Ray Nagel
Encyclopedia
Raymond Robert "Ray" Nagel (born May 18, 1927) is a former American football
player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Utah
from 1958 to 1965 and at the University of Iowa
from 1966 to 1970, compiling a career college football
record of 58–71–3. Nagel then served as the athletic director
at Washington State University
from 1971 to 1976 and at the University of Hawaii at Manoa
from 1976 to 1983. From 1990 to 1995, he was the executive director of the Hula Bowl
, a college football invitational all-star game.
from 1941–1945 and played quarterback for the football team. He was a third team all-city selection his senior year in 1944. Nagel graduated in 1945 and enrolled at UCLA. He was a three time letter winner there from 1946–1949 as a quarterback and halfback for the Bruins. Nagel played for Coach Red Sanders and was named all-West Coast Conference
and UCLA's Most Improved Player. He later earned bachelor's, master's, and law degrees from UCLA and was an assistant coach for the Bruins' football team.
Nagel played one year of professional football. He played and coached for the Chicago Cardinals (now Arizona Cardinals) of the NFL
in 1953. He was later an assistant coach at Oklahoma for a few years before leaving to become the head football coach at the University of Utah
in 1958. Nagel was just 29 years old, the youngest major college head coach at the time.
Nagel was the head coach at Utah for eight years from 1958–1965. In 1962, he turned down the Nebraska job that eventually went to conference rival Bob Devaney
. He compiled a 42–39–1 record as Utah's coach. His 1964 Ute team finished the season with a 9–2 record and defeated West Virginia
in the Liberty Bowl
.
. He was coming off of a 3–7 season at Utah in 1965, which led some to question his hiring. Some speculated at the time that finding a new coach had been difficult due to the problems the previous head coach had reportedly experienced with Iowa's athletic director, Forest Evashevski
. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported, "At least four coaches either turned down the Hawkeye job or expressed no desire to talk about it."
Evy, as he was called, had compiled a 52–27–4 record as Iowa's head football coach from 1952–1960. His teams won three Big Ten Conference
titles, won two Rose Bowls
, and finished in the top ten of the final AP Poll
five times. Evashevski was understandably a popular figure with Iowa fans, a fact that would change over Nagel's tenure at Iowa.
Nagel brought a talented coaching staff to Iowa. His assistants included George Seifert
and Ted Lawrence. Lawrence had been the coach at Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School, and his son, Larry, was a star quarterback there.
The Hawkeyes were expected to be bad in 1966, and they met expectations. Iowa went 2–8 that season, with the lowlight being a blowout loss to Michigan State
. The Hawks yielded 607 total yards to the Spartans, including 268 rushing yards to tailback Clinton Jones. Both were Big Ten records, as Iowa suffered a 56–7 setback. The following season, Iowa won its first game and failed to win another. The Hawks had a 1–8–1 record in 1967. Iowa's offense, led by junior Ed Podolak
, was good enough, but the defense was awful, giving up almost four touchdowns a game.
Nagel had a 3–16–1 record in two years, and he needed a good season in 1968. Behind Podolak and some solid sophomore players, including Larry Lawrence and running back Denny Green, Iowa had one of its best seasons in years. Iowa had one of the most explosive offenses in Big Ten Conference history in 1968. The highlight of the season was a 68–34 win over Northwestern
. Iowa had 639 yards of total offense, led by Ed Podolak
's 286 rushing yards. Both marks were Big Ten records, breaking the previous records that had been set against the Hawkeyes by Michigan State two years earlier.
