First two 2013 contests with times set

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

Start times for Iowa’s first two contests of the 2013 season were officially announced Wednesday by the Big Ten.

The Hawkeyes’ season opener against Northern Illinois on Aug. 31 will kickoff at 2:30 p.m. Central, while their game the following week versus FCS opponent Missouri State on Sept. 7 will start at 11 a.m. Central. Both games will be televised on BTN.

That now makes seven games with start times officially announced — six of Iowa’s first seven games and the annual regular season finale against Nebraska. Announcements on the remaining five contests will all be announced 12 days prior.




2013 Leadership Group announced

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz announced his Leadership Group for the 2013 season Wednesday, which consists of 15 players.

This year’s group consists of six seniors, three juniors, four sophomores and two redshirt freshmen. The seniors include three returnees from last year’s group in linebacker James Morris, long snapper Casey Kreiter and offensive tackle Brett Van Sloten. Joining them this year are linebackers Christian Kirksey and Anthony Hitchens and cornerback B.J. Lowery.

The newest junior added to this year’s group is running back Mark Weisman, who joins a pair of returnees in wide receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley and offensive tackle Brandon Scherff. From the sophomores, quarterback Jake Rudock and center Austin Blythe return, while the additions are defensive end Drew Ott and cornerback Jordan Lomax.

Quarterback C.J. Beathard and offensive lineman Ryan Ward make up the redshirt freshmen duo in this year’s group.




Iowa/Iowa State starting at 5 p.m. CT

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

It turns out Iowa will have one prime time game in 2013 after all.

The Hawkeyes’ annual showdown with Iowa State on Sept. 14 will be a 5 p.m. Central kickoff and will be televised nationally on the new Fox Sports 1 channel set to launch in August. This announcement came from the Big 12 Conference on Tuesday.

This will mark only the third time an Iowa/Iowa State game has started later than 2:30 p.m. CT, with the most recent occurrence coming back in 2002 when the Cyclones defeated the Hawkeyes 36-31 at Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa now has five kickoffs set for this season, with two more (the first two games against Northern Illinois and Missouri State) still expected to be announced by the Big Ten before the season begins. Other kickoff times already include the Hawkeyes’ homecoming game against Michigan State and road games at Minnesota, Ohio State and Nebraska.




New 2015 Iowa football schedule revealed

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

A visit to Camp Randall Stadium, plus Illinois’ first trip to Kinnick Stadium in eight seasons highlight Iowa’s new 2015 Big Ten football schedule released by the conference Monday morning.

The Hawkeyes’ Big Ten opener in 2015 will take place on Oct. 3 when they play at Wisconsin, marking their first game against the Badgers in Madison since the 2009 season when Iowa defeated Wisconsin, 20-10. The Badgers are slated to visit Kinnick Stadium each of the next two seasons. Then the following week, the Hawkeyes play host to Illinois for the first time since 2007, when Iowa won 10-6.

Following an Oct. 17 trip to Northwestern, Iowa will have its lone bye week of the 2015 season before hosting new Big Ten member Maryland on Halloween. The month of November opens with the Hawkeyes playing at Indiana on Nov. 7, followed by consecutive home games against Minnesota (Nov. 14) and Purdue (Nov. 21) before ending the season with the annual Black Friday showdown at Nebraska on Nov. 27.

Below is the new complete 2015 schedule for Iowa, including non-conference games:

2015:

Sept. 5 – vs. Illinois State

Sept. 12 – at Iowa State

Sept. 19 – vs. Pittsburgh

Sept. 26 – vs. North Texas

Oct. 3 – at Wisconsin

Oct. 10 – vs. Illinois

Oct. 17 – at Northwestern

Oct. 24 – BYE

Oct. 31 – vs. Maryland

Nov. 7 – at Indiana

Nov. 14 – vs. Minnesota

Nov. 21 – vs. Purdue

Nov. 27 – at Nebraska




Remembering the life of Jim Zabel

Legendary Iowa play-by-play voice Jim Zabel passed away on Thursday, May 23, 2013. He was 91. (Photo courtesy of the Iowa sports information department.)

Legendary Iowa play-by-play voice Jim Zabel passed away on Thursday, May 23, 2013. He was 91. (Photo courtesy of the Iowa sports information department.)

