Legendary former wrestling coach Dan Gable will serve as Iowa’s honorary captain for the Hawkeyes’ football game against Michigan State on Saturday, a release said.

Gable coached the Hawkeyes from 1977-97, mentored 152 all-Americans and 45 national champions, and finished with a career record of 355-21-5 and .932 winning percentage. Ten of his pupils went on to participate in the Olympics, and they won eight medals.

The 63-year-old was an Olympic gold medalist himself, taking the top spot in the 1972 summer games in Munich without surrendering a point. He was inducted into the USA Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1980 following a career in which he was named freestyle national champion on three separate occasions and took home a world title in 1971.

Iowa won 25-consecutive Big Ten titles under Gable, including 21 when the Waterloo native was the Hawkeyes head coach and four as an assistant and administrator.

A 7-foot bronze statue of Gable will be unveiled outside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the spring.

Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m., and the Athletics Department has designated the game as Iowa’s annual "Blackout" event. Fans are encouraged to wear black apparel for the nationally televised contest.

— by Seth Roberts