neal rozendaal

Neal Rozendaal was born in Grinnell, Iowa, on December 10, 1979. He attended Lynnville-Sully High School in central Iowa and was named a National Merit Scholar in 1998. Rozendaal then spent four years in Iowa City and graduated from the University of Iowa in 2002 with degrees in economics, statistics, and political science. His favorite memories of the Hawkeyes when he was a student include the basketball team’s run to the Sweet Sixteen his freshman year and the football team winning a Big Ten title after an undefeated conference season in 2002.

Rozendaal is a lifelong fan of Hawkeye sports and is an expert in Iowa sports history. He has written four books on the Iowa Hawkeyes. His first book, Hawkeye Greats, By the Numbers, peaked at #2 among books on Iowa history on Amazon.com. A year later, he co-authored What It Means to Be a Hawkeye with Lyle Hammes and Michael Maxwell. What It Means to Be a Hawkeye, published by Triumph Books, was the best-selling college football book on Amazon.com shortly after its release. Rozendaal’s third book, Duke Slater, is a biography of a legendary African-American athlete and judge, while his fourth Hawkeye book, Bump Elliott, is the biography of a decorated player, coach, and athletic director at Iowa and Michigan.

Rozendaal’s work has been praised by some of the biggest names in Hawkeye sports, including Gary Dolphin, Ron Gonder, Bob Brooks, Ron Maly, George Wine, and Mike Hlas. His books have been featured in The Des Moines Register, The Cedar Rapids Gazette, The Daily Iowan, WHO Radio, and WMT Radio.

Neal Rozendaal is enjoying his “second career” as a non-fiction writer. He resides in Grinnell, Iowa, with his wife, Ashley, and their three children: Magnolia, Kinnick, and Penny. Neal balances his day job as an economist with his side interest of writing books about sports. In addition to cheering for the Hawkeyes, Rozendaal is an avid Washington Nationals and D.C. Divas fan. If you have any questions for the author, you can contact him here.