Iowa State Mourns The Loss Of Jim Walden

AMES, Iowa – Former Iowa State head football coach Jim Walden, who led the Cyclones from 1987-94, passed away on Thursday. He was 88 years old.

Walden directed Iowa State to a 28-57-3 overall record during his tenure, but his penchant to come up with big upset highlighted his time in Ames.

Walden took over coaching reins at Iowa State under tough circumstances when he was handcuffed by scholarship reductions due to NCAA infractions from the previous regime.

Walden's outgoing personality provided Iowa State fans with optimism during his first two years when he struggled to field a competitive team.

In Walden's third season in 1989, the Cyclones produced a winning campaign with a 6-5 record and a tie for fourth (4-3) in the Big Eight in despite a little over 50 scholarship players available. It was the first time the Cyclones had an above-.500 league record since 1978.

The 1989 team possessed one of the best offenses in school history, averaging 430 yards per game, which ranked second at the time and currently fourth-best overall in school history.

With Bret Oberg at quarterback and All-American Blaise Bryant at running back, who rushed for 1,516 yards to earn Big Eight Newcomer of the Year accolades, the Cyclone offense scored over 30 points in four of its last five games of the season.

Unfortunately, with only 18 bowl games compared to 46 today, the Cyclones weren't invited to participate in the postseason.

Injuries plagued Walden's teams throughout the rest of his tenure, but the Cyclone head man was always capable of pulling off the big upset.

In 1990, Iowa State went down to Norman and defeated No. 16 Oklahoma, 33-31, the school's first win over the Sooners since 1961. The Cyclones also knocked off No. 18 Kansas State in 1993.

Perhaps the biggest upset in school history occurred in 1992 when ISU hosted No. 7 Nebraska on a crisp November afternoon in Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones were 3-6 and the Huskers were 7-1, but the Cyclones held the high-powered Husker offense to just 246 yards in the massive 19-10 upset victory.

"It may sound silly, but it was so true," Walden recollected years later after the Nebraska win. "Our offensive goal was to make a first down every time we had the ball. We were playing one of the best teams in the nation. With our limited amount of players and talent, we thought making a first down every drive would impress our fans and we could at least move the ball a little. Secondly, we wanted to kill the clock. And that part we did so well. It was just one of those magic days."

Walden coached or recruited five All-Americans during his Cyclone tenure in Bryant, Mike Busch, Gene Williams, Doug Skartvedt and Troy Davis. He also coached a pair of NFL All-Pros in Keith Sims and Marcus Robertson while at ISU.

Iowa State hired Walden after a successful tenure at Washington State (1978-86) where he was a two-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1983. His 1981 Cougar team went 8-3-1 and qualified for the school's first bowl game in 51 years.

He compiled a 44-52-4 record at WSU.

Walden received his first collegiate coaching job at Nebraska in 1969 under legendary coach Bob Devaney and was an assistant on Nebraska's 1970 and 1971 national championship teams.

A native of Aberdeen, Miss, Walden was also an outstanding player in college, leading Wyoming to a pair of Skyline Conference titles at quarterback. He directed Wyoming to the 1958 Sun Bowl and was named the league's player of the year in 1959.

Walden played three years in the Canadian Football League from 1960-62 before beginning his coaching career.

Walden was inducted into the Washington State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.