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Remember The Hawkeyes: Jim Molini

Like any other Nebraska high school football standout in the mid-1970’s, Jim Molini really only considered one college.
It just happened to be Iowa.
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As most of his classmates at Norfolk Senior High School began to pack their bags for their move to Lincoln, it became clear to him why he wanted to play college football outside his home state.
“Going to Nebraska would have been like going back to high school because half the people from my high school were there,” said Molini. “Iowa just seemed like it was the right place for me.”
The struggling Hawkeyes, under third-year head coach Bob Commings, had managed to steal one of the state’s top players from the mighty Cornhuskers. An unlikely scenario in itself, but even more so considering Molini’s limited knowledge of the Hawkeye program just a few years earlier.
“Growing up in Nebraska, I really knew nothing about the University of Iowa,” said Molini, who was born in Anaheim, California and moved to Nebraska in the fourth grade. “You would occasionally hear about Iowa State because they were in the Big 8, but that was about it.”
When Molini arrived in Iowa City, he realized that even a struggling Division I football program is a giant step up from high school.
“After the first week of practice I said to myself ‘I’ll never play here,’ he said. “I was going up against these seniors that were just so much bigger than me and I just didn’t know if I would make it.”
Molini overcame his early struggles and became a contributor for the Hawkeyes early in his freshman season. In only his fourth game as a Hawkeye, he found himself lined up across from Southern California’s All-American tackle Marvin Powell.
“I think he was 24 years old at the time,” he said. “I was 17 and the youngest player in the Big Ten that year, so it was definitely something I learned from.”
In his Sophomore season, Molini would be part of perhaps the most talked about football game ever played in the state of Iowa. For the first time since 1934, Iowa and Iowa State would meet on the football field. Although the two programs had not met on the field in 43 years, many of the Hawkeye players had become familiar with the Cyclones in the months leading up to the game.
“A bunch of us went over to their spring game, and we also went (to Ames) to watch one of the Iowa wrestlers,” said Molini, who was a four-year letter winner with the Hawkeyes. “When we all walked into the arena wearing our letter jackets, it didn’t go over too well.”
After the wrestling match, fans and players from both teams squared off in a shouting match at an Ames establishment. It finally took someone with ties to both schools to bring the excitement to a close. “Dan Gable happened to be there and told people to cool it,” said Molini. “That’s pretty much where it ended.”
According to Molini, word of the players’ road trip eventually reached the coaching staff. “We got in some trouble for going over there, but it was great.”
In the week leading up to the Iowa State game, the Hawkeye players could tell by the atmosphere in Iowa City that it would not be just another game.
“The build up of that game was unbelievable,” said Molini. “It was like Homecoming and Mardi Gras all in one, and there was something big going on in town every night.”
On September 17, 1977, a regional television audience tuned in to see what some sportswriters called “The Game of the Century” in the state of Iowa. Tickets, which were priced at $8 each, were being scalped for as high as $75 a pair.
The Cyclones would play the game with the words “Beat Iowa” on their jerseys. A move that angered many of the Hawkeye players. “They warmed up in their regular jerseys and came out in the different ones,” said Molini.
“When we saw what they were wearing, it got us pretty fired up,” he said. “My blood was definitely boiling when I saw it.”
The Hawkeyes won the game 12-10.
“In my opinion, Iowa will always be the Hawkeye State,” said Molini. “Regardless of what happens with each of the programs, I think that’s the way it will always be.”
Molini’s Junior campaign was the last for Bob Commings as Iowa’s head coach. After the 1978 season, Commings was replaced by a tall, smooth-talking Texan named Hayden Fry.
“Coach Fry comes in with the snake-skin boots, wearing the Rolex watch, driving a Mercedes,” joked Molini. “You know, typical Texas stuff.”
Molini was named one of the Hawkeyes’ team captains in 1979, and with the honor came several appearances on the I-Club circuit with his new coach.
One event in particular showed just how serious Iowa fans can be about their football program.
As Hawkeye fans at the Tama I-Club dinner cheered Molini because of his three previous years with the program, one fan had a slightly different greeting for the new Hawkeye coach.
As Fry walked to the podium to introduce himself to the crowd, a man hurled a biscuit at the coach, striking him in the head.
“After that happened, Coach Fry looked at the guy and said ‘Sir, I love your passion, now we just need to redirect it,’ said Molini. “He looked at me and said ‘We fought our way in here, and we can fight our way out.’”
“You could tell in Coach Fry’s first year that he would do the job,” Molini said. “He had a plan.”
Jim Molini finished his senior season with 61 tackles, including 6 for a loss, and helped lay the foundation for Fry’s program. Although he only played one season under Hayden Fry, Molini knows he will always be appreciated by his former coach.
“He genuinely cares about his players,” he said. “We all know we can go up and talk to him when he’s back and know we are important to him.”
Following his career at Iowa, Molini signed a free-agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons, and after a short stint in professional football, decided to settle down in the town that he grew to appreciate.
“I loved Iowa City and the people here and really felt I was part of this community,” he said.
Molini found success as co-owner of an Iowa City area construction company. He currently serves as a consultant in the construction industry . He has two daughters: Emily (11) and Ellen (9) and has been married to his wife, Dr. Molly Moreland, for 12 years.
He has also remained extremely close to the Iowa football program since his playing days. He is a member of the Football Club, a network of former Hawkeye players who blanket the U.S. The group’s goal is to assist each year’s senior football class after graduation, and provide them with career help no matter where they decide to move. “It’s a great thing for the players after they’re done at Iowa, and it gives us a chance to give something back to them,” he said.
Molini has also been a season ticket holder since 1980.
“I may be from Nebraska, but I’ll always bleed black and gold.”
Player Profile
#83 Jim Molini
Norfolk, NE (Norfolk Senior H.S.)
Defensive End 1976 – 1979
Honors:
∙ Four year letter winner (1976 – 1979)
∙ Team captain as Senior (1979)
∙ Played in Blue-Gray All Star Game (1979)
∙ Signed as free agent with Atlanta Falcons (1980)
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