The Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks represented the U.S. Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 pre-flight school at the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

 in the college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 seasons of 1942, 1943, and 1944.

History

The U.S. Navy commissioned pre-flight schools at the University of Georgia

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

, the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

, the University of North Carolina

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

 and Saint Mary's College

Saint Mary's College of California

Saint Mary's College of California is a private, coeducational college located in Moraga, California, United States, a small suburban community about east of Oakland and 20 miles east of San Francisco. It has a 420-acre campus in the Moraga hills. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church...

 in 1942. Cadets were given three months of rigorous physical training and instruction in basic aerial navigation and communications. Graduates were sent to basic flight schools and advanced flight training before assignment to the Pacific Fleet

United States Pacific Fleet

The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...

.

Athletics and training were emphasized at the schools. It was believed that the rigors of college football were ideal preparation for World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Numerous collegiate and professional athletes and coaches were recruited as instructors. They often played on or coached the football team of their respective school. Each team usually played established football powers in their respective region and other service academies.

Iowa Pre-Flight was coached by former Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 coach Bernie Bierman

Bernie Bierman

Bernard W. "Bernie" Bierman was an American football player and coach. He coached from 1919 to 1950 except for a span during World War II when he served in the U.S. armed forces...

 in 1942 and went 7-3. The Seahawks were coached by former Missouri

University of Missouri

The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

 coach Don Faurot

Don Faurot

Donald Burrows Faurot was an American football and basketball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College, now Truman State University, from 1926 to 1934 and at the University of Missouri from 1935 to 1942 and again from 1946 to 1956...

 in 1943 and went 9-1. They finished second in the final Associated Press Poll

AP Poll

The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...

 and were named the service academy national champion. Iowa Pre-Flight was coached by former Auburn

Auburn University

Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...

 coach Jack Meagher

Jack Meagher

-External links:...

 in 1944 and went 10-1. They finished sixth in the final Associated Press Poll.

Jim Tatum

Jim Tatum

James M. "Big Jim" Tatum was an American football and baseball player and coach. Tatum served as the head football coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , the University of Oklahoma , and the University of Maryland, College Park , compiling a career college football record of...

 and Bud Wilkinson

Bud Wilkinson

Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of 145–29–4. His Oklahoma Sooners won three national championships and 14...

 both served as assistant coaches for the Seahawks under Faurot. Tatum went on to coach at Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners football

The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...

 and Maryland

Maryland Terrapins football

The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...

. While at Maryland, Tatum recorded a national championship, three conference championships, and a 73–15–4 record without a single losing season. Wilkinson went on to coach at Oklahoma, where he set an NCAA record with 47 consecutive wins.

1942

Date	Opponent	City	Result	Score
September 19	Kansas	Lawrence	Win	61-0
September 26	Northwestern	Evanston	Win	20-12
October 3	Minnesota	Minneapolis	Win	7-6
October 10	Michigan	Ann Arbor	Win	26-14
October 17	Notre Dame	South Bend	Loss	0-28
October 31	Indiana	Bloomington	Win	26-6
November 7	Fort Knox	Louisville	Win	13-7
November 21	Nebraska	Iowa City	Win	46-0
November 28	Ohio State	Columbus	Loss	12-41
December 5	Missouri	Kansas City	Loss	0-7

1943

Date	Opponent	City	Result	Score
September 18	Illinois	Champaign	Win	32-18
September 25	Ohio State	Columbus	Win	28-13
October 2	Iowa State	Ames	Win	33-13
October 9	Iowa	Iowa City	Win	25-0
October 16	Missouri	Kansas City	Win	21-6
October 30	Fort Riley	Iowa City	Win	19-2
November 7	Marquette	Milwaukee	Win	46-19
November 13	Camp Grant	Iowa City	Win	28-13
November 20	Notre Dame	South Bend	Loss	13-14
November 27	Minnesota	Minneapolis	Win	32-0

1944

Date	Opponent	City	Result	Score
September 16	Michigan	Ann Arbor	Loss	7-12
September 23	Minnesota	Minneapolis	Win	19-13
September 30	Olathe	Iowa City	Win	45-12
October 7	Second Air Force	Lincoln	Win	12-6
October 14	Purdue	West Lafayette	Win	13-6
October 22	Fort Warren	Iowa City	Win	30-0
October 29	Marquette	Milwaukee	Win	26-0
November 4	Tulsa	Tulsa	Win	47-27
November 11	Bunker Hill	Iowa City	Win	33-7
November 18	Missouri	Columbia	Win	51-7
November 25	Iowa	Iowa City	Win	30-6