For the first time in over 40 years, color commentary during Hawkeye football is going to sound a little different. Iowa announced Monday that Ed Podolak, former Hawkeye and Kansas City Chiefs running back turned radio mainstay, would be transitioning out of color commentary into an exclusively pregame and podcast role starting in 2024.
Podolak has been on color commentary for Hawkeye radio games since 1982, first next to the late Jim Zabel and then, for the last 28 years, with Gary Dolphin. Incredibly, in Podolak's 42 seasons on the mic, he's only called games by two Hawkeye head coaches: Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz.
“I have decided that this is a good time for me to step back from my role as color commentator for the Hawkeye football radio broadcasts,” said Podolak in a UI news release. “I believe there is no greater honor than to be part of the Iowa Hawkeye Football team. I have loved watching these young men and coaches compete for the past 42 years. Sharing my perspective for the incredible Hawkeye fans from coast to coast has been a thrill."
“Ed Podolak has had an incredible impact on Hawkeye fans for 40 years,” said Ferentz in Iowa's news release. “He was one of the greatest college football players of his era, leaving his mark all over the Big Ten record books. He followed that with an outstanding professional career in Kansas City. And since his retirement from football, he has been the voice that Iowa fans have counted on for decades. Knowledgeable and passionate – always entertaining the fans across our state and across the country. There will never be another Ed Podolak. I hope Hawkeye fans will join all of us in wishing Ed the very best as he steps away from the broadcast booth.”
Any era ending is sad news, of course. But this doesn't have to be a eulogy; it's not even a goodbye. Podolak will still provide pregame coverage for Learfield, and leaving the booth on his own terms — and clearing the way for the next great career — is the way any decades-long veteran would want to wind things down.
Hawkeye Sports Properties said it would begin its search for a replacement in the spring. In the archetype of former players with a deep passion for the game and university, few Hawkeye greats have been as omnipresent as former All-American tight end Dallas Clark, who is often seen at Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena on gamedays and in practice footage.
For candidates with stronger on-air resumes, former Hawkeye DE Anthony Herron has been a mainstay calling games on the Big Ten Network and Pac-12 Network since 2008; if anything he's over-qualified. Similarly, former Hawkeye QB Paul Burmeister has been calling Notre Dame football games on the radio since 2018. As a play-by-play host, though, Burmeister may be better suited to replace Dolphin should the opportunity arise.
Regardless of who gets the seat next, it's safe to say few will ever come close to touching the impact Podolak has had on Hawkeye football and fandom. We wish him the best of health and happiness as he exits the booth.
And of course, what appreciation of Podolak could be complete without a sampling of his boisterous, exuberant, unshakeable love for the Hawkeyes coming through in Iowa's finest moments?
