Dan McCarney To Serve As Honorary Captain
September 25th, 2025 by Jack McGonigal
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Dan McCarney, a former University of Iowa player and assistant coach, will serve as honorary captain Saturday when Iowa hosts No. 11/12 Indiana on Homecoming. Kickoff is set for 2:35 p.m. (CT) and the game will be streamed on Peacock.
McCarney, a native of Iowa City and a graduate of City High School, lettered for the Hawkeyes from 1972-74, serving as a team captain during his senior season. He earned his degree from Iowa in 1975.
McCarney began his coaching career at Iowa, where he was an assistant under Hayden Fry for 11 years. He served as a graduate assistant in 1977 and 1978 before becoming defensive line coach. In his 11 years as a fulltime assistant, the Hawkeyes went to eight bowl games.
Iowa earned two Big Ten titles (1981, 1985) with McCarney as the defensive line coach, appearing in the Rose Bowl following each of those seasons. Iowa also played in the Peach Bowl (twice), Gator Bowl, Freedom Bowl, and Holiday Bowl (twice) during his time as a fulltime assistant.
McCarney continued his career as the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin under Barry Alvarez. At Wisconsin, McCarney helped turn a team that had won 10 games in five years into a Big Ten champion and Rose Bowl participant in his fourth year.
McCarney left Wisconsin to become the head coach at Iowa State, a position he held for 13 seasons. McCarney led the Cyclones to five bowl games from 2000-05 and was named the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year in 2004.
After leaving Iowa State, McCarney spent one season as the assistant head coach at the University of South Florida. He was an assistant coach at the University of Florida from 2008-10, helping the Gators reach two Southeastern Conference Championship games and three bowl appearances. In 2008, Florida finished with a 13-1 record and won the BCS National Championship behind a defense that ranked fourth in the nation in scoring defense and ninth nationally in total defense.
McCarney took over as the head coach at North Texas in 2011, holding that position for five seasons. McCarney led North Texas to nine victories, including a win over UNLV in the Heart of Dallas Bowl following the 2013 season.
McCarney coached in 21 bowl games in 36 years as a collegiate coach, five of which are current BCS bowls. He coached 22 players drafted by the NFL, including nine who were selected in the first three rounds.
McCarney will accompany the Iowa captains to midfield for Saturday’s pregame coin toss. He will also be with the Hawkeyes in the locker room before and after the game.