AP sources: Iowa plans to name Kinnick Stadium field for Slater

AP/Lang
7/21/21

Two people familiar with the proposal say the University of Iowa plans to name the field at Kinnick Stadium for Duke Slater, almost 50 years after the stadium itself was nearly named in his honor.

Slater was a trailblazing Black player who was an All-American tackle a century ago. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the plan to honor Slater hasn’t been announced. The Iowa Board of Regents is set to consider and approve “a proposed facility naming” at a meeting next week. No details about the agenda item have been released.

Slater played for Iowa from 1918-1921. In 2019, the UI unveiled a sculpture of the two-time All-American on the north end of Kinnick Stadium. The relief depicts Slater’s famous block against Notre Dame in 1921. In 1972, then-UI president Willard Boyd proposed renaming Iowa Stadium “Kinnick-Slater Stadium” after Slater and Nile Kinnick, but the university decided to name it after Kinnick alone. Instead, the university named the residence hall closest to the stadium Slater Hall in his honor.