Iowa head baseball coach Jack Dahm is in his 10th season at the helm of the Iowa baseball team, but he has a lasting legacy elsewhere.
Eighteen years of Dahm’s baseball life were spent at Creighton University as a student-athlete, assistant, and head coach. Along the way, he became the Bluejay baseball coach with the mosti wins in program history by amassing 283 wins and 276 losses.
Today, Dahm will send out the Iowa baseball team to battle against his alma mater when the Hawkeyes take on the Bluejays at Banks Field.
“It’s always a little awkward and difficult,” Dahm said. “I spent 18 years of my life there, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. It’s been a few years since then, though, and that makes it easier.”
Two members of the Bluejay coaching staff have connections to Dahm. Creighton head coach Ed Servais was an assistant coach under Dahm. Associate head coach Spencer Allen was an assistant for Dahm in his first year at Iowa in 2003.
Dahm said one of the things he looks forward when facing his old school to seeing whatever familiar faces are left from his coaching days.
“Ed is one of my best friends,” Dahm said. “It’s nice to still have some of those connections to the team. They’re still a very good program, one of the top programs in the nation. They’ve had tremendous success throughout the years.”
But as usual, Dahm won’t let nostalgia — or other factors — color his approach to preparing his team for today’s opponent. Catcher Keith Brand says the team’s veteran head coach tells them to treat opposing teams as faceless opponents. Players can only control their own actions and not what the other team does.
Brand said both the players and Dahm will take this approach today.
“We approach every game like it’s a championship game,” the Northbrook, Ill., native said. “We treat every game the same way whether we’re playing a top-25 team or a Division-III school. Every game is important.”
The upcoming games are especially important for Iowa as it tries to halt its slide in the Big Ten standings. After dropping two of three games to Penn State over the weekend, the Hawkeyes are three and a half games out of sixth place — and a trip to the Big Ten Tournament.
The Black and Gold haven’t had as much as a two-game winning streak since winning three straight from March 8-10, but they hope to get something started against Creighton.
What the team needs to do to win games has been easier said than done this season. Sophomore outfielder Kris Goodman said the Hawkeyes need to have the right mindset when they enter the ballpark.
“We need to be prepared from the get-go from the time we get here,” Goodman said on April 14. “If we are prepared to have a good game, then we will.”
With almost a decade of service as Iowa’s head coach, Dahm has no qualms facing his former club. Despite everything he accomplished as a Bluejay, his allegiance on the diamond lies firmly with the Black and Gold.
“My years spent at Creighton were great,” he said. “But I’ve been gone a long time. I look at myself today as a Hawkeye.”
