Howard Jones  

Howard Harding Jones was the University of Iowa football coach from 1916-1923. Jones accepted a five-year contract at $4,500 annually, the longest commitment and most money ever offered to a coach at Iowa.

Jones's first two years were highlighted by a 67-0 loss to Minnesota in 1916 and a 47-0 loss to Nebraska in 1917. Jones vowed he would never lose by such scores again, and he did not; they remained the two worst losses of his career. In 1918, Iowa defeated Minnesota for the first time in school history. It would be the first of five straight wins over Minnesota for Jones, and Nebraska never again scored a point on a Jones-coached team.

World War I altered the college football landscape. Eligibility rules were relaxed in the Big Ten Conference in 1918. Iowa's athletic director also left to serve in the war, so Jones was appointed to that position as well. Iowa's game with Coe College in 1918 was played with no fans in the stands, as public officials feared a flu epidemic. Iowa reportedly won, 27-0. In 1918 and 1919, Iowa fell just short of the Big Ten title, with losses to Illinois costing the Hawkeyes the crown in both seasons. Jones also coached the Iowa baseball team in 1919. In 1920, Iowa had the top two scorers in the Big Ten and finished with a 5-2 record.

Still, Iowa had not won a conference title in 21 years. All that changed in 1921, when Iowa finished with a perfect 7-0 record and won the Big Ten title outright. The most notable win of the season was a 10-7 triumph over Notre Dame. It was Jones's first meeting with Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne. The win snapped a 20-game winning streak for Rockne and Notre Dame, which would be the longest winning streak of Rockne's career.

Iowa again posted a perfect 7-0 final record in 1922. Iowa again went 5-0 in the Big Ten, capturing its second straight Big Ten crown. It is the only time in Iowa history that the Hawkeyes have won consecutive conference titles. The most notable win of the 1922 season was a victory over Yale, then coached by Howard's brother, Tad. It was the first time a "western" team had ever defeated Yale in New Haven. Iowa's winning streak from 1920-1923 under Jones lasted 20 games and almost three full years.

A conflict between Jones and the chairman of the Athletics Board at Iowa contributed to the tension, and Jones eventually resigned as head coach and athletic director at Iowa. He was inducted into the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993.

Born 8/23/1885 and died on 7/27/1941 at the age of 55.