The 1968 Hawkeyes broke twenty school and conference offensive records. They broke the Big Ten season scoring record with 256 points in conference games, as well as the record for total offense with a 482 yards per game average. The Hawks smashed Michigan's record of 34.5 points per game in conference play in 1943 by averaging 36.6 points per game. The 1968 Hawks became the highest scoring team in school history, breaking the mark set by the 1900 Hawkeyes. Although Iowa did not have a winning record for a seventh consecutive year, going 5–5 on the season, Iowa's four conference wins were the most for Iowa since 1960. Most Hawkeye fans felt that the team had turned a corner and were expecting big things in 1969, since Iowa had only five senior starters in 1968. Nagel was also optimistic. "I'm not predicting we'll win the Big Ten championship next season, but I definitely feel we'll be in title contention," Nagel said.
protests and the civil rights movement
gaining full steam. In the spring of 1969, Nagel dismissed Greg Allison and Charles Bolden, both black football players, from the team for "personal problems". He did not, however, rule out reinstating them in the fall. Although Nagel never specified what the personal problems were, it was widely rumored that Allison was having grade problems and that Bolden had had a brush with the law. Six weeks later, Bolden pleaded guilty to a bad check charge and was ordered to make restitution on a number of bad checks.
Jerry Stevens, the president of the Afro-American Student Association of Iowa, had earlier called for negotiations to end what he termed "an intolerable situation" for black athletes at Iowa. Led by Stevens and other members of his group, some black members of the Iowa football team objected to the manner in which Allison and Bolden were dismissed and demanded an apology from Nagel, which he gave. Still, rumors flew that Stevens' group was organizing a "black boycott" of the football team's upcoming spring practice.
Nagel reiterated his longstanding policy with regard to unexcused absences from practice. He had set a precedent on the matter in his first season in 1966 when he dismissed star end Rich O'Hara from the squad when O'Hara failed to appear for practice. That afternoon, sixteen black players boycotted spring practice, and Nagel immediately dismissed them from the team. Only four black players broke the boycott and appeared for spring practice: Mel Morris, Ray Manning, William "Zoom Zoom" Powell, and Don Osby.
Two days later, the newly formed Black Athletes Union presented a letter to several Iowa newspapers. It read, in part, "Brought into focus here is the slave-master relationship. The black athlete, for example, is the gladiator who performs in the arena for the pleasure of the white masses. He is brought from the black colony, typically called high school, which is predominantly black...The black gladiator brought into this oppressive environment, representing approximately one percent of the populous, is trained to razor athletic sharpness and used to thrill the white spectator masses...The requirements of eligibility do not meet those of graduation. Why? Simply because it was not intended that the black athlete graduate. At the end of four years, the black gladiator is tossed back into the colony exhausted from his toil and exploitation in the mother country. It is intended that he be physically exhausted because he potentially represents the greatest threat to this society, politically and revolutionary."
Three days later, it was reported that the seven freshmen who were among the sixteen dismissed black players had disassociated themselves from the Black Athletes Union and wanted to return to the team. That same day, the Black Athletes Union released a list of five demands to the Iowa Athletic Board. All of the demands were minor in scope. The following day, the chairman of the athletic board said that Iowa would grant their demands. Further, he stated that he was presented with these demands by a group of black athletes two days before the boycott of practice and had told them then that their requests would be granted. The athletes had been persuaded to boycott anyway.
Spring practice ended with the situation unresolved, and it remained that way until the day before fall practice. Nagel announced that those boycotting players that wanted to be reinstated could make an individual appeal to the team for reinstatement, and that the team would conduct a vote on whether or not to allow them to rejoin the team. Twelve of the sixteen boycotting players appealed for reinstatement, and the team voted to allow seven of them to rejoin the squad. The seven players allowed back on the team included five of the sophomores who had broken from the Black Athletes Union and just two veterans. One of the two veterans allowed back was Denny Green, who would later make a name for himself as a college and NFL head coach.
It was announced the following day that one of the black players voted back onto the team would need a season-ending hernia operation. In addition, two white players would also miss the season, one from injuries stemming from a motorcycle accident and one due to academics. These three players, plus the nine black players who were not reinstated, plus Allison and Bolden, made it a total of fourteen players who were expected to play after the 1968 season who would not return in 1969.