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

In the wake of Thursday evening’s news regarding the death of Iowa broadcasting legend Jim Zabel, I thought it would be appropriate to reach out to some of those deeply entrenched in the Hawkeye community who knew Zabel well and would perhaps be willing to share with me (and all of you) some memories they have of him.

Of the five people I contacted Friday morning, there was only one person I was unable to speak with — former Iowa football head coach Hayden Fry. I did speak briefly with his wife Shirley. She informed me that while they were both saddened to hear about Zabel passing away, Hayden didn’t want to comment publicly on Friday morning about Zabel or anything else.

However, everyone I contacted with the exception of Fry returned my phone calls. These four names should all be quite familiar to Hawkeye fans — Phil Haddy (former Iowa sports information director), Gary Dolphin (the current Iowa play-by-play man), Bob Brooks (Zabel’s fellow Iowa play-by-play comrade in Eastern Iowa, now currently with KMRY-AM in Cedar Rapids), and former Iowa men’s basketball head coach Tom Davis.

Like many of you, they all loved Zabel and everything he stood for. They loved being around him and the memories he provided them all through the years. With that in mind, here are some of those thoughts and memories of Zabel they shared with me Friday in their words:

On their relationships with Jim Zabel and the impact he had on their lives:

Phil Haddy: “He had that enthusiasm that was unbelievable. He made everyone believe that Iowa could win every game. Going into every game, he felt that we could win that game. Even the year we were 0-11 in football, I think he picked us to be 11-0 that year. He was so optimistic.

“His enthusiasm for broadcasting, for the Hawkeyes and life in general was something we all could learn from. He lived life to its fullest and I don’t know if I hardly ever saw the man in a depressed or unhappy mood other than when it was something tragic that maybe happened in his family like the loss of his first wife or the loss of his daughter.”

Bob Brooks: “Well, at least in my view and I think Jim’s view, too, we had a mutual respect for what each person was trying to do. Consequently, we did have backbiting and that sort of thing. Then since I’ve known him for over a 70-year period of time, we became good friends off the microphone and on the microphone. It was a relationship probably unique to the business, but by the same token one that I hope was for both of us very enjoyable. It certainly was for me and his passing to the state is a great loss of a state treasure.

“I would think you didn’t take any story for granted because you knew there would be competition for that particular story or that particular game, so you basically knew Jim was going to do his best in broadcasting and that made you try to do your best.”

Tom Davis: “You know, it was an interesting relationship in that not only was he a journalist and a good radio guy, but he was so closely involved with the program because of a couple of things. One was because he MC’ed so many events. The I-Club circuit’s a good example. I don’t know how many of those he would average a year, but if they did 15 I-Clubs a year, I’d say Zabel did about half of them and would MC them all around the state.

“So in addition to that, that was something not many people would pay a lot of attention to, but then when you consider the pre-game shows and post-game shows on the radio, the call-in show where you did an hour-and-a-half a week in basketball all season long, other media events where he’d call you up and say I need a couple of comments for my sports show, traveling with him because the media traveled with us to away games for the most part all season long, it was pretty intense.

“You know, you’re around the media a tremendous amount and the radio guys including Ron Gonder and Bob Brooks, along with Zabel, more than you were the print media. You’d see them after the games or if they might do a pre-game story or at media day. But one of my advantages was he was such a good guy in the sense that he was a real pro. He never tried to make the players look bad. You know, you get some guys and they’re trying to dig and make a player look bad or if a player has a bad game, trying to nip him a little bit. Jim just wasn’t that kind of guy. He’d try to describe the game as best he could and he’d try to make the most out of it and not try to take apart any of the players and certainly coaching, too.

“You’re going to take your lumps as a coach and you don’t object to the criticism as much as you do if it’s on behalf of the players. So I always appreciated that in Jim and the other radio guys, too, because Bob Brooks and Ron Gonder were cut from the same cloth. Maybe they took their cues from each other, but that was a real advantage to me being a coach at the University of Iowa and I’m sure I would speak for Hayden Fry and Dan Gable and any other coach. On the women’s side or men’s side, it didn’t matter because Jim pretty much treated all of us the same.”

Gary Dolphin: “It was a very good relationship. Jim and I developed a relationship long before 1996 0r 1997, whenever I took over as the play-by-play voice. I did Iowa football and basketball back in the early ’70s for six years and I did all the football games home and away out of Dubuque. We were one of about half a dozen stations to do all the games in those days, so I traveled with Jim and with [Ed] Podolak, Randy Duncan and others before Eddie and got to know Jim socially very well and of course, Ron Gonder and Bob Brooks, Gene Clausen and Frosty Mitchell, all of those guys. So I knew Jim very well long before this gig came up.

“With this as a backdrop, when that announcement came down, the university had decided to go with an exclusive rights-holder. Jim was not happy about it and neither was Ron Gonder or Bob Brooks and I don’t blame them one bit. But they also understood that that was not my decision. That was not my call. It was the university’s call and I just happened to be next in line and fortunate enough to get the job. There were some uneasy moments, but it was never vicious or contentious in the broadcast booth because as you know, Jim and Ron and Bob hosted the pre-game show, halftime and post-game coverage for about five years after we started this transition.

“In the end, it worked out fine. We let them have their moment on the air in a new deal and eventually they all retired, or at least partially retired. I don’t think Z ever retired. He and I actually became closer once he retired because I’d host an I-Club event with him here or there and we’d do a couple of social events and fundraisers together. We got to be very good friends. Podolak and I had a conference call with him about three weeks ago and he always liked to run new material by me for the I-Club circuit. He was always great with one-liners. The reputation Jim had for having alligator arms and never buying a round of beverages more than balanced out in the material he’d give me for after-dinner speaking, so it was all good.”

Their favorite Zabel stories:

Davis: “Jim was the kind of guy that he wasn’t afraid to be the butt of the joke. He wasn’t afraid to make fun of himself. The joke was that Jim Zabel would never pick up a check. We would always kid him about it.

“I remember one time I was with him and it was pretty good sized group of people and I think some of my coaching staff. When the check came, Jim Zabel reached over and grabbed the check. I said, ‘What are you doing?’ He said, ‘Look, I’m going to get this check, but I don’t want you to tell anybody because if you tell them, I’ll lose my amateur standing.’ So he understood that he would take some heat for not picking up checks and things, but he was a good-hearted man.

“He was considerate. He was fun to be around and he helped me get through a lot of winter nights, especially after losses when I really needed him to help carry me through a post-game show or taping a television show. He was always there for us as coaches and believe me, we’ll miss him and we appreciate everything he did for the University of Iowa.”

Haddy: “He was known throughout history for his tightness with the dollar. He always said that’s why he was able to afford the big house that he lived in in Scottsdale, Ariz. But Jim would have a tendency to go to the bathroom and probably stay in the restroom for about a half-hour when the bill came. He had what we call now the ‘Alligator arms.’ He had them tucked in quite a bit when the bill came for meal-time.

“One story was he was out with some people and he said, ‘I’ll get it.’ He gave them the credit card. He knew it obviously, but the people came back and said, ‘Mr. Zabel, apparently this credit card’s not working.’ So naturally, the people he was with said, ‘Don’t worry, Jim. We’ll take care of it.’ But his wife came in and said, ‘Jim, knock it off. Give them the correct credit card.’

“That was ‘The Z.’ We all knew him as ‘The Z.’ He was pretty tight with the dollar, but as much as he was that and as much as people shook their heads when he was so cheap, he was a person you couldn’t help but love and respect for all he did. It’s a gigantic loss for Iowa athletics — just losing him, his knowledge and all he did for the Hawkeyes.”

Brooks: “Well, every time we gather around the campfire of Iowa football or basketball without Jim, his name comes up as to something that had happened in the past and something that was funny. Jim had a great wit about him, a great mind. Very quick and precise, and he was an entertainer, plus a great broadcaster.

“Of course, he was quite frugal, too, and as time went on, he kind of took an honor in being that. So we would try and trap him into picking up the check from time to time and we never really got it done over a period of time. Usually, if we were in a cab — the press corps — we would try and get Jim in the middle seat in the back so that the other people could get out and get away from the cab and he would have to pick up the check. Since he was a track man, he usually got away from us with that.

“He had the ability of narcolepsy, where he would doze off for a minute or short period of time during a meal. One night, we were at the Edgewater Hotel in Madison before an Iowa-Wisconsin game and the meal was coming to an end. Jim was going into one of those sleepy moods, so all of us said at the table, ‘This is the time we get him.’ The check was left at his plate and we all left the room. Low and behold, the next morning, we were informed that he had signed the name of the president of the University of Iowa, Sandy Boyd, on the check. Well, we weren’t going to let that happen, so we all had to divvy up and again, Jim did not pick up the check.”

