Most of Warner’s UNI years spent on the bench

Kurt Warner will be inducted into the University of Northern Iowa sports Hall of Fame as soon as his NFL career ends. There's no question about it.

School officials want to wait to make sure Warner can attend the induction ceremony, typically held during the football season while he's been busy throwing touchdown passes in the NFL and leading his teams to the Super Bowl.

"Kurt is a very obvious, immediate Hall of Famer at UNI," said Troy Dannen, a big fan and the school's director of athletics.

"He's a Hall of Fame guy," agreed Mark Farley, UNI's football coach. "I think he's an NFL Hall of Famer."

Warner did not have a great career with the Panthers. He was stuck behind Jay Johnson for three years and did not become the starting quarterback until he was a fifth-year senior, when he passed for 2,747 yards and led UNI to a conference title and the playoffs.

Warner has not made a large financial contribution to the UNI football program since striking it rich in the NFL, which some people in Cedar Falls say is a direct result of having waited so long to become the starting quarterback.

Rick Hartzell, who left as UNI's director of athletics last year, said the relationship between Warner and the school was not the best.

"It's not the warmest and fuzziest," he said.

Hartzell said he approached Warner about making a donation, without success.

"It was hard to get to him, almost impossible," Hartzell said. "I was never angry about it. I guess there were some people who were."

Farley noted Warner was active in recovery efforts in Iowa last year after the flood and tornadoes, helping to raise money and awareness. It's a delicate issue, but Farley would love to see Warner make a large donation to UNI.

"I think everyone is looking forward to the time when he has the opportunity to gift," Farley said. "The hope is it's significant, that it's something we can all be proud of. We're all proud of him. I think he represents what UNI is about."

Dannen stressed there is no quid pro quo.

"Kurt Warner will go into our Hall of Fame regardless of whether he's a financial supporter," Dannen said.

Warner's timing was bad during his years at UNI. Johnson led the Panthers to a 31-8 record, three conference titles and three trips to the playoffs as the starting quarterback in 1990, 1991 and 1992.

Johnson passed for 8,341 yards and 60 touchdowns, the school's fourth-best totals. That's why Terry Allen, UNI's coach at the time, stuck with Johnson and kept Warner on the bench.

"The guy who started ahead of Kurt won 31 games in three years," said Allen, now the head coach at Missouri State. "The timing in Kurt's college career was not the best, but the timing in his pro career has been absolutely awesome."

Warner naturally wanted to play at UNI, but Allen said Warner never expressed any bitterness or resentment to him.

"Not at all," he said. "Kurt was great. He always was. He was the ultimate team player."

Farley, an assistant coach for the Panthers during those years, said Warner was frustrated by his lack of playing time, having to carry a clipboard for four years. "That's hard for anyone to swallow," he said.

The coaches knew Warner had a strong arm, but nobody predicted a successful pro career.

"Nobody thought Kurt was going to be in the NFL. You didn't think a one-year starter would," Farley said. "He was just an Iowa kid playing UNI football."

Farley said he invokes Warner's name when he's recruiting and is looking forward to Warner's making a triumphant return to Cedar Falls.

"He will always be welcome on our sideline at any time," Farley said. "Not because he's Kurt Warner, but because he played at UNI."