The "Black Boycott" left some scars on both sides and may have been the first push toward the ouster of Nagel, who seemed to have turned the corner the previous season. Iowa finished the 1969 season with a 5–5 record. The season was both disappointing and encouraging. The Hawkeyes had failed to post a winning record, much less contend for the Big Ten title, so that was disappointing. However, considering all of the off-season turmoil caused by the Black Boycott, the record could have been worse. Optimism was high for the 1970 season, as there were a lot of young players returning from the 1969 squad.
, had existed for years. In December 1969, Ted Lawrence, Iowa's freshman coach and the father of Iowa quarterback Larry Lawrence, resigned to take a job in the private sector. Ted Lawrence would later blast Nagel and his coaching staff for having a lack of compassion for their players.
In January 1970, Nagel dismissed offensive line coach Gary Grouwinkel for "disloyalty," which Grouwinkel later revealed was his allegiance to Evy instead of Nagel. Less than one month later, star quarterback Larry Lawrence and fullback Tom Smith quit the team and transferred to Miami
, loudly proclaiming that they would never stay and play for Nagel.
About two weeks later, Lawrence's roommate, a non-athlete, submitted to the Iowa Board of Athletics a written statement charging Evy with participating in a rebellion aimed at getting Nagel fired and that would allow Evy to succeed him as head football coach. Lawrence's roommate stated that Lawrence was recruited to gather player support for Nagel's removal, but that Lawrence's efforts were unproductive. Evy vehemently denied the charges, and Iowa's athletic board took no action.
In May 1970, the State Auditor of Iowa announced that the athletic department was under investigation for "padded expense accounts." Nagel not only denied wrongdoing but claimed that they were shown how to fill out their expense accounts by Evashevski himself. Charges and counter-charges followed, and after a long investigation, the Iowa Board of Athletics relieved both Forest Evashevski and Ray Nagel of their respective duties on May 19, 1970.
Nagel immediately fired back. "The reason given to me for my dismissal was the general disharmony within the athletic department during the last four months. I cannot be satisfied with this reason...Hasn't there been disharmony for 18 years, through the Paul Brechler
, Jerry Burns
, and Ray Nagel eras?" Evashevski had been an icon in Iowa, a man who led Iowa to three Big Ten titles and two Rose Bowls, while Nagel had a 13–26–1 record at Iowa. Nevertheless, strong support was voiced for Nagel across the state of Iowa. Gus Schrader of the Cedar Rapids Gazette wrote, "We have heard dozens of fans say, 'I'd just like to see Nagel coach out his contract without Evashevski looking over his shoulder on every move.'"
The Iowa Attorney General submitted a report to the Iowa Board of Athletics that stated, in part, "Mr. Evashevski's attitudes and other things he has done all tend to support the view of Coach Nagel and four of his five assistants that this is part of a vendetta against him...(Evashevski) did the university and people of Iowa, many of whom have almost worshipped him, a great disservice."
The support was so strong that a few days later, in what Maury White of the Des Moines Register
called an event that "may rank as the most startling reversal since the discovery of the boomerang," Ray Nagel was rehired to serve the last year of his contract. Evashevski was replaced as athletic director at Iowa by Bump Elliott
.
Nagel's Hawks went 3–6–1 in 1970. Nagel was understandably emotionally exhausted. At the awards banquet at the end of the 1970 season, he made a speech praising his seniors and categorizing Iowa's football future as bright. But then his voice wavered, and Nagel said, "I think the sands of time have run out on my coaching career at Iowa. I will no longer be a part of that program. I will not ask for an extension of my contract."
While at Washington State from 1971–1976, Nagel spearheaded the creation of the Cougar Club, coordinated fundraising, and served on the NCAA Football Rules Committee from 1973–1976. Among his hires were long-time basketball coach George Raveling
and football coach Jackie Sherrill
. He moved on to the University of Hawaii
to serve as its director of athletics from 1976-83.
In June 2006, Ray Nagel was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame.
