By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Sedrick Shaw is now finally where he deserves to be as a member of the 2026 Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame class.

And though his induction should have happened much sooner, better late than never for the Iowa football team’s all-time leading rusher, a distinction Shaw has held since he last played for the Hawkeyes in 1996.

Shaw finished his Hawkeye career with 4,156 rushing yards. He is the only player in program history to rush for over 4,000 yards, and the only player in program history to rush for 1,000-plus yards in three straight seasons, a feat he pulled off from 1994 to 1996.

A native of Austin, Texas, Shaw was so successful and respected as a Hawkeye that he kept the immensely talented Tavian Banks as his backup for three seasons.

Shaw had the total package as a running back in that he could elude defenders in space and plow through them in traffic.

He was also incredibly durable as evidenced by his performance in a 21-7 win at Michigan State in 1995 when he rushed for 250 yards on a whopping 42 carries.

These were tough yards between the tackles; five yards here, four yards there; Shaw just kept pounding and pounding until victory was achieved.

Former Iowa head coach Hayden Fry helped to break the Big Ten’s long-standing three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust mentality by throwing the ball downfield when few other did in the conference, and by using what he liked to call “exotics” to keep defenses guessing.

But Fry could also be predictable and conservative on offense if that’s what it took to win. And against the Nick Saban-coached Spartans in 1995, that’s what it took to win on the road.

It reached the point where you knew that Shaw would almost certainly carry the ball, and yet, the Spartans still couldn’t stop him.

Shaw never achieved stardom in the NFL where he played from 1997 to 1999 for the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns.

But that isn’t a requirement to make the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame.

All Iowa athletes who have earned at least one varsity letter at Iowa are eligible for the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame. Athletes must have completed their eligibility 10 years and coaches/administrators five years prior to their induction.

Shaw had been eligible for nearly two decades under those requirements, so for it to have taken this long is sort of a head-scratcher.

He never earned All-America honors as a Hawkeye, but he was named first-team All-Big Ten as a senior in 1996, was a two-time Most Valuable Player in 1995 and 1996, and a team captain in 1996.

Shaw also played when the Big Ten was loaded with star running backs; a list that included Eddie George, Darnell Autry, Ki-Jana Carter, Curtis Enis, Mike Alstott and Ron Dayne just to name a a few.

Iowa finished 6-6 in Shaw’s first season in 1993, 5-5-1 in 1994, 8-4 in 1995 and 9-3 in 1996.

And though he lived in the spotlight while at Iowa, Shaw stayed humble throughout college, letting his success on the field do his talking. He was the ultimate team player, always deflecting the praise to his offensive linemen.

Shaw capped his Hawkeye career in spectacular fashion by rushing for 113 yards and one touchdown in a 27-0 thrashing of Texas Tech in the 1996 Alamo Bowl.

He was overshadowed by Texas Tech All-America running back and Doak Walker Award winner Byron Hanspard heading into the game. But the Red Raiders were held to just 60 rushing yards, while Hanspard’s longest run gained only 17 yards.

Once the game started, Shaw seized the spotlight from Hanspard and never let go.

It was a fitting way for arguably the greatest running back in Hawkeye history to end his career.

And now almost 30 years later, Sedrick Shaw is where he belongs in the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame.