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Iowa will play at Virginia Tech on Nov. 27 as part of the 2012 Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the two conferences announced Monday. This marks the third time in the last seven seasons the Hawkeyes and Hokies will meet on the hardwood since the Big Ten/ACC Challenge first began back in the 1999-2000 season.

The most recent meeting between these two teams came at Carver-Hawkeye Arena back in 2009, a game won by Virginia Tech, 70-64. The Hokies also won 69-65 in the 2006 meeting that took place at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va., the site of November’s contest.

Virginia Tech recently fired former head coach Seth Greenberg and introduced assistant James Johnson as its head coach on May 1.

Iowa’s last win in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge came in 2005 when the Hawkeyes defeated North Carolina State, 45-42. Last season, the Hawkeyes lost at home to Clemson, 71-55.

Among the other Big Ten/ACC Challenge match-ups announced Monday include a rematch between Ohio State and Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Indiana playing host to North Carolina, Michigan playing host to North Carolina State and Wisconsin playing host to Virginia.

The entire non-conference portion of Iowa’s 2012-13 schedule will be announced at a later date.

Former Iowa basketball player Don Nelson officially became a graduate of the University of Iowa during a commencement held Saturday, May 12, 2012, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Don Nelson’s graduation ceremony was everything he envisioned it being.

Fifty years have passed since Nelson last suited up in an Iowa basketball uniform, but the Hawkeyes’ 11th all-time leading scorer was at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday to finally receive his Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education, something he came 10 credits short of obtaining before his decorated career in pro basketball both as a player and later as a coach began.

With family and friends at his side, Nelson was among the first to be recognized during the UI’s spring commencement.

“I had been waiting for this moment for a long, long time,” Nelson said.

During the past half-century, Nelson was motivated to get the remaining credits he needed. Nelson thought he had initially fulfilled his Spanish requirement while he played for the Boston Celtics, a team he won five NBA titles with and has his No. 19 retired by. However, Nelson was later told he only fulfilled six of the eight credit hours he needed.

Years went by and Nelson was now in the midst of his coaching career, one that saw him become the NBA’s all-time winningest coach on April 7, 2010. While coaching the Golden State Warriors, he took care of the remaining hours he needed with Spanish through correspondence courses. All that remained were credits for practice teaching, but the time Nelson needed to fulfill that requirement wasn’t there with him working a job that required his attention year round.

When he finally stepped away from coaching for good, Nelson turned his attention to fulfilling that final requirement. As it turned out, he was informed his 35 seasons coaching in the NBA would be more than enough.

“They said just prove that you took the Spanish, so we called the colleges and they sent in the transcripts and here I am today,” Nelson said.

Nelson also said he found inspiration from former NBA center Shaquille O’Neal, who he coached during the 1994 FIBA World Championships in Toronto. O’Neal only played two seasons at LSU before jumping to the NBA in 1992, but along the way, he went back to school and not only earned his Bachelor’s degree from LSU, but just recently earned a doctoral degree from Barry University in Miami.

“A year ago, I said, ‘By golly, if Shaq can do it, I can do it,’” Nelson said. “I was pretty proud of him for doing that and that was some inspiration for me.”

The year of 2012 has proven to be both a memorable and busy one for Nelson. In addition to receiving his degree, Nelson will enter the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 7 in Springfield, Mass., as a tribute to all of his accomplishments on the hardwood. He also intends to begin a business endeavor later this year that he declined to give specifics about since it hasn’t launched yet.

“What I thought would be a real simple off-year of retirement has been one of the busiest years I’ve ever had,” Nelson said. “Here I am at 72, I thought I’d be winding down, but it has just been the opposite.”

As Nelson entered the Hawkeyes’ practice gym Saturday to meet assembled media, he had his photo taken with a frame of his No. 15 uniform at Iowa, one that included a picture of him from his days as a Hawkeye, plus a list of all his basketball accolades. When asked if he’d like to have the No. 15 retired someday (the No. 15 is currently worn at Iowa by junior Zach McCabe), Nelson said it’d be up to the university and that it wouldn’t affect him either way.

