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Kirk Ferentz still committed to Iowa after watching friends Bill Belichick, Nick Saban move on

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Kirk Ferentz still committed to Iowa after watching friends Bill Belichick, Nick Saban move on


INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz watched two of his best coaching friends, Bill Belichick and Nick Saban, leave football after last season.

So, naturally, college football’s longest-tenured coach smiles and nods as he reflects on his own potential exit.

“All of us have to do that,” the 68-year-old Ferentz said Wednesday at Big Ten Media Days. “Fifteen years ago, the pause was going to come because I was going to get fired. I’m not saying that’s not a possibility as we move forward, but it’s probably a little less a percentage and more realistic toward retirement. At some point, you retire. It’s up to everybody. Both Bill and coach Saban are older than I am.”

The connection runs deep for Ferentz.

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In what seems like a lifetime ago, he and Saban were assistants on Belichick’s staff with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns coach from 1993-95.

Ferentz enters his 26th season as the Hawkeyes’ coach with a 208-140 record and as the school’s career leader in victories. His only Big Ten titles came in 2002 and 2004, and his contract, which pays $7 million per year, runs through 2029.

The Hawkeyes should be strong again this year, returning a veteran group from a squad that went 10-4 in 2023. Ferentz has hired a new offensive coordinator, Tim Lester, to replace his son Brian in hopes of producing more points. Iowa also believes former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara could be part of the solution after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the Hawkeyes’ third game last year.

Meantime, Ferentz has been checking in on his friends.

“He and I have exchanged some notes, but we haven’t had a personal conversation,” Ferentz said when asked about Belichick. “I’m a little lower level than those guys, easily. They’ve got a little seniority on me, but it’s all relative, too. They’re both in good health. I feel good. As long as you feel good and like what you’re doing, you keep doing it.”

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Ferentz has been around long enough to see the Big Ten nearly double in size, with 18 members, athletes getting paid and the transfer portal. It’s not a world he recognizes.

“I’ll go back to 1990, when I was a head coach at Maine,” Ferentz said. “It was a couple of weeks into the job. I came home one day and I told my wife, ‘If I ever come home and say I’m surprised by anything, just hit me with a baseball bat right in the head.’ One thing I learned real quickly is you never know what’s going to happen.”

Rosy playoff

CFP Executive Director Rich Clark, a retired Air Force lieutenant general, confirmed Wednesday that Rose Bowl officials have requested the game continue to be played around New Year’s Day even though it could be out of the national championship game hosting rotation.

Game officials endorsed the new 12-team playoff format earlier this year.

Clark said the playoff committee would consider granting the request, though no other bowl game in the rotation has made a similar request.

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Known as “The Granddaddy of Them All,” the Rose Bowl has been played the first week of January every year since 1916. The first Rose Bowl was played in 1902.

Familiar foes

When first-year Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith left his alma mater, Oregon State, after last season, he landed in a league that doesn’t feel so new with four of his former Pac-12 foes — Oregon, UCLA, Southern California and Washington — joining the Big Ten.

What does feel different, though, is wearing green — the predominant color of Oregon State’s biggest rival.

“I have not worn much green leading into this,” Smith said Wednesday. “But I do have green eyes.”

He’ll be seeing plenty of green again on Oct. 4, when the Spartans play at Oregon. By then, he also could be seeing red thanks to a demanding midseason stretch during which the Spartans host Ohio State and Michigan while visiting Oregon and Iowa.

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Smith was a four-year starter at Oregon State and turned the program around when he returned as coach. He went 25-13 in three seasons and was named the league’s coach of the year in 2022.

Endorsing Leach

Southern California coach Lincoln Riley added his name to the list of advocates for the late Mike Leach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame despite Leach’s 59.6% career win percentage falling short of the 60% minimum.

Riley played quarterback for Leach at Texas Tech in 2002 and then became a Red Raiders assistant through 2009. Leach died in 2002 at age 61 from heart complications.

“Obviously, Mike Leach meant a lot to my career, was instrumental in my upbringing,” Riley said. “I know there’s been a lot of debate and talk about him belonging in the College Football Hall of Fame, and certainly (I) want to voice my support for that happening here on this stage. That’s something that’s very important to me. He changed the game and changed a lot of people’s lives, mine included, in the process of it. I know there’s technicalities and rules that have to happen, but I totally agree that the Hall of Fame is simply not complete without Mike Leach being in it.”

Awkward moment

First-year UCLA coach DeShaun Foster turned heads with the briefest opening statement of the first two media days before saying he’d take questions. The ensuing pause led to an awkward moment on the stadium field, where reporters are working.

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The soft-spoken Foster explained later he’s an “ask me” kind of guy who doesn’t tend to give long opening statements.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football





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Vote: Who Should be Iowa’s High School Athlete of the Week? (4/19/2026)

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Vote: Who Should be Iowa’s High School Athlete of the Week? (4/19/2026)


Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for April 13-18. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:

Taylor Roose, Pella boys track and field

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Roose competed in three events at the Norwalk Invitational, winning all three in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and long jump.

Daxon Kiesau, Urbandale boys track and field

Kiesau swept the throwing events at the Norwalk Invitational, taking first place in the shot put and the discus.

