The 1944 Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football team represented the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

pre-flight school at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

as an independent during the

1944 college football season The 1944 college football season was the 76th season of intercollegiate football in the United States. Competition included schools from the Big Ten Conference, the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Big Six C ...

. In its third season, the team compiled a 10–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 313 to 96, and was ranked No. 6 in the final AP Poll. In June 1944,

Jack Meagher John Francis Meagher (July 5, 1894 – December 7, 1968) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. Meagher played football for the University of Notre Dame in 1916, rising ...

—the head football coach at Auburn from 1934 to 1942—was assigned to replace

Don Faurot Donald Burrows Faurot (June 23, 1902 – October 19, 1995) was an American football and basketball player, coach, and college athletics administrator best known for his eight-decade association with the University of Missouri. He served as the ...

as the pre-fight school's head coach. Faurot had been transferred to

Monmouth College Monmouth College is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Monmouth, Illinois. Monmouth enrolls approximately 900 students from 21 countries who choose courses from 40 major programs, 43 minors, and 17 pre-professional programs in a c ...

in January. Meagher was serving as a lieutenant commander in the Navy and had been assigned previously to the technical training center in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

. Meagher's assistant coaches in 1944 included

Bud Wilkinson Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916 – February 9, 1994) 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 ...

(who later coached at Oklahoma), Steve Sinko, and Chuck Jaskwhich.

Harvey Harman Harvey John Harman (November 5, 1900 – December 17, 1969) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Haverford College (1922–1929), Sewanee: The University of the South (1930), the University of Pennsylvania (19 ...

was the athletic director. In the final

Litkenhous Ratings The Litkenhous Difference by Score Ratings system was a mathematical system used to rank football and basketball teams. The Litrating system was developed by Vanderbilt University professor Edward E. Litkenhous (1907 – December 22, 1984) and his b ...

, Iowa Pre-Flight ranked eighth among the nation's college and service teams and first out of 28

teams with a rating of 115.9.

Schedule

Rankings

Roster

References

{{Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football navbox Iowa Pre-Flight Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football seasons

Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...