Nagel left Hawaii in 1983 to serve as the executive vice president of the Los Angeles Rams. He served in that capacity just one year before returning to Hawaii to become the vice president of public relations for the Bank of Hawaii in 1984. Nagel held that position until 1989. He was then named as the executive director of the Hula Bowl in 1990. After working with the Hula Bowl for six years, Nagel retired in 1995.
Ray Nagel had a wife and five children. He lives in retirement in San Antonio, Texas.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
from 1958 to 1965 and 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...
from 1966 to 1970, compiling a career 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...
record of 58–71–3. Nagel then served as the athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
at Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
from 1971 to 1976 and at the University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Hawaii at Manoa
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...
from 1976 to 1983. From 1990 to 1995, he was the executive director of the Hula Bowl
Hula Bowl
The Hula Bowl was an independently administered post-season invitational college football game held each year in Hawaii from 1947 to 2008. The game was last played at Aloha Stadium in the Hālawa district of Honolulu, Hawaii. At one point the longest-running sporting event in Hawaii, it had been...
, a college football invitational all-star game.
Background
Nagel attended Los Angeles High SchoolLos Angeles High School
Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are blue and white and the teams are called the Romans....
from 1941–1945 and played quarterback for the football team. He was a third team all-city selection his senior year in 1944. Nagel graduated in 1945 and enrolled at UCLA. He was a three time letter winner there from 1946–1949 as a quarterback and halfback for the Bruins. Nagel played for Coach Red Sanders and was named all-West Coast Conference
West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference is an NCAA collegiate athletics conference consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, Utah and Washington....
and UCLA's Most Improved Player. He later earned bachelor's, master's, and law degrees from UCLA and was an assistant coach for the Bruins' football team.
Nagel played one year of professional football. He played and coached for the Chicago Cardinals (now Arizona Cardinals) of the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
in 1953. He was later an assistant coach at Oklahoma for a few years before leaving to become the head football coach at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
in 1958. Nagel was just 29 years old, the youngest major college head coach at the time.
Nagel was the head coach at Utah for eight years from 1958–1965. In 1962, he turned down the Nebraska job that eventually went to conference rival Bob Devaney
Bob Devaney
Robert S. "Bob" Devaney was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Wyoming from 1957 to 1961 and at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1962 to 1972, compiling a career college football record of 136–30–7...
. He compiled a 42–39–1 record as Utah's coach. His 1964 Ute team finished the season with a 9–2 record and defeated West Virginia
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
in the Liberty Bowl
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual U.S. American college football bowl game played in December of each year from 1959 to 2007 and in January in 2009 and 2010. The Liberty Bowl was sponsored by AXA Financial and was known as the AXA Liberty Bowl from 1997 to 2003...
.
Early years
Ray Nagel was 38 years old when he was hired as the 21st head coach in the history of Iowa footballIowa Hawkeyes football
The Iowa Hawkeyes football team is the interscholastic football team at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have competed in the Big Ten Conference since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
. He was coming off of a 3–7 season at Utah in 1965, which led some to question his hiring. Some speculated at the time that finding a new coach had been difficult due to the problems the previous head coach had reportedly experienced with Iowa's athletic director, Forest Evashevski
Forest Evashevski
Forest "Evy" Evashevski was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks in 1942...
. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported, "At least four coaches either turned down the Hawkeye job or expressed no desire to talk about it."
Evy, as he was called, had compiled a 52–27–4 record as Iowa's head football coach from 1952–1960. His teams won three Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
titles, won two Rose Bowls
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
, and finished in the top ten of the final AP 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...
five times. Evashevski was understandably a popular figure with Iowa fans, a fact that would change over Nagel's tenure at Iowa.
Nagel brought a talented coaching staff to Iowa. His assistants included George Seifert
George Seifert
George Seifert is a former NFL head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Carolina Panthers. Seifert joined the 49ers' coaching staff under Bill Walsh in 1980 as defensive backs coach and served as the team's defensive coordinator from 1983–1988.As a 49er assistant, his defenses finished...
and Ted Lawrence. Lawrence had been the coach at Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School, and his son, Larry, was a star quarterback there.
