relays, NCAA Track and Field Championships, and professional golf and auto racing events.
Schoffner began covering Iowa football in 1975 with UPI and covered Hawkeye football each year through 2005. He covered the Hawkeyes in 12 bowl games, including all three Rose Bowls of the Hayden Fry era. His last college football game as a fulltime employee of the Associated Press was Iowa’s 52-28 victory over Minnesota on Nov. 19, 2005.
Through his career, Schoffner covered numerous high school championship events, Iowa State and Northern Iowa football; Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa and Drake basketball; NCAA basketball regionals and Final Fours; the College World Series and five Olympic Games. From 1994 until retiring in 2005, he was the women’s basketball writer for the Associated Press and ran the AP women’s basketball poll. Schoffner was the recipient of the 2009 Mel Greenberg Media Award from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
Schoffner is a native of Lima, Ohio. He graduated from Clay High School in South Bend, Ind., before earning his journalism degree from Drake University in 1972.
Campbell has been involved in sports broadcasting for 41 years, including the last 32 years at KCRG. He was named sports director at KCRG-TV in June, 1979, following a 10-year stint as a sports reporter for WBAY-TV in Green Bay, Wis., where he covered the Green Bay Packers. At KCRG, Campbell has ridden and reported on RAGBRAI 13 times.
The start of Campbell’s career at KCRG coincided with the start of the Hayden Fry era at Iowa. Campbell has covered three Rose Bowls, an Orange Bowl and the majority of bowl games Iowa has participated in since 1979. He also covered Iowa’s last appearance in both the men and women’s NCAA basketball Final Fours, and has reported on the majority of Iowa’s NCAA wrestling championships.
Campbell was honored as the 2005 Iowa Sportscaster of the Year. In 2010, he was accorded the prestigious Silver Circle Award (a lifetime Emmy). He has been recognized by the Iowa High School Athletic Association, the Iowa High School Athletic Director’s Association and the Iowa Broadcast News Association. He is the first television sports director named to the Kinnick Wall of Fame.
Campbell is a native of Oskaloosa, Iowa. He graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. As a prep he competed in football, basketball and track.
Evans began his sports writing career at the Waterloo Courier in 1965, working part-time as a high school senior. He served as the Courier’s sports editor for 15 years before his retirement in 2006.
During his career, Evans covered Iowa football through five coaching regimes, beginning with Ray Nagel. He covered Hawkeye football on a fulltime basis the last 15 years of his career.
Evans also covered Iowa basketball throughout his career beginning with the Ralph Miller era. A prep classmate of Dan Gable, Evans covered Iowa wrestling on a fulltime basis as well, from 1990. He covered the Hawkeyes at 20 NCAA tournaments, 15 Big Ten tournaments and 10 National Duals tournaments.
In addition to covering the Hawkeyes, Evans worked 42 consecutive state high school wrestling tournaments and football, basketball, wrestling and other events at both Northern Iowa and Iowa State. He also worked several PGA Tour golf events, including the U.S. Open Championship, and the Major League All-Star game.
Evans is a member of the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Waterloo Golf Hall of Fame. He has been involved in the real estate business in the Waterloo area since his retirement from sports writing.
The inaugural class of 20 members was recognized in 2006, the first year the Paul Brechler Press Box was in use following the Kinnick Stadium renovation. The Wall of Fame, located in the media section of the press box, recognized individuals who have covered Hawkeye football with integrity, accuracy and fairness over a long period of time.
AMERICA NEEDS FARMERS
The University of Iowa Athletics Department is working with the Iowa Farm Bureau on efforts to help consumers understand the challenges and opportunities today’s farmers embrace, and to do so under the banner, “America Needs Farmers,” the initiative undertaken by former UI football coach Hayden Fry during the Farm Crisis of the 1980s and embraced by the Hawkeyes’ current head coach Kirk Ferentz. To learn more, visit AmericaNeedsFarmers.org.