IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa head wrestling coach Tom Brands has signed a contract extension through the 2029 season. The announcement was made Monday by Director of Athletics Chair Gary Barta.

Brands is in his 16th season as Iowa’s head wrestling coach. His teams have won four NCAA and six Big Ten titles, and enter this week’s NCAA tournament as defending national champions.

“There is no better person to lead the Iowa Wrestling program than Tom Brands. His sustained success at the University of Iowa is unmatched,” said Barta. “Tom epitomizes the Win. Graduate. Do it Right. philosophy.  I could not be happier for Tom, his staff, student-athletes, and our fans.”

Brands became the eighth head coach in program history in 2006. He is a five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and three-time National Coach of the Year. He has coached 13 NCAA individual champions, 89 All-Americans, 24 Big Ten champions and 142 academic All-Big Ten honorees

Brands has a 250-24-1 (.911) overall and 120-11 (.916) Big Ten coaching record at Iowa. He has a 267-44-1 (.857) career mark and a 119-13 (.902) record at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa has led the nation in attendance every year since Brands’ first season in 2006-07. The Hawkeyes set a national dual average attendance record in 2021-22, averaging 14,905 fans at each of their six home dates and selling out season tickets for the first time in program history.

ST. LOUIS, MO., March 13, 2022 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have agreed to terms with free-agent right-handed pitcher Nick Wittgren.

Wittgren, 30, was originally drafted by the Miami Marlins out of Purdue University in the ninth round of the 2012 draft and made his Major League debut in 2016.

Over 258 career appearances, Wittgren has compiled an 18-15 record with a 3.75 ERA and 265 strikeouts covering 271.1 innings.  He locked down five saves, all coming as a member of the Cleveland franchise the last three seasons.

With a penchant to strand runners, Wittgren has an inherited runners scored mark of 19.8%, ranking 6th among Major League pitchers since 2016.

In 2021, Wittgren posted a 2-9 record while establishing career-high marks with 60 appearances, 62.1 innings pitched and 61 strikeouts, including his first ever Major League start.

Since his debut in 2016, Wittgren ranked 20th in Major League Baseball in strikeout/walk ratio (3.49) among pitchers with 250 or more appearances.

Wittgren will report to Cardinals camp today and wear uniform number 30.

The Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones women’s basketball teams will both be in the Greensboro Region of the 2022 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Iowa is coming off a Big Ten Tournament Championship last week after also winning the conference regular season title. The Hawkeyes earned the 2nd-seed in the region and will take on the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Champion Illinois State in the first round. The Hawkeyes will host that game along with 7-seed Colorado meeting 10-seed Creighton.

Iowa State is the 3-seed in the region and will host 14th-seeded UT Arlington in the first round. the other game in Ames will have the 6-seed Georgia facing the winner of a play-in game between Dayton and DePaul.

Iowa, Iowa State, and Creighton will all play in the Midwest Region of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

Iowa won their first Big Ten Tournament Championship since 2006 on Sunday with a win over Purdue. The Hawkeyes (26-9) were then tabbed as a 5-seed in the Midwest Region and will open up against 12-seeded Richmond (23-12). Iowa will play in Buffalo, NY.

Creighton came up short in the Big East Tournament Championship game to Villanova on Saturday but the Bluejays had a good run in the tourney. The Jays (22-11) were put in the Midwest Region as a 9 seed and will open up against 8th-seeded San Diego State (23-8). Creighton will play in Fort Worth, Texas.

Iowa State stumbled down the stretch of the regular season and were blown out by Texas Tech in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. The Cyclones (20-12) rode their strong non-conference performance to the tournament and are an 11-seed. They will open up against 6th-seeded LSU (22-11). Iowa State will play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The UNI women’s basketball team came up just short of a Hoops in the Heartland Championship on Sunday with a 50-48 loss to Illinois State. A slow start and finish ended up costing the Panthers. The Redbirds started the game on a 10-2 run and the Panthers went cold in the final five minutes, ending up on the wrong end of an 8-0 to finish the contest.

Karli Rucker led UNI with 16 points. It was the third-lowest scoring MVC championship game in history. UNI falls just short of that automatic NCAA Tournament bid and with a 22-10 record are likely participants in the WNIT.

Illinois State was led by 21 points from Juliunn Redmond and 15 from Maya Wong. The Redbirds enter the NCAA Tourney with a record of 19-13.

The Iowa Hawkeyes won the 2022 Big Ten Tournament Championship on Sunday with a 75-66 victory over Purdue. Iowa led by three at half and led most of the second on their way to the title. Purdue had a couple brief 1 point leads in the second half but the Hawkeyes answered back each time.

Keegan Murray scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Iowa. Tony Perkins added 11 points and Payton Sandfort dropped in 10. Iowa improved to 26-9 on the season and won their first Big Ten Tournament Title since 2006.

Purdue was led by 20 points and 6 assists from Jaden Ivey. The Boilermakers fall to 27-7 on the season.

Iowa earned a 5-seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament and will face Richmond in the opening round.

Iowa won the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2006. The Hawkeyes turned back a late Purdue rally for 75-66 win, avenging two regular season losses to the Boilermakers. Iowa coach Fran McCaffery says it was depth that allowed the Hawkeyes to win four games in four days.

Iowa had an eight point lead sliced to one with just over three minutes remaining but made the plays down the stretch to post its 26th win of the season.

The Hawkeyes are the fifth seed in the Midwest Regional and open the NCAA Tournament Thursday in Buffalo, New York against a Richmond team that upset Davidson to win the A-10 Tournament title.

Keegan Murray led the Hawkeyes with 19 points and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.

Sophomore forward Patrick McCaffery on winning the championship.

Sophomore guard and Indianapolis native Tony Perkins says defense was the key to holding off Purdue in the second half.

Atlantic alum Gratt Reed finished as a 2nd Team All-American in the 60M Hurdles at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend.

Reed ran a time of 7.78 in the prelims on Friday evening to ultimately finish in 12th place overall. The meet was being contested in Birmingham, AL.

Reed has continued to improve and make strides with the Hawkeye track and field program. They will now transition to the outdoor season starting with a meet at Arizona State next weekend.

The UNI women’s basketball team took down Missouri State 63-57 on Saturday to reach the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship game. The Panthers rallied in the fourth quarter to get the win, outscoring the Lady Bears 22-12 in the final session.

The Panthers opened that final quarter with a 14-0 run to take command. Karli Rucker led four panthers in double-figures with 18 points. Grace Boffeli had a big game with 14 points and 9 rebounds.

Missouri State was led by 19 points from Abigayle Jackson and 12 from Mya Bhiner. The Lady Bears fall to 24-7.

UNI improved to 22-9 and will face Illinois State in the Hoops in the Heartland Championship Game on Sunday in Moline, IL.

The Iowa State Women’s basketball team forced overtime but ultimately came up short against Texas 82-73 in the Big 12 Tournament Semifinals on Saturday. The Longhorns outscored the Cyclones 25-18 in the third quarter and 19-10 in the overtime period. Rori Harmon opened the overtime with two threes for the Longhorns to help them pull away.

Harmon finished with 30 points and 4 assists. Lauren Ebo added 14 points, all in the second half to help the Texas effort. The Longhorns improved to 25-6 and will face Baylor in the Big 12 Championship game on Sunday.

Iowa State was led by 33 points and 13 rebounds from Ashley Joens. Lexi Donarski had 11 points and the Cyclones fall to 26-6.