To many, Iowa Wesleyan is known as one of the oldest universities west of the Mississippi River.
Football coaches, and historians of the game will recognize the name of the small rural school for another reason: The birthplace of the Air Rad offense.
Hal Mumme landed his first head coaching position at the small Iowa program in 1989 with Mike Leach as his top assistant and the two utilized the opportunity to create and tinker with a new offensive approach that has stood the test of time, with NFL and college coaches copying it to this day.
According to a news release, the school's trustees unanimously voted today to close at the end of this academic year due to “a combination of financial challenges."
The decision comes as the school has struggled financially over the last five years, and while avenuees to partner with other schools were explored, nothing proved effective.
After 181 years serving students, the school is now set to close, and will enter teach-out agreements with four schools in William Penn, Upper Iowa, University of Dubuque, and Culver-Stockton College.
For the football program, MD McDaniels will now not get an opportunity to lead the program for a fifth season, after taking over in 2019.
He and his staff led the program to a 4-7 mark last fall.
The rest of his staff consists of:
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.