How ’bout those Hawkeyes! Today’s Forgotten 45 at 3:45 was an obvious choice after Iowa’s win over Nebraska to advance to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament. It was the theme of the 1980 Final Four from Kenny Loggins it’s “This Is It”.
Iowa advanced to the Elite 8 for the first time in 39 years when they lost to UNLV in Dr. Tom Davis first season. 7 years before that, Lute Olsen took the Hawks to the Final Four in Indy as Iowa defeated VCU, NC State, Syracuse, and Georgetown with the classic bucket by Steve Waite! I was a 15 year old sophomore in high school when I was in a packed Fieldhouse welcoming home the national championship wrestling team AND the Iowa Basketball team at 12:30am!
Iowa’s All-American guard Ronnie Lester scored the Hawks first 10 points of the game vs Louisville, but with 8 minutes to go in the first half reinjured his knee and the Hawks lost 80-72. To this day I think Iowa would’ve won the National Championship with a healthy Ronnie Lester.
Good luck to the 2026 Hawks as they face long time rival Illinois for a chance to make history. In the meantime, take a trip back to 1980 with Kenny Loggins with “This Is It”. The Forgotten 45 is sponsored by Honey Creek Furniture in Manchester, Eastern Iowa’s fastest growing La-Z-Boy store. You’ll find them at honeycreekfurniture.com.