Graduating college may have come later than he originally expected, but Nelson’s determination to do so culminated Saturday into a moment he’ll always cherish.

“I wish it would have happened 50 years ago, but it didn’t,” Nelson said. “I think the moral to that story is it’s never too late. As long as you keep working and keep having dreams, they can come true.”

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The 2012 Prime Time League will only feature four teams instead of six and that Northern Iowa will not be participating in the league this summer, PTL commissioner Randy Larson said in a release sent Monday afternoon. Prior to the release being sent, KGAN-TV’s Jared Aarons had received confirmation from UNI head coach Ben Jacobson of the team not participating this year.

Larson said the reason behind UNI’s decision is related to NCAA legislation passed last January, which allows coaches to spend more hours around their players during the summer. As a result, Jacobson opted to not have his players travel down to the North Liberty Community Center twice a week.

“Coach Ben Jacobson said they were very disappointed to not be able to do it and they hope in future years to return, but this year just couldn’t afford the 12 hours or so a week away from campus to do it,” Larson said in the release. “We hope they will return next year.”

As a result of the four teams, the plan is for each team to feature two current Hawkeye players, one incoming freshman (Iowa has five of them) and two former Hawkeye players. All current scholarship players as well as sophomore walk-on Darius Stokes were listed as participating this summer.

Cedar Rapids native Jared Uthoff, who was recently released from his scholarship at Wisconsin after redshirting last season for the Badgers, is also slated to play in the PTL this summer under the condition he receives approval to participate from whatever school he ends up transferring to.

Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon. However, Larson told HawkeyeDrive.com he was informed of Jacobson’s decision last week and had a chance to talk with both head coaches about the new format.

“Once they found out Ben had made this decision, they of course were disappointed, but you know, I don’t think there’s any doubt this has really helped UNI level the playing field during the season,” Larson said. “It’s fair to say that I don’t think it hurts Iowa. They’re still playing great players against great players. It’s just one of those things where UNI has to do what they think they got to do and it didn’t make a difference to Iowa really.

“I don’t think they think it’s going to make any difference in terms of the level of competition, but I do think it will make a difference that the UNI guys are going to miss being able to compete head-to-head with the Iowa guys. I don’t think it’s the right decision for UNI, but I got to respect their desire to protect their players’ time.”

Larson also made clear he never got indication from talking with Jacobson that UNI’s decision had any relation to the new Big Four Classic that will begin next season. Iowa will play UNI on Dec. 15 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines and the two will meet every other year there as opposed to meeting home-and-home on an annual basis as they had been doing prior.

“I think Ben’s an honest guy,” Larson said. “We’ve always been great friends and worked together on these things for years and years and years. I have no reason to doubt what he says about why they’re not doing it.

“I don’t think they think that they’re doing this to hurt the league. It just changes the league to being all-Iowa pretty much.”

The league will conduct its draft in Iowa City on June 13 and the PTL is scheduled to start the evening of June 19 at the North Liberty Community Center. Games will then take place every Sunday afternoon starting June 24, with the PTL semifinals set for July 22 and the championship game on July 24.

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Iowa found out from the Big Ten on Thursday that four of its conference games during the 2012 season will start at 11 a.m. Central.

Just like last year, the Hawkeyes’ regular season finale against Nebraska at Kinnick Stadium will be televised by ABC. In addition, this marks the second year in a row Iowa plays its Homecoming game — which is Sept. 29 against Minnesota — at 11 a.m. Central.

Two road games — Oct. 13 against Michigan State and Oct. 27 against Northwestern — have also been set for the same time. Both games are Homecoming games for the Spartans and Wildcats, respectively. No TV assignments were designated for the Minnesota, Michigan State and Northwestern games.

Last week, Iowa’s game against Penn State on Oct. 20 was designated as the Hawkeyes’ lone night game in 2012, a 7 p.m. Central kickoff televised by BTN.

