In conjunction with Maryland's historic move to the Big Ten Conference on July 1, Maryland athletics will be taking an in-depth look at its future Big Ten foes. Today we continue the series by profiling the University of Iowa.

June 2: Illinois; June 4: Indiana; June 6: Iowa; June 9: Michigan; June 11: Michigan State; June 13: Minnesota; June 16: Nebraska; June 18: Northwestern; June 20: Ohio State; June 23: Penn State; June 25: Purdue; June 27: Rutgers; June 30: Wisconsin

About Iowa

• Location: Iowa City, Iowa

• Founded: 1847

• Enrollment: 31,498

• President: Sally Mason

• Athletic Director: Gary Barta

Iowa Athletics

• School Colors: Black and Golden

• Nickname: Hawkeyes

• Joined Big Ten Conference: 1899

• Football Stadium (capacity): Kinnick Stadium (70,585)

• Basketball Arena (capacity): Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,400)

• Varsity Teams: 24

• Most Successful Sport: Wrestling - 23 national titles

• First B1G event at Maryland: October 18, 2014 - Football

History

Basketball

• All-time basketball record: 1550-1091 (.587)

• Conference/National Championships: 8/0

• Head Coach: Fran McCaffery

Football

• All-time football record: 606-535-39 (.530)

• Conference/National Championships: 13/1

• Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz

Notable Former Athletes

• Basketball: B.J. Armstrong, Don Nelson, Reggie Evans, “Downtown” Freddie Brown

• Football: Nile Kinnick, Dallas Clark, Paul Krause, Andre Tippett, Adrian Clayborn, Jim Caldwell (coach)

Notable Alumni

• Tom Brokaw: broadcast journalist

• Tom Arnold: actor

• Ashton Kutcher: actor

• Gene Wilder: actor

Fun Fact: The Hawkeye is Born

The University of Iowa borrowed its athletic nickname from the state of Iowa many years ago. The name Hawkeye was originally applied to a hero in a fictional novel, The Last of the Mohicans, written by James Fenimore Cooper. Cooper had the Delaware Indians bestow the name on a white scout who live and hunted with them.

In 1838, 12 years after the book was published, people in the territory of Iowa acquired the nickname, chiefly through the efforts of Judge David Rorer of Burlington and James G. Edwards of Fort Madison. Edwards, editor of the Fort Madison Patriot, moved his newspaper to Burlington in 1843 and renamed it the Burlington Hawkeye. The two men continued their campaign to popularize the name and were rewarded when territorial officials gave it their formal approval.

The Hawkeye nickname gained a tangible symbol in 1948 when a cartoon character, later to be named Herky the Hawk, was hatched. The creator was RIchard Spencer III, instructor of journalism. The impish Hawk was an immediate hit and he acquired a name through a statewide contest staged by the UI Athletic Department. John Franklin, a Belle Plaine alumnus, was the man who suggested Herky.