The Hawkeyes were expected to be bad in 1966, and they met expectations. Iowa went 2–8 that season, with the lowlight being a blowout loss to Michigan State
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
. The Hawks yielded 607 total yards to the Spartans, including 268 rushing yards to tailback Clinton Jones. Both were Big Ten records, as Iowa suffered a 56–7 setback. The following season, Iowa won its first game and failed to win another. The Hawks had a 1–8–1 record in 1967. Iowa's offense, led by junior Ed Podolak
Ed Podolak
Edward Joseph Podolak is a former professional American football player. He played quarterback and halfback at the University of Iowa before being selected by the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 1969 Common Draft.During a nine-year career from 1969 to 1977,...
, was good enough, but the defense was awful, giving up almost four touchdowns a game.
Nagel had a 3–16–1 record in two years, and he needed a good season in 1968. Behind Podolak and some solid sophomore players, including Larry Lawrence and running back Denny Green, Iowa had one of its best seasons in years. Iowa had one of the most explosive offenses in Big Ten Conference history in 1968. The highlight of the season was a 68–34 win over Northwestern
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. Iowa had 639 yards of total offense, led by Ed Podolak
Ed Podolak
Edward Joseph Podolak is a former professional American football player. He played quarterback and halfback at the University of Iowa before being selected by the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 1969 Common Draft.During a nine-year career from 1969 to 1977,...
's 286 rushing yards. Both marks were Big Ten records, breaking the previous records that had been set against the Hawkeyes by Michigan State two years earlier.
The 1968 Hawkeyes broke twenty school and conference offensive records. They broke the Big Ten season scoring record with 256 points in conference games, as well as the record for total offense with a 482 yards per game average. The Hawks smashed Michigan's record of 34.5 points per game in conference play in 1943 by averaging 36.6 points per game. The 1968 Hawks became the highest scoring team in school history, breaking the mark set by the 1900 Hawkeyes. Although Iowa did not have a winning record for a seventh consecutive year, going 5–5 on the season, Iowa's four conference wins were the most for Iowa since 1960. Most Hawkeye fans felt that the team had turned a corner and were expecting big things in 1969, since Iowa had only five senior starters in 1968. Nagel was also optimistic. "I'm not predicting we'll win the Big Ten championship next season, but I definitely feel we'll be in title contention," Nagel said.
The Black Boycott
1969 was a volatile year, with Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
protests and the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
gaining full steam. In the spring of 1969, Nagel dismissed Greg Allison and Charles Bolden, both black football players, from the team for "personal problems". He did not, however, rule out reinstating them in the fall. Although Nagel never specified what the personal problems were, it was widely rumored that Allison was having grade problems and that Bolden had had a brush with the law. Six weeks later, Bolden pleaded guilty to a bad check charge and was ordered to make restitution on a number of bad checks.
Jerry Stevens, the president of the Afro-American Student Association of Iowa, had earlier called for negotiations to end what he termed "an intolerable situation" for black athletes at Iowa. Led by Stevens and other members of his group, some black members of the Iowa football team objected to the manner in which Allison and Bolden were dismissed and demanded an apology from Nagel, which he gave. Still, rumors flew that Stevens' group was organizing a "black boycott" of the football team's upcoming spring practice.
Nagel reiterated his longstanding policy with regard to unexcused absences from practice. He had set a precedent on the matter in his first season in 1966 when he dismissed star end Rich O'Hara from the squad when O'Hara failed to appear for practice. That afternoon, sixteen black players boycotted spring practice, and Nagel immediately dismissed them from the team. Only four black players broke the boycott and appeared for spring practice: Mel Morris, Ray Manning, William "Zoom Zoom" Powell, and Don Osby.
