Hayden Fry, the Texan who revived Iowa football and became a Hawkeye State institution, has died.

He was 90.

Fry’s family announced through the University of Iowa that the coach died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer.

The native of Eastland, Texas, had never been to Iowa before taking over the Hawkeyes in 1979. The team had slogged through 17 consecutive years without a winning season.

He coached at Iowa for 20 seasons, winning 238 games and three Big Ten championships. He played quarterback at Baylor and his first college head coaching job was at SMU.