Member Biography

Ike Armstrong couldn't wait to associate himself with the game of football. He made his Seymour High School team while still an eighth-grade student in Seymour, Iowa, and began a gridiron romance that could reach only one end -greatness. Armstrong lettered as a fullback at Drake during the early 1920s, and his pile-driving style of ball-carrying played an important role in the Bulldogs' perfect seven-game record of 1922. After graduation, he stayed on at the Des Moines campus to coach the freshman team. Then, in 1925, the University of Utah offered Armstrong the head coaching position, and that action marked the start of a 25-year association in which his teams rolled to a 140-55-15 record. He produced five undefeated teams for the Utes, and had five other squads finish with only one regular-season loss apiece. Utah won 12 conference championships under Armstrong. In 1938, Armstrong's Utah club earned its first-ever bowl invitation and captured a 26-0 decision over New Mexico in the Sun Bowl. Armstrong's 1939 Utes led the nation in scoring with 259 points in nine games. However, Armstrong was more than just a football coach. After his Utah days, he was director of athletics at Minnesota 1950-63. Armstrong also coached Utah's basketball team for four years and the track squad for 20 years.