Two days later, the newly formed Black Athletes Union presented a letter to several Iowa newspapers. It read, in part, "Brought into focus here is the slave-master relationship. The black athlete, for example, is the gladiator who performs in the arena for the pleasure of the white masses. He is brought from the black colony, typically called high school, which is predominantly black...The black gladiator brought into this oppressive environment, representing approximately one percent of the populous, is trained to razor athletic sharpness and used to thrill the white spectator masses...The requirements of eligibility do not meet those of graduation. Why? Simply because it was not intended that the black athlete graduate. At the end of four years, the black gladiator is tossed back into the colony exhausted from his toil and exploitation in the mother country. It is intended that he be physically exhausted because he potentially represents the greatest threat to this society, politically and revolutionary."
Three days later, it was reported that the seven freshmen who were among the sixteen dismissed black players had disassociated themselves from the Black Athletes Union and wanted to return to the team. That same day, the Black Athletes Union released a list of five demands to the Iowa Athletic Board. All of the demands were minor in scope. The following day, the chairman of the athletic board said that Iowa would grant their demands. Further, he stated that he was presented with these demands by a group of black athletes two days before the boycott of practice and had told them then that their requests would be granted. The athletes had been persuaded to boycott anyway.
Spring practice ended with the situation unresolved, and it remained that way until the day before fall practice. Nagel announced that those boycotting players that wanted to be reinstated could make an individual appeal to the team for reinstatement, and that the team would conduct a vote on whether or not to allow them to rejoin the team. Twelve of the sixteen boycotting players appealed for reinstatement, and the team voted to allow seven of them to rejoin the squad. The seven players allowed back on the team included five of the sophomores who had broken from the Black Athletes Union and just two veterans. One of the two veterans allowed back was Denny Green, who would later make a name for himself as a college and NFL head coach.
It was announced the following day that one of the black players voted back onto the team would need a season-ending hernia operation. In addition, two white players would also miss the season, one from injuries stemming from a motorcycle accident and one due to academics. These three players, plus the nine black players who were not reinstated, plus Allison and Bolden, made it a total of fourteen players who were expected to play after the 1968 season who would not return in 1969.
The "Black Boycott" left some scars on both sides and may have been the first push toward the ouster of Nagel, who seemed to have turned the corner the previous season. Iowa finished the 1969 season with a 5–5 record. The season was both disappointing and encouraging. The Hawkeyes had failed to post a winning record, much less contend for the Big Ten title, so that was disappointing. However, considering all of the off-season turmoil caused by the Black Boycott, the record could have been worse. Optimism was high for the 1970 season, as there were a lot of young players returning from the 1969 squad.
Feud with Evashevski
Less than twelve months after the Black Boycott, the athletic department found itself in a state of turmoil again. Nagel had one year left on his contract, and he was looking for an extension. Rumors of a feud between Nagel and his athletic director, Forest EvashevskiForest Evashevski
Forest "Evy" Evashevski was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks in 1942...
, had existed for years. In December 1969, Ted Lawrence, Iowa's freshman coach and the father of Iowa quarterback Larry Lawrence, resigned to take a job in the private sector. Ted Lawrence would later blast Nagel and his coaching staff for having a lack of compassion for their players.
In January 1970, Nagel dismissed offensive line coach Gary Grouwinkel for "disloyalty," which Grouwinkel later revealed was his allegiance to Evy instead of Nagel. Less than one month later, star quarterback Larry Lawrence and fullback Tom Smith quit the team and transferred to Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, loudly proclaiming that they would never stay and play for Nagel.
About two weeks later, Lawrence's roommate, a non-athlete, submitted to the Iowa Board of Athletics a written statement charging Evy with participating in a rebellion aimed at getting Nagel fired and that would allow Evy to succeed him as head football coach. Lawrence's roommate stated that Lawrence was recruited to gather player support for Nagel's removal, but that Lawrence's efforts were unproductive. Evy vehemently denied the charges, and Iowa's athletic board took no action.
