Iowa

Leistikow: Iowa football GM Tyler Barnes’ vision for revenue sharing, roster cap of 105

Published

2 years ago

August 15, 2024

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Leistikow: Iowa football GM Tyler Barnes’ vision for revenue sharing, roster cap of 105

College football’s evolution into a modified version of the NFL is undeniably coming soon.

Schools sharing revenue with players, salary caps, roster cuts and general managers … yes, all of that officially arrives in the fall of 2025.

And for the Iowa football program, that impending reality of a model will fall under the umbrella of 39-year-old Tyler Barnes.

Barnes was among the newsiest topics of Iowa’s recent media day, when longtime Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz announced a change in his son-in-law’s title. Barnes has been promoted from director of recruiting, a post he had held since 2016, to Iowa football’s chief of staff/general manager.

“More than anything, I wanted to restructure our personnel department a little bit,” Barnes said in an interview this week with the Des Moines Register, which aired on our weekly Hawk Central radio show on KXnO (106.3 FM). “And that title change gave me the opportunity to do that.”

The recent House vs. NCAA settlement, the terms of which were released publicly in late July, outline a new college-sports model. The big headlines to know for the purposes of our conversation with Barnes and how it impacts Iowa football:

Up to about $21.5 million annually can be allocated to “revenue sharing,” meaning direct payments from the university to athletes.
Football scholarship maximums for FBS schools were raised from 85 to 105, with partial scholarships now permitted.
And a football roster cap was set at 105 players. That includes walk-ons. Barnes said Iowa’s latest roster has 131 players.

But before diving into the weeds … why Barnes?

The cries about nepotism have followed him for more than a decade, since Barnes became engaged to one of Ferentz’s daughters, Joanne, while he was on Iowa’s staff in 2013. (The couple now has three young children.) After three years with Vanderbilt’s football staff (including one under current Penn State coach James Franklin), Barnes returned to Iowa in 2016 and has since reshaped the Hawkeyes’ recruiting approach.

A double major in sports studies and finance at Iowa, Barnes’ intelligence and ability to help build rosters with NFL talent have gained him attention among those who make major hires in college football.

MORE: Join Chad Leistikow’s Hawkeyes text group

Though understandably not wanting to acknowledge suitors specifically, Barnes has turned down offers at his same position from playoff-caliber programs in recent years to stay at Iowa.

Brad Heinrichs, the CEO of the Iowa Swarm Collective who works closely with Barnes on the Hawkeyes’ roster, noted that Iowa’s “reranked” recruiting classes typically rank much higher than the pundits suggested. For example, Iowa’s 2020 recruiting class was ranked 35th at the time by Rivals; The Athletic put it No. 6 nationally in its “rerank” published earlier this year.

“Tyler … has a gift for finding lightly recruited players who turn into NFL Draft picks,” Heinrichs said. “Given that many blueblood schools have tried to lure him away from Iowa, that tells me that he is well-regarded by his peers.”

Barnes spoke on the nepotism topic and his job offers with the Register.

“Everybody on our staff – coaches and support staff included – we all get calls from schools. Every year. And really enticing ones,” Barnes said. “But we all choose to stay here for a certain reason, too. I get to work for an unbelievable head coach – and obviously I’m biased on that front – but everybody in our building, they’re going to say the same thing.

“I’d like to think that I didn’t get a title change because of (nepotism). I’d like to think it’s because of the loyalty I’ve had to this place and what we’ve been able to do, going back to 2016. I know everybody wants top-25 recruiting classes … but I think we’ve done a really good job of finding some high-caliber players that are obviously playing on Sundays now and have had a chance to win a lot of football games.”

Barnes’ staff restructuring, he said, will help Iowa retain quality people in the $100 million business of Hawkeye football. Matt Spaulding, who has been a recruiting analyst and specialist for Iowa since 2017, will assume Barnes’ old title of director of recruiting. Longtime sidekick Scott Southmayd will remain director of personnel. Rhett Smeins is a newly acquired assistant director of recruiting from Northwestern. Ireland Hostetler is in her third year as director of internal operations. And there are two creative-media staffers in Justin Elsner and Drew Kocken.

That seven-person full-time staff is “plenty big,” Barnes said, even though some programs around the country have recruiting staffs of 20-plus. It’s possible one more full-time spot could be added as the NIL world continues to grow.

“We’re in a sweet spot,” Barnes said. “We’ve got a really good staff.”

So, what about this number 105?

This is a topic that will consume Barnes for the next 12 months. The roster limit of 105 goes into effect starting with the 2025-26 academic year. First and foremost, the idea of making roster cuts will be painful. Iowa has 40-plus walk-ons on the team currently. The Hawkeye program has long been fueled, in part, by walk-on stories – most famously Dallas Clark, the 2002 Mackey Award winner. Kicker Keith Duncan, a 2019 consensus all-American, was an Iowa walk-on for three years.

Last year’s sacks leader, Joe Evans, was a former walk-on. Two current Hawkeye starters – linebacker Kyler Fisher and safety Quinn Schulte – are former walk-ons.

“We’ve got to find a way to cut 26 of them,” Barnes said. “That’s a really big number when you sit down and you look at your roster.

