As Fry got older and several assistant coaches departed for other coaching jobs, Iowa had a down period from 1992 to 1994, posting a 16–18–1 record and qualifying for just one bowl game, a 37–3 Alamo Bowl loss. But Fry had one last strong run in him. Iowa went 7–4 and won the Sun Bowl in 1995, and the Hawks went 8–3 and won the Alamo Bowl in 1996, a game in which the Hawkeyes wore blank black helmets in honor of linebacker Mark Mitchell's mother, Diane Mitchell, who had died in a car accident on the way to the game.