The new Cy-Hawk Trophy that will make its debut at the Iowa/Iowa State football game at Kinnick Stadium on Sept. 8, 2012. (Source: Iowa Corn)

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

A new design for the Cy-Hawk Trophy was released this week by Iowa Corn following a 17-day voting period where Iowa and Iowa State fans could vote for one of three possible looks to the prize given to the winner of the annual football game.

After playing for a temporary trophy last September in Ames (a game Iowa State won 44-41 in triple overtime), the Hawkeyes and Cyclones will now play for a trophy that features a football, corn stalks and both schools’ mascots. The bottom part of the trophy shows both logos as well as engraved scores from past Iowa-Iowa State football games, much like the original trophy used up until 2010.

This all came about after a new design initially revealed last year by Iowa Corn (who became the new sponsor of the Cy-Hawk Series in 2011) received widespread negative publicity to the point that it was immediately replaced by the temporary trophy used last season.

The new trophy will make its debut on Sept. 8 at Kinnick Stadium when Iowa plays Iowa State in what is the Hawkeyes’ home opener for the 2012 season.

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For the third straight year, Iowa saw a record six of its players selected in the NFL Draft after five more players were selected on Saturday between rounds 4-7.

Left tackle Riley Reiff was selected 23rd overall by the Detroit Lions on Thursday, but it took 109 picks before the second Hawkeye came off the board. With the 132nd overall pick, defensive tackle Mike Daniels was taken by the Green Bay Packers. It was the Packers’ second selection of an Iowa player in the last three years and Daniels was the fourth defensive lineman picked over the last two years.

Daniels said during a conference call with the Green Bay media the Packers were the only team he had an official visit with while he was in Indianapolis last February for the NFL Combine. Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers said they came away impressed with Daniels after they interviewed him.

“We think he’s an ‘all-football’ guy,” Capers said during a press conference in Green Bay on Saturday. “He brings a lot of energy. Very productive.

“He has very good quickness, a good motor. He’s playing hard all the time. We like what he’ll bring here to our front.”

A pair of Hawkeyes were then taken in the fifth round. The Washington Redskins used the 141st overall pick to take right guard Adam Gettis, who was the second Iowa offensive lineman to come off the board.

Fifteen selections later, the Cincinnati Bengals took cornerback Shaun Prater with the 156th overall pick. Prater is the fourth Iowa corner to be picked in the last five years.

During a press conference in Cincinnati on Saturday, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis praised Prater’s ability to play in coverage, citing that as a reason why they thought highly of him. He also believes Prater will be able to compete as a gunner on the Bengals’ special teams unit as well.

Prater revealed on a conference call with the Cincinnati media that he got a call from the city’s area code that initially hung out, thinking it was a prank call. When he saw the same number call again, he said he kept his fingers crossed.

“I looked up at the TV and it said the Bengals had the next pick and I saw that they needed a cornerback,” Prater said. “I just took a deep breath and just prayed to God that this was real.

“Now I have a chance to go prove myself.”

In the sixth round, wide receiver Marvin McNutt finally heard his name called when the Philadelphia Eagles picked Iowa’s record-shattering wideout with the 194th overall selection. McNutt goes to Philadelphia one year after the Eagles took former offensive lineman Julian Vandervelde with a fifth-round pick in 2011.

In an interview with philadelphiaeagles.com, McNutt said he describes himself as “a playmaker and a competitor.” To that point, he also said being taken as late as he was while numerous other receivers were being picked would make him even more competitive.

“It’s a competitive league in itself, so it’s going to be something to look at years back,” McNutt said. “But I definitely plan on improving and being a part of this Philly family and just basically make my way to the lineup.”

Eagles head coach Andy Reid said during a press conference in Philadelphia that his “inside source” on McNutt was defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, who is the father of Iowa cornerback Greg Castillo.

“I think what you’ll see with Marvin is a big, physical receiver with great hands, a good character kid, very strong to the ball,” Reid said. “He’s a smooth athlete who is big.”

The last Hawkeye taken in the 2012 draft was safety Jordan Bernstine, who joins Gettis in Washington after the Redskins selected him with the 217th overall pick. Bernstine became the second strong safety to be drafted in as many years after former safety Tyler Sash went to the New York Giants last year.

Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan told reporters in Washington on Saturday that he envisions Bernstine as a safety in the Redskins’ system.

In all, 18 players have been taken out of Iowa over the past three years.

2012 NFL DRAFT:

Round 1 (23rd overall) — Riley Reiff, OT, Detroit Lions

Round 4 (132nd overall) — Mike Daniels, DT, Green Bay Packers

Round 5 (141st overall) — Adam Gettis, OG, Washington Redskins

Round 5 (156th overall) — Shaun Prater, CB, Cincinnati Bengals

Round 6 (194th overall) — Marvin McNutt, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Round 7 (217th overall) — Jordan Bernstine, S, Washington Redskins

UNDRAFTED FREE AGENTS:

Markus Zusevics, OT, New England Patriots

Broderick Binns, DE, Arizona Cardinals

Brad Herman, TE, New England Patriots

Eric Guthrie, P, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tyler Nielsen, LB, Minnesota Vikings

HawkeyeDrive.com

Former Iowa strong safety Jordan Bernstine was selected in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft, as the Washington Redskins took him with the 217th overall pick. Bernstine became the second Hawkeye selected by the Redskins in this year’s draft after they took former offensive lineman Adam Gettis in the fifth round.

He is also the sixth player from Iowa to be taken in this year’s draft, tying the record for most taken in one draft set each of the last two years.

Two years after breaking his ankle, Bernstine finally cracked the top of Iowa’s 2-deep, starting the last 11 games of the 2011 season. He compiled 83 of his 108 career tackles as a senior and also returned 30 kickoffs for 713 yards.

Last season, the Redskins went 5-11.

*Be sure to visit HawkeyeDrive.com later this evening for a full recap of Saturday’s NFL Draft action.

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Former Iowa wide receiver Marvin McNutt was selected in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, as the Philadelphia Eagles took him with the 194th overall pick. McNutt became the fifth Hawkeye to be picked in this year’s draft and is also the second Hawkeye taken by Philadelphia in consecutive years after the Eagles drafted former offensive lineman Julian Vandervelde last year.

McNutt is the first Iowa wideout to be drafted since Kahlil Hill was picked in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons.

The St. Louis native had a monumental senior season, tying the single-season record of 82 receptions and setting new Iowa single-season marks with 1,315 yards receiving and 12 touchdown catches. McNutt also became the Hawkeyes’ all-time leader in career touchdown receptions (28) and receiving yards (2,861).

Last season, the Eagles went 8-8.

*Be sure to visit HawkeyeDrive.com later this evening for a full recap of Saturday’s NFL Draft action.

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Former Iowa cornerback Shaun Prater was selected in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, as the Cincinnati Bengals took him with the 156th overall pick. Prater is the second Hawkeye defensive player to get picked in this year’s draft and the fifth defensive back from Iowa to be drafted over the past five years, joining Tyler Sash (2011), Amari Spievey (2010), Bradley Fletcher (2009) and Charles Godfrey (2008).

Prater started 35 games at cornerback for Iowa over the course of the last three seasons. Over the course of his career, Prater broke up 19 passes, compiled 171 tackles (51 of which came in 2011), and recorded seven interceptions. He also forced four fumbles, all of which came last season.

Last season, the Bengals went 9-7 and lost to the Houston Texans in the wild card round of the NFL playoffs.

*Be sure to visit HawkeyeDrive.com later this evening for a full recap of Saturday’s NFL Draft action.

HawkeyeDrive.com

Former Iowa offensive guard Adam Gettis was selected in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, as the Washington Redskins took him with the 141st overall pick. Gettis is the second offensive lineman to be taken in this year’s draft, joining first-round pick Riley Reiff.

After only being able to start two games in 2010 due to injuries, Gettis started all 13 games during the 2011 season at right guard. He also started one game as a sophomore during the 2009 season against UNI, filling in for an injured Julian Vandervelde.

Last season, the Redskins went 5-11.

*Be sure to visit HawkeyeDrive.com later this evening for a full recap of Saturday’s NFL Draft action.