Dolphin: “When we first started this in ’97, he would come into the booth after making the drive over from Des Moines and just to give you an idea of how good an ad-libber he was and how he could just take whatever happened in the moment and turn it into a 10-minute dissertation, he would walk into the booth every Saturday morning with the Des Moines Register sports section and hand-written notes all around the margin of each pages, notes that he just jotted down on his drive over from Des Moines. That was his pre-game show. He just was so good at sensing the moment and keys to the game that day, so he would just take little 1-2 word notes and from there we drew a chapter.

“But my favorite Zabel story involved Bob Brooks. It was either the first or second year, we were at Northwestern and it was a brutally cold, icy, windy football day. Brooksie and Z never saw eye-to-eye totally, either. There was a sort of professional confrontation going on between those two as to who was going to have the mic the longest. On this Saturday, it was the segment where we were going around the Big Ten and talking about other match-ups.

“Purdue was at Penn State and Purdue had Billy Dicken at quarterback, who was a tremendous quarterback. He could roll out, throw on the run, etc. And then Curtis Enis was the all-American tailback. A bruising 230-pound back from Penn State. Zabel asked the question, ‘Well on a day like today, Brooksie, with howling winds and icy conditions, who would you rather have in that game?’ Well Bob Brooks said without hesitating, ‘I’d rather have Curtis Enis. You know, you got to grind it out on the ground.’ Zabel said, ‘Well, I’d rather have Billy Dicken because he’s great at the short passes and can get you quicker scores.’

“Back and forth they went arguing their points and then finally, Brooksie had enough and after about two minutes, he just cut Jim off and he goes, ‘Well, all I know is on a day like today, I’d rather have an Enis than a Dicken.’ With that, we’re all standing in the booth, Podolak and I look at each other and we just start roaring. Gonder couldn’t contain himself, he was just yucking it up. Then Zabel, true to his form, always got the last word. He goes, ‘Well, I wish you would’ve told me that last night.’ From there, it started to get R-rated, then I jumped in and Gonder jumped in and said, ‘O.K., guys. We got to take a break.’ But Brooksie’s classic ‘I’d rather have an Enis than a Dicken’ has probably drawn more comments from Hawkeye listeners over the years than any other single moment on the Hawkeye Radio Network. That’s just one of many classic stories about Jim Zabel.”

On Zabel’s influence on those all over the state of Iowa:

Brooks: “Well, we had these different broadcasts of Iowa football and the fans could take their choice. That was the thing that sold Iowa football. It was the fact that fans, if they disliked one, could go to another or if they thought, ‘Maybe we could change the luck of the Hawks that day,’ they could switch, and so on.

“Also, all of the stations that were either on Jim’s network or my network or Ron’s network or Frosty’s network or Gene Clausen’s network in the state, during the week all of the stations would talk about Iowa football and the upcoming game and when their particular broadcast was going to be on. So it was really Iowa football 24 hours a day. It was a bunch of what you would want in play-by-play of Iowa football.” 

Davis: “You know, you go back in history and some of your younger fans in the state of Iowa might not realize that back in the late ’70s and certainly during the ’80s and the late ’80s and ’90s when I was the coach then, every Iowa basketball game then was televised statewide as well as those radio stations. As well as those call-in shows — I don’t know how many of those stations had those call-in shows for both football and basketball. But a lot of stations around this state.

“The state of Iowa was so immersed in the Hawkeyes and developed this fan thing. And then you add on what the university was doing with I-Clubs and going out into the communities and having the coaches meet the fans and say hello to them and talk to them in the offseason, it was a tremendous way of developing fan support and it’s one of the reasons why Iowa is where it is today. It was because of guys like Jim Zabel that played a role in it that you don’t always see in some other programs and some other states.”

Dolphin: “He had an advantage, of course, with WHO. There aren’t many 50,000-watt Clear Channel radio stations left in the country and WHO reaches 42 states a night. In a changing face of radio with the Internet and social media and all of this, Jim was smart enough to understand it was here to stay and he changed with the times. He was very versatile, very flexible. But his command of the state-wide audience had a lot to do with the WHO signal because they got into every corner, nook and cranny of the state.

