the recommendation of Lane. Jones accepted a five-year contract at $4,500 annually, the longest commitment and most money ever offered to a coach at Iowa. Jones's first two years were highlighted by a 67–0 loss to Minnesota in 1916 and a 47–0 loss to Nebraska in 1917. Jones vowed he would never lose by such scores again, and he did not; they remained the two worst losses of his career. In 1918, Iowa defeated Minnesota for the first time in school history. It would be the first of five straight wins over Minnesota for Jones, and Nebraska never again scored a point on a Jones-coached team. The loss of Fred Becker hurt Iowa during that time. Becker was Iowa's first first team All-American as a sophomore in 1916. He could have been a potential star for Jones, but he played just one season before enlisting for the service with the outbreak of World War I. Becker was killed in combat just ten months after being named an All-American. World War I altered the college football landscape. Eligibility rules were relaxed in the Big Ten Conference in 1918. Iowa's athletic director also left to serve in the war, so Jones was appointed to that position as well. Iowa's game with Coe College in 1918 was played with no fans in the stands, as public officials feared a flu epidemic. Iowa reportedly won, 27–0. In 1918 and 1919, Iowa fell just short of the Big Ten title, with losses to Illinois costing the Hawkeyes the crown in both seasons. Jones also coached the Iowa baseball team in 1919. In 1920, Iowa had the top two scorers in the Big Ten and finished with a 5–2 record. Still, Iowa had not won a conference title in 21 years. All that changed in 1921, when Iowa finished with a perfect 7–0 record and won the Big Ten title outright. The most notable win of the season was a 10–7 triumph over Notre Dame. It was Jones's first meeting with Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne. The win snapped a 20-game winning streak for Rockne and Notre Dame, which would be the longest winning streak of Rockne's career. One of the criticisms fans had of the previous Iowa coach, Hawley, was that he could not convince talented Iowa players to play at Iowa. Jones succeeded in that respect; the 1921 Hawkeyes started 11 native Iowans. Despite