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Alex Burger, Southeast Valley boys track and field

Competing at home, Burger dominated, earning four gold medals. He won the 400-meter hurdles and the long jump while running on the winning 4×200-meter relay and shuttle hurdle relay.

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Kolby Hodnefield, Clear Lake boys track and field

Hodenfield, a defending state champion, broke the meet, venue and school record in the 200 and the 400 at the Clear Lake Invitational. He added victories as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Both relays also set meet records.

Easton Moon, North Polk boys tennis

Moon has started off his senior season on the courts unbeaten, winning all four matches while dropping just one game in 44 played.

Ava Lohrbach, Gilbert girls golf

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One of the top golfers in the state, Lohrbach has had a hot start, firing a 35 in her nine-hole debut and a 72 for her 18-hole opener.

Nathan Manske, Algona boys golf

An elite quarterback and basketball player, Manske is showing his golfing skills this spring, coming out with a state-low 30 in a nine-hole event.

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Ella Hein, Tipton girls track and field

Hein set school records in the 400-meter run and long jump at the Tiger/Tigerette Relays while also locking in the Blue Standard and qualifying for the Drake Relays. She won the long jump (18-6) and was second in the 400.

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Maeve Bowen-Burt, Iowa City High girls track and field

The sophomore helped the Little Hawks land three Drake Relays events on the last night of qualifying, advancing in the 400 hurdles, along with the sprint medley and 4×400 relays.

About Our Athlete of the Week Voting

High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.

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Houston icon George Foreman laid to rest in Iowa, drawn by a peaceful 1988 visit

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Houston icon George Foreman laid to rest in Iowa, drawn by a peaceful 1988 visit


The late boxing great George Foreman lies buried in a cemetery in the northwestern corner of Iowa – a place he has no connection to outside of a lone visit to the region nearly 40 years ago.

Foreman died March 21, 2025, at the age of 76 in Houston and was buried in Logan Park Cemetery at Sioux City, Iowa, a month later, city officials confirmed. Foreman’s family returned Thursday to his burial site, holding a news conference with Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott to reveal Foreman’s burial place, marked by a large monument that bears an image of him as a teen following his Olympic gold medal boxing win.

The family explained in a statement released by Sioux City officials that he had visited the Iowa city in 1988, and often recalled the sense of peace he experienced there.

After traveling to the city on April 17 last year to bury Foreman, his family said they immediately understood the region’s appeal.

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“Our father lived a life of purpose, faith and gratitude,” the family said in a statement released by Sioux City officials. “To see him laid to rest in a place that brought him peace means everything to us.”

Scott joined the family at Foreman’s monument that lies just a few miles north of the Missouri River in an upper Midwest city of nearly 87,000 people. The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).

“Their story is a reminder of how one place can stay with someone for a lifetime,” Scott said.

A native Texan, Foreman rose to fame when he made the 1968 U.S. Olympic boxing team, winning gold in Mexico City. He became the heavyweight champion of the world in 1973 by defeating the great Joe Frazier, only to lose the title a year later to Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”

A full 20 years later in 1994, Foreman became the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship at 45, defeating Michael Moorer in an epic upset.

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Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 career record.

He then moved on to the next chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor, becoming known to a new generation as the face of the George Foreman Grill. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and brought him more wealth than boxing.

A biographical movie based on Foreman’s life was released in 2023.

Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.



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GOP governor candidate Zach Lahn pitches Iowa-first platform at Dubuque town hall

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GOP governor candidate Zach Lahn pitches Iowa-first platform at Dubuque town hall


DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) — About 50 Iowans braved the threat of severe storms to hear from Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn at his town hall in Dubuque Friday night.

Lahn, a farmer and businessman, said his campaign is about solving the long-term systemic issues facing Iowans.

One priority is addressing what Lahn calls a cancer crisis in Iowa, as the state has the second-highest cancer rate in the country. Solving the crisis means ensuring Iowans have access to clean, nitrate-free drinking water, working with farmers to reduce agricultural runoff.

“Iowans are just ready for something that they should be able to count on, like clean drinking water,” Lahn said. “We have ways to clean up the drinking water in Iowa that isn’t on the backs of farmers, but is working alongside with them because they’re drinking the water too, and they want to do what’s right.”

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Lahn also wants to stop Iowa’s “brain drain,” as more of Iowa’s college graduates left the state for opportunities elsewhere.

“Don’t leave! Give me some time! I’m going to fight to keep you here,” Lahn said. “I was one of these kids. I thought I had to leave the state to find something better. We have to prioritize Iowa’s incentive dollars to make sure they’re going to grow Iowa businesses that are going to be here for the long haul, so our kids have places to work.”

Running a distinct campaign feels challenging this election, as Lahn is one of five GOP candidates who want to be Iowa’s next governor, facing U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, former Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen, state Rep. Eddie Andrews and former state Rep. Brad Sherman.

Iowa Auditor Rob Sand is the only Democrat running for the state’s top office.

Lahn said he stands out by promising Iowa will be for Iowans, pledging to ban the use of eminent domain for private gain and tax out-of-state landowners and data centers at higher rates to lower property taxes.

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“It always goes back to follow the money, so when it comes to not being a weak-kneed Republican today, I believe the paramount piece of that is answering only to the citizens of Iowa, not to special interests to pad their bottom line, but what’s best for the people of Iowa,” Lahn said.

Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.



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