“But you still have to have a good product to sell and this is what I’ve tried to tell people over the years, Jim was so good. When you think of him, here’s a young guy who grew up in The Depression and wanted to be a broadcaster, a journalism major at the University of Iowa. When you think of all of his storefronts, the generational links that he was able to broadcast from the Great Depression to Nile Kinnick to World War II to the Baby Boom generation of the ’50s and the great Iowa Rose Bowl runs of [Forest] Evashevski of the ’50s and the drought of the ’60s and ’70s and then to the Hayden Fry run, during all of that, he had a morning variety show on WHO. He had a cooking show, a recipe show. Then he’d jump over to television and do ‘Beat the Bear,’ a bowling show. I know he anchored the news one night when the news anchor was sick on Channel 13 and he could do the weather. Not very well, but he could get through the weather map.

“The guy, he was like a vaudevillian. He could change personalities and change roles in an era where you had to do that. You know, you could not be hired as a sports play-by-play broadcaster in the ’30s. It just didn’t happen. You had to be able to do other things and that’s what made Jim so entertaining on Saturdays. All those other part-time jobs or gigs that he had always blended very well with his broadcasts on Saturday afternoon at Kinnick Stadium.

“He always told me — and if I took one thing, I would take 100 things away from Jim to use in my career — he said, ‘If I could give you one thing to take with you, be prepared to inject a little humor, a little of your personality, into every broadcast, because you’re not going to win every Saturday. You’re not going to win every Big Ten basketball game on a cold, chilly January night in the winter. So you’ve got to be prepared. When the games aren’t going well, you still have to entertain.’ He was the supreme entertainer.”

Haddy: “Well, he had that Hawkeye Radio Network there in Des Moines with WHO and as he used to say, it was ‘border to border, coast to coast, and then some’ on WHO. There were people throughout the country that used to say we’d listen to the re-broadcast of Iowa football games in the fall because they used to — and maybe they still do — re-broadcast them at 10:30 on Saturday night. Jim used to do that and people in Florida, California, everywhere could hear that with that clear-band signal of WHO.

“So you’d always hear from people in all kinds of outreaching places in the country that say, ‘Yeah, we listen to that Zabel guy out there in Iowa and we listen to this and that.’ So I guess you could say he truly was, even though we had the Ron Gonders, the Bob Brookses, the Gene Clausens, Frosty Mitchells and all of them, Jim Zabel was probably the voice of Iowa athletics for well over 50 years.”

On what they’ll remember about Zabel the most:

Dolphin: “The thing I’ll remember about Jim the most obviously was his sheer, comedic style that he used broadcasting a football game or a basketball game. You know, he really was a dinosaur in that he would do an Iowa game on Saturday afternoon, then race over to Ames and do an Iowa State game Saturday night, or do Drake and Iowa State on the same day. The guy was amazing.

“But through it all, he had a great sense of humor. He always slid in a plug for his favorite nighters or watering holes, which was hilarious. But he was always a professional. He was always well-prepared. But the obvious comedy style was just his absolute passion to radio. I mean, the guy — and he would tell you, ‘I don’t have many hobbies. I like to play tennis;” In his younger days, he was a pretty good tennis player and obviously he was a great runner in high school, a great track athlete — but he really didn’t have any other hobbies other than broadcasting Iowa football and basketball and just broadcasting in general. So his passion for this industry is what I’ll always remember Jim for.”

Davis: “I have two thoughts. One is what a real, true professional he was. He loved journalism. He loved being a broadcaster. He loved doing what he did. When he said, ‘I love it! I love it! I love it!’ he could have been talking about what he was doing in reality, not just the game he was reporting on because he always loved what he did and I think fans understood that. So I think that’s an awfully key thing.

“The other point I’d make is if you go back in history, he did Drake games. He did Iowa State games. He did high school games. You know, he did anything that they asked him to do that would help benefit the sport or station or whatever the case may be. I know when I went over to Drake and would talk to Jim about the Drake job, he would have such great memories of Maurice John coaching there and their great teams and Dolph Pulliam and what he did.

