The Iowa Hawkeyes football team represents the University of Iowa in college football. The Hawkeyes compete in the West division of the Big Ten Conference. They have been a member of the Big Ten since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member of the NCAA. The Hawkeyes play their home games in Iowa City, Iowa at Kinnick Stadium, with a capacity of 69,250. The Hawkeyes are currently coached by Kirk Ferentz, who is in his 20th season as the head coach and is the longest current tenured head coach in NCAA Division I FBS.

Iowa has been selected national champion in 1921, 1922, 1956, 1958, and 1960 by NCAA-designated major selectors.[7][8]:111, 113 All but the 1922 championship are claimed by the school.[9]

Iowa finished the 1958 regular season ranked #2 in the AP and Coaches Polls, behind 11–0 LSU, although both votes were taken before the bowl games. Iowa convincingly won the 1959 Rose Bowl, 38–12, setting or tying six Rose Bowl records. The Football Writers Association of America gave their national championship trophy, the Grantland Rice Trophy, to Iowa.

Iowa’s official fight song is the “Iowa Fight Song” which is sung by the marching band and the fans. Iowa’s school song is “On Iowa”. Iowa also plays a third fight song, entitled “Roll Along Iowa”. After victories the band plays the Im Himmel gibt’s kein Bier Polka, which translates to “In Heaven There is No Beer”. Before the game (since 2005) the team has exited the tunnel together to “Back in Black” by AC/DC before joining hands and running onto the field in unison to “Enter Sandman” by Metallica

Iowa’s mascot is Herky the Hawk, a black and gold caricature of a Hawk. Herky was created as a cartoon in 1948, and first appeared at a sporting event in 1959. Herky was actually named after the Greek God Hercules. The term “Hawkeye” originally appeared in the book The Last of the Mohicans and was later used in its plural form to describe the people of Iowa. The University of Iowa adopted this as the nickname for its athletic teams.

Kinnick won the University of Iowa’s only Heisman Trophy in 1939 and is the man for whom Kinnick Stadium is named. Jones was the first African-American to win the Outland Trophy and is the only Hawkeye to be named first-team All-American three times