In May 1970, the State Auditor of Iowa announced that the athletic department was under investigation for "padded expense accounts." Nagel not only denied wrongdoing but claimed that they were shown how to fill out their expense accounts by Evashevski himself. Charges and counter-charges followed, and after a long investigation, the Iowa Board of Athletics relieved both Forest Evashevski and Ray Nagel of their respective duties on May 19, 1970.
Nagel immediately fired back. "The reason given to me for my dismissal was the general disharmony within the athletic department during the last four months. I cannot be satisfied with this reason...Hasn't there been disharmony for 18 years, through the Paul Brechler
Paul Brechler
Paul W. Brechler was an athletic director for the University of Iowa for 13 years and the first commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference.-Playing career:...
, Jerry Burns
Jerry Burns
Jerome Monahan "Jerry" Burns is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Iowa, from 1961 to 1965, compiling record of 16–27–2, and for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL from 1986 to 1991, tallying a mark of...
, and Ray Nagel eras?" Evashevski had been an icon in Iowa, a man who led Iowa to three Big Ten titles and two Rose Bowls, while Nagel had a 13–26–1 record at Iowa. Nevertheless, strong support was voiced for Nagel across the state of Iowa. Gus Schrader of the Cedar Rapids Gazette wrote, "We have heard dozens of fans say, 'I'd just like to see Nagel coach out his contract without Evashevski looking over his shoulder on every move.'"
The Iowa Attorney General submitted a report to the Iowa Board of Athletics that stated, in part, "Mr. Evashevski's attitudes and other things he has done all tend to support the view of Coach Nagel and four of his five assistants that this is part of a vendetta against him...(Evashevski) did the university and people of Iowa, many of whom have almost worshipped him, a great disservice."
The support was so strong that a few days later, in what Maury White of the Des Moines Register
Des Moines Register
The Des Moines Register is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. A separate edition of the Register is sold throughout much of Iowa.-History:...
called an event that "may rank as the most startling reversal since the discovery of the boomerang," Ray Nagel was rehired to serve the last year of his contract. Evashevski was replaced as athletic director at Iowa by Bump Elliott
Bump Elliott
Chalmers W. "Bump" Elliott is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played halfback at Purdue University and the University of Michigan...
.
Nagel's Hawks went 3–6–1 in 1970. Nagel was understandably emotionally exhausted. At the awards banquet at the end of the 1970 season, he made a speech praising his seniors and categorizing Iowa's football future as bright. But then his voice wavered, and Nagel said, "I think the sands of time have run out on my coaching career at Iowa. I will no longer be a part of that program. I will not ask for an extension of my contract."
Athletic director career
Interestingly, after his conflict as a coach with his athletic director, Ray Nagel never took another football head coaching job. Instead, he became an accomplished athletic director himself. Nagel left Iowa to become the athletic director at Washington State in 1971.While at Washington State from 1971–1976, Nagel spearheaded the creation of the Cougar Club, coordinated fundraising, and served on the NCAA Football Rules Committee from 1973–1976. Among his hires were long-time basketball coach George Raveling
George Raveling
George Raveling is a former college men's basketball coach and FOX Sports Net color commentator. He was the head coach at Washington State University , the University of Iowa , and the University of Southern California . The Washington, D.C. native attended St...
and football coach Jackie Sherrill
Jackie Sherrill
Jackie Sherrill is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Washington State University , the University of Pittsburgh , Texas A&M University , and Mississippi State University , compiling a career college football record of 180–120–4...
. He moved on to the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
to serve as its director of athletics from 1976-83.
In June 2006, Ray Nagel was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame.
Nagel left Hawaii in 1983 to serve as the executive vice president of the Los Angeles Rams. He served in that capacity just one year before returning to Hawaii to become the vice president of public relations for the Bank of Hawaii in 1984. Nagel held that position until 1989. He was then named as the executive director of the Hula Bowl in 1990. After working with the Hula Bowl for six years, Nagel retired in 1995.
Ray Nagel had a wife and five children. He lives in retirement in San Antonio, Texas.