“I think he helped me a lot understand the history of Drake. As we tried to build the Drake program, he was somebody I went to and he cared about all of the programs. The Hawkeye fans and other fans in the later years probably thought he was an Iowa homer, but he really wasn’t. He was someone who really cared about the state of Iowa, even though he broadcasted mostly Iowa games late in his career. Early in his career, he worked for a lot of the different venues.”

Haddy:  “I think I’ll remember the most about him how vibrant he was, how much of a Hawkeye fan he was, how biased he was. I mean, you talk about now you want to have broadcasters and journalists be unbiased. There was no qualm about it with him. He was 100 percent Hawkeye, and if we lost a game, it was probably at the fault of the officials or somebody like that. But he was 100 percent and he was not going to veer from that one bit.

“You know, through the years, starting in the 1940s, there was probably no greater ambassador for Iowa football and basketball and Iowa athletics in general than Jim Zabel. He was close to the athletic directors, he was close to the coaches and one of the reasons he was so close to them was because they knew they could count on his undying support and loyalty through thick and thin.”

Brooks: “Well, I think I would put it in a line that he used in 1994 when he was quoted as saying, ‘If you want to know what to put on my tombstone, three words: I had fun.’ And what a great ride he had with that fun.”




Four kickoff times for 2013 season official

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

Start times for four of Iowa’s Big Ten games in 2013 have been made official by the conference.

For the third straight year, the Hawkeyes’ Black Friday showdown against Nebraska is set for 11 a.m. CT and will be televised by ABC. This year’s contest takes place at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., on Nov. 29.

Because Iowa is the homecoming opponent for both Minnesota and Ohio State this season, start times for those two games were announced as well. The Hawkeyes’ game at Minnesota on Sept. 28 is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised by ABC, while their contest at Ohio State on Oct. 19 will also be played at 2:30 p.m. CT and air on either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.

Iowa’s homecoming game against Michigan State on Oct. 5 is set for 11 a.m. CT. No TV has been announced yet for that game.

Three more start times are expected to be announced here within the next month. The Big Ten will announce start times for the Hawkeyes’ first two games at home against Northern Illinois on Aug. 31 and Missouri State on Sept. 7, while the Big 12 will announce the kickoff for Iowa’s game at Iowa State on Sept. 14.




Zabel passes away

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

Iowa broadcasting legend Jim Zabel passed away Thursday at his home in Arizona. News of Zabel’s death was first reported Thursday evening by WHO-TV in Des Moines.

He was 91.

In 1944, Zabel joined WHO-AM radio in Des Moines and eventually became Central Iowa’s “Voice of the Hawkeyes,” a title he held from 1947-1996 calling Iowa football and men’s basketball games over the airwaves. Zabel would continue doing work for the radio station beyond his retirement from play-by-play.

Over that time span, the Iowa men’s basketball team appeared in three Final Fours (1955, 1956 and 1980) while the football program made five trips to the Rose Bowl (1957, 1959, 1982, 1986, 1991). He was succeeded by current Iowa play-by-play man Gary Dolphin when Learfield Sports combined the three flagship stations across the state calling Iowa games and formed the Hawkeye Radio Network.

Two of his signature calls with Iowa football came during the 1980s — the Hawkeyes’ 12-10 victory over Michigan in 1985 on a last-second field goal by Rob Houghtlin when the two teams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 nationally, and in 1987 when Chuck Hartlieb threw a game-winning touchdown pass to Marv Cook in the Hawkeyes’ 29-27 victory over Ohio State that season.

Zabel was best known by Hawkeye fans for his line, “I love it! I love it! I love it!”

*Be sure to visit HawkeyeDrive.com Friday for more on the life of Jim Zabel.




Banks, Clemons headline 2013 Hall of Fame class

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

Former Iowa football players Brad Banks and Craig Clemons are among the group of 2013 inductees into the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame, the UI announced Wednesday afternoon in a release. Joining them in this year’s class were Sam Bailie (gymnastics), Jennifer Brower-McNutt (cross country/track and field), Franthea Price (women’s basketball) and former women’s golf coach Diane Thomason.

Banks played two seasons at Iowa (2001-02) after transferring from Hinds Community College in Mississippi. He played sparingly as a back-up quarterback in 2001 before having one of the most decorated seasons of any Hawkeye signal-caller ever in 2002. Banks led an Iowa squad that finished 11-2 overall and 8-0 in Big Ten play, winning a share of the Big Ten title with Ohio State. Completing 26 touchdown passes to just five interceptions, Banks went on to win the 2002 Davey O’Brien Award and was the runner-up for that season’s Heisman Trophy to then-USC quarterback Carson Palmer.

