One college football preview magazine calls the Iowa Hawkeyes a threat to make the playoffs. Phil Steele’s College Football Preview says if the offense makes progress under first year coordinator Tim Lester the Hawkeyes could have a banner season.

Steele says a healthier Iowa offense will be a much better offense.

Steele says the Iowa defense is much more experienced than he expected.

Steele says getting Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan as a backup to Cade McNamara is a plus.

Big Ten Media Days get underway in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis later today. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz will be at the podium on Wednesday.

Carten Wilken’s squeeze bunt in the bottom of the ninth inning scored the game winner as top ranked Akron-Westfield edged Bedford 3-2 in the 1A quarterfinals of the state baseball tournament in Carroll.

Arik Allard scored the winning run for the Westerners.

Arkron-Westfield coach Gordy Johnson.

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Fourth ranked Remsem St. Mary’s scored all 10 of its runs in the first three innings to beat North Linn 10-6. Hunter Pick had three hits for the Hawks, including a two run homer in the third inning.

Braxton Kneip (kuh-nipe) also had three hits as the Hawks finished with 11 in the game.

Remsen St. Marys will play third ranked Mason City Newman in Wednesday’s semifinals. Newman advanced with a 3-1 victory over South Winneshiek.

Hawks coach Dean Harpenau.

CLASS 1A STATE QUARTERFINALS

Class 5A
Valley 11, Prairie 1
Ankeny 2, Waukee Northwest 0
Pleasant Valley 8, Waukee 7
Urbandale 10, Muscatine 9

Class 4A
Carlisle 8, Dallas Center-Grimes 6
North Scott 2, Norwalk 0
North Polk 7, Western Dubuque 2
ADM 2, Fort Dodge 0

Class 3A
Williamsburg 8, PCM 3
Dubuque-Wahlert 9, Sumner-Fredricksburg 8

Below is a list of the Hawkeye 10-All-Conference Baseball Team

The class 5A quarterfinals opened the state softball tournament today (Monday), in Fort Dodge. Mackenzie Mohler drive in four runs, including a three run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning as top ranked West Des Moines Valley beat Cedar Rapids Prairie 11-1.

The Tigers responded after spotting Prairie an early 1-0 lead.

The Tigers improve to 37-4 and Mohler says they have lofty goals for this week.

Cedar Rapids Prairie hurt its own cause by committing five errors.

Prairie Hawks coach Alisha Freese.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa women’s tennis team was named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I All-Academic team for the 2023-2024 academic year. Along with the team’s honor, five student-athletes were named ITA Scholar-Athletes, announced by the organization Monday.

Vipasha Mehra, Barbora Pokorna, Marisa Schmidt, Pia Kranholdt, and Daianne Hayashida were all recognized as ITA Scholar-Athletes, earning a 3.50 GPA or above. Hayashida and Kranholdt have earned this honor for two straight seasons while Pokorna and Schmidt have been recognized for three seasons in a row.

As a team, this is Iowa’s 10th straight year receiving this award and the 15th in program history. To receive this recognition, all varsity letterwinners must have a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or above. The Hawkeyes finished the 2023-2024 academic year with a 3.8 GPA and were recognized after the fall semester with a 3.83 GPA, the highest GPA in program history.

The quarterfinals of the state high school baseball tournament are Monday in Carroll. In the opener top ranked Akron-Westfield takes on Bedford. For Akron-Westfield its the first trip to the state tournament since 2017.

That’s Akron-Westfield coach Gordy Johnson who says it was at the end of last season he thought this one could be special.

Bedford enters the state tournament with a record of 20-10.

Defending champion Remsen St. Mary’s is fourth ranked and opens against North Linn. It is the Hawks’ ninth straight appearance in the state tournament.

That’s Remsen St. Mary’s coach Dean Harpenau. North Linn enters the tournament with 24-8 and Harpenau says the top three hitters for the Lynx set the table.

Harpenau says North Linn always features speed on the base paths and this one is no different.

Iowa quarterback Brendan Sullivan says the Hawkeye program was the right fit for him. Sullivan transferred to Iowa after spending three seasons and starting eight games at Northwestern.

New Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester recruited Sullivan when he was the head coach at Western Michigan.

