The announcement was made at the Coralville City Council meeting Tuesday night, where Mayor Jim Fausett officially proclaimed First Avenue between Interstate 80 and Highway 6 in Coralville to be co-named “Hayden Fry Way.” The official proclamation was presented to University of Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta.
“Coach Fry traveled along this road to go to work for more than 20 years,” Fausett said, “It is also the most heavily traveled stretch of road in Johnson County.”
Many other cities have recognized legendary coaches in this way, and that was exactly how the idea came about to honor Coach Fry. The origin of the idea to co-name First Avenue came from council member Tom Gill. Gill has a daughter attending Kansas State University. While driving through Kansas, he noticed an entire highway named after Kansas State head football coach and former Fry assistant Bill Snyder.
“I thought to myself, if the state of Kansas can name a highway in honor of Bill Snyder,” Gill said, “The least we can do is name a street after Hayden Fry.”
Fry, 80, coached the Hawkeyes from 1979-1998, and is the winningest coach in Iowa football history. Fry compiled 143 wins during his tenure, including three Rose Bowl appearances and six Bowl victories. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003. But he was more than just a football coach to the citizens of the Iowa City and Coralville communities.
“Coach Fry was always preaching and teaching,” said council member Henry Herwig, “He came here with a can-do attitude and had a very positive impact on the community.”
Mayor Fausett echoed Herwig’s praise. “Coach Fry made a great impact on the economic development of our community,” Fausett said, “He brought many tourists to the area which greatly helped many businesses, especially the hotel industry. He instilled a winning tradition and taught us that you can do anything if you want it bad enough.”
The name change will be officially unveiled at a ceremony next fall during Labor Day weekend, the same weekend in which the Hawkeye football team will kick off the 2009 season at Kinnick Stadium against Northern Iowa. The Hall-of-Fame coach will be in attendance to accept the honor.
“Coach Fry is very excited,” Gary Barta said to the Council after accepting the proclamation, “No one better represents this community than Hayden Fry.”
In conjunction with the ceremony, the City of Coralville will also be holding the first-annual “Fry Fest.” The festival will include a concert and pep rally at the Iowa River Landing, as well as a Hawkeye tradeshow at the Coralville Marriott Hotel for Hawkeye retailers, licensees, and other related groups.
“Fry Fest should definitely add some spice and pizazz to the opening game weekend,” said Herwig, “We’re very excited about it.”
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