Clemons (1969-71) played all three seasons he was eligible at safety for Iowa and was a first-team all-American during his senior season in 1971. During his Hawkeye career, Clemons recorded 261 career tackles and led Iowa in interceptions during both his junior and senior campaigns. The Chicago Bears selected Clemons with the 12th overall pick in the 1972 NFL Draft and he went on to play six seasons in the NFL, all of which came with the Bears.

This year’s Hall of Fame class will be enshrined on Aug. 30, the night before Iowa’s 2013 season opener against Northern Illinois.




New 2014 Iowa football schedule released

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

A trip to Maryland and the resumption of a rivalry with Illinois highlights the Iowa Hawkeyes’ new 2014 Big Ten football schedule released by the conference on Thursday.

Iowa’s first Big Ten game in 2014 will take place on Sept. 27 when it plays at Purdue, marking the third trip in four seasons to West Lafayette, Ind. (the Hawkeyes visit Ross-Ade Stadium on Nov. 9 this year). After a bye week, Iowa will then play at home against Indiana on Oct. 11. The Hoosiers originally were not on the 2014 schedule originally put out two springs ago.

Then on Oct. 18, the Hawkeyes will play their first Big Ten game against Maryland at Byrd Stadium in College Park, Md. It will be the Terrapins’ third league game. Iowa has two byes in the month of October, before the home game against Indiana and after the game at Maryland.

November features three home games, including Northwestern making a third trip to Kinnick Stadium in four years on Nov. 1. The Hawkeyes then play back-to-back road games against Minnesota and Illinois on Nov. 8 and Nov. 15, respectively. The game at Minnesota will mark Iowa’s fourth visit to TCF Bank Stadium in five years, while the contest against the Fighting Illini will be the Hawkeyes’ first game against Illinois since the 2008 season.

Iowa’s schedule then concludes with a pair of home games that will intrigue the Hawkeye faithful as Wisconsin and Nebraska both visit Kinnick Stadium. The Nov. 22 contest against Wisconsin will be the second consecutive trip to Iowa for the Badgers, who were originally slated to play Iowa at home in 2014. The finale against Nebraska is set for Nov. 28, which will be Black Friday next year.

Below is the new complete 2014 schedule for Iowa, including non-conference games:

2014:

Aug. 30 – vs. Northern Iowa

Sept. 6 – vs. Ball State

Sept. 13 – vs. Iowa State

Sept. 20 – at Pittsburgh

Sept. 27 – at Purdue

Oct. 4 – BYE

Oct. 11 – vs. Indiana

Oct. 18 – at Maryland

Oct. 25 – BYE

Nov. 1 – vs. Northwestern

Nov. 8 – at Minnesota

Nov. 15 – at Illinois

Nov. 22 – vs. Wisconsin

Nov. 28 – vs. Nebraska




No night games at Kinnick Stadium in 2013

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

After having one prime time game at Kinnick Stadium each of the past four seasons, the Iowa Hawkeyes won’t be playing any home games under the lights in 2013.

The Big Ten Network announced its slate of 12 prime time games for the upcoming 2013 season, none of which featured Iowa. The Hawkeyes are coming off their first losing season since 2006 after going 4-8 in 2012.

One possibility still remains for a night game this season when Iowa plays at Iowa State on Sept. 14. However, the last time the Hawkeyes and Cyclones met in prime time at Jack Trice Stadium was back in 1999, Kirk Ferentz’s first season as Iowa’s head coach.

Over the next two months, seven kickoff times will likely be announced. The Big Ten’s next announcement will consist of schools’ Homecoming games, as well as Iowa’s Black Friday showdown at Nebraska on Nov. 29. The Hawkeyes’ Homecoming game is Oct. 5 against Michigan State and Iowa is the Homecoming opponent for both Minnesota (Sept. 28) and Ohio State (Oct. 19) this season.

In addition to those four conference games, there will be Iowa’s first three games of the season — the first two at home against Northern Illinois and Missouri State that will be announced by the Big Ten, and the contest at Iowa State, which the Big 12 will announce at a time still to be determined.