Sullivan joins a quarterback room that includes starter Cade McNamara and Marco Lainez.

Sullivan feels the experience he gained at Northwestern is a plus.

The Hawkeyes open the season on August 31st against Illinois State.

(Milwaukee, WI) – The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, Friday, in conjunction with the University of Iowa and Think Iowa City, unveiled 25 officially licensed, limited-edition bobbleheads commemorating the 20th anniversary of Herky on Parade. The bobbleheads are replicas of the statues that are currently on display throughout the Iowa City area featuring University of Iowa’s beloved mascot Herky the Hawk, who celebrated his 75th birthday on September 1st, 2023. The special edition bobbleheads are being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee of the University of Iowa.

The series includes 25 bobbleheads that are replicas of the Herky on Parade statues as well as a Paint Your Own Herky Bobblehead that gives people the opportunity to create their own unique Herky on Parade Bobblehead. The bobbleheads included in the series are: 25 Years of Captain Kirk, Alumni Band Herky, Can’t Believe it’s Butter Herky, Cartoon Herky, Color Me Herky, Construction Herky, Dr. Grant Herky, Farm Strong Herky, From the Logo Herky, Game Day Herky, Golden Herky, Handcrafted Herky, Hayden Herky, Herk’s Anatomy, Herky in the Wildflowers, Herky’s Salute to Service, Iowa Prairie Proud, Just Herky, Lunch Lady Herky, Old Gold Herky, Paint Your Own Herky, Perspectives, Scout Herky, We Can Do It Iowa, Wrestler Herky, and Yoda.

Standing on a rectangular, gray, stone-like base, the Herky the Hawk bobblehead has his right fist up high “ready to charge.” Each bobblehead is individually numbered to only 2,024 and they are only available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store. The bobbleheads, which are expected to ship in November, are $40 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order. A set of all 26 is available for $1,000. A portion of the proceeds benefit the University of Iowa and Think Iowa City. Twenty years after the original parade, the third edition of Herky on Parade returned in May 2024. The wildly popular cooperative effort between the University of Iowa Department of Athletics, the Cities of Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, Solon, and Tiffin, Think Iowa City, and Iowa City Area Sports Commission debuted in 2004 and was re-introduced in 2014. In honor of his 75th birthday, Herky made his appearance across Johnson County with 100 new 6-foot-tall statues for all to enjoy. The number of statues was boosted from the originally planned 75 due to an influx of designs and a demand for statues from sponsors.

In the largest public art project Iowa has ever produced, the Herky statues were painted by local and regional artists. They hit the streets for public display on Wednesday, May 1st. The statues will be taken down during the last week of August before FRYfest. Anyone can buy a Herky for $5,000 – although over 50 percent have already been spoken for. Statues not sold will go to auction with proceeds going to the Iowa City and Clear Creek Amana community school districts, in support of art education programs and camp costs for low-income students.

“It’s hard to believe that it has been 20 years since we first ‘took to the streets’ with Herky on Parade in 2004,” Think Iowa City president Josh Schamberger said in a statement. “In 2014, Herky the mascot got a new makeover which we celebrated with the rollout of Herky on Parade 2.0. I recall several of us joking about how we’d be too old to do this again on a 20th anniversary. Well, here it is 10 years later, and we’re energized and excited to do it all over again. It coincides perfectly with Herky’s 75th birthday celebration.”

Created by journalism instructor Dick Spencer and first drawn as a cartoon in 1948, Herky made his mascot debut at an Iowa football game in 1959. An immediate hit, Herky acquired his name in a statewide contest. John Franklin came up with the winning suggestion as a reference to Hercules. Since his first appearance, Herky has become a familiar figure at University of Iowa athletic events – home and away. He can also be seen at events throughout the Hawkeye State during the year, including the Iowa State Fair, parades, grand openings, charity events, and weddings. Herky has become a regular representative of Iowa athletics in national mascot competitions, advancing to the national finals in 2006 and 2008.

“We are excited to release these very special Herky on Parade bobbleheads that are replicas of the awesome statues that can be found throughout the Iowa City area,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “Herky has been a staple at University of Iowa for generations and is loved by Hawkeye fans young and old. We know these bobbleheads will become collectibles that are passed down to future generations of Hawkeyes fans through the state of Iowa and beyond.”