“It’s a lot of guys we recruited, and you told their families we were bringing them here for a reason. And now going into the 2025 season, things have changed pretty drastically. It’s going to reshape who we are a little bit.”

Paired with roster cuts is an increase in full-ride scholarships. Barnes doesn’t think Iowa will go all the way to 105 – though that will largely be up to how athletics director Beth Goetz decides to balance a potential increase in football scholarships (as well as basketball, wrestling and baseball) with an increase in women’s scholarships to make sure Iowa is Title IX compliant. Barnes does not envision providing partial scholarships as part of his plan.

“That’s a gigantic headache, when you get into it,” he said.

Barnes also is of the opinion that going all the way to 105 would limit roster flexibility. Once a player signs a national letter of intent, for lack of better phrasing, Iowa is “stuck” with that player until he graduates, quits or transfers. But if, say, the working number was 95 scholarships, that would allow Iowa to bring in 10 preferred walk-ons – often those guys that have high FCS offers from programs like Northern Iowa, North Dakota State or South Dakota State.

Some walk-ons in the new model will work out, and some won’t – just like now. But in the 2025 model, those who don’t work out would be in danger of getting cut. Those who do work out, just like now, could get promoted to scholarship status. Barnes didn’t say that explicitly, but that’s how a savvy general manager would create space to fill needs and accommodate potential transfers.

“To have that flexibility, even if it’s just 10 spots, is huge,” Barnes said. “In this day and age in college football … it’s all very fluid.”

Another important thing under Barnes’ direction will be paying players under the new revenue-sharing model. All 105, scholarship or not, are eligible for those payouts. Obviously, Ferentz as the program CEO has the final say on all things, including how those dollars are allocated. But it would be safe to assume that Iowa will construct a model consistent with Ferentz’s principles of getting what you earn.

The Hawkeyes under Ferentz will not be the type of program that pays top dollar for three or four megastars. They’ll likely embrace a tiered system in which the best players – starters, for example – will be paid the most. Ferentz also puts a lot of weight into seniority, so it would not be a surprise to see freshmen on the bottom of the pay scale.

It’s a complete unknown now how much of that potential $21.5 million pie that Goetz will earmark for football. Some SEC programs have talked about $15 million going toward football. Title IX is a major factor here – whether dollars will go equally to men’s and women’s athletes, or if Title IX applies only to the opportunity to play Division I athletics and not the dollars. The courts will have the final say on that.

For now, Barnes must wait on directives. But while all the coaches are thinking about the upcoming 2024 season, his thoughts are laser-focused on 2025 and beyond.

“It’s going to be a different world,” Barnes said. “I’ve done a few different exercises, and I think we’ve got an idea of where we’re going.”

Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 29 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s text-message group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.

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‘¿Habla español?’ Iowa schools look overseas to find Spanish teachers

Published

2 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

‘¿Habla español?’ Iowa schools look overseas to find Spanish teachers

The Exchange Visiting Teachers from Spain helps schools find qualified Spanish teachers.
World language teaching positions are hard to fill in rural areas.

The sounds of Dallas Center-Grimes High School Spanish students singing “¿Por Que Te Vas?” by Jeanette with varying levels of gusto and prodding by teacher Antton Zuazu Hernández may seem like an unusual way to learn.

But the sing-along is how Zuazu Hernández, a native of Spain, helps engage his students and share his culture as part of a teacher-exchange program.

“I feel I’m a messenger in a way, and this is part of the program,” he said. “We’re expected to both bring our culture here and bring your culture back to Spain.”

Zuazu Hernández — who taught English in Spain — is among 26 bilingual teachers in Iowa as part of an exchange program between the Iowa Department of Education and Spain’s Ministry of Education and Culture.

“(The program) was created to address the shortage of qualified Spanish teachers in the state and helps expose students to different world cultures,” said Heather Doe, the department’s spokesperson. “… The Exchange Visiting Teachers from Spain program has been very successful in helping schools, especially in rural communities, hire highly qualified Spanish teachers.”

Iowa has nearly 1,200 world language teachers in kindergarten through college, according to the Iowa World Language Association website.

Some foreign language teachers in Iowa moved to the U.S. and later obtained teaching credentials. Others were recruited to work in Iowa schools.

Iowa schools, including Waukee Community School District, even offer financial incentives as a recruitment tool for hard to fill positions.

“Many of them, like me, will arrive with teaching experience from our home countries, but in the process of validating the credentials in the U.S. we find obstacles,” said Elizabeth Bulthuis, a Waukee High School world languages teacher who immigrated from Ecuador in 2003, “and the validating of credentials also can be lengthy and costly, because of all the educational systems and how they are structured differently.”

Exchange program is beneficial to schools, superintendent

The Spain exchange program — which brings hundreds of teachers to schools across the U.S. — comes with several requirements.

The Spanish teachers must be certified in the language with at least two years of experience, Doe said. Additionally, candidates go through a vetting process at the federal, state and local levels. Teachers also attend a three-day state orientation.

Schools and districts participating in the program pay an $895 fee to offset licensing and orientation costs, Doe said.

The program is a blessing for rural areas struggling to fill positions teaching foreign language, special education, math and science.

“It’s very difficult to even get an applicant,” said Deron Stender, the superintendent at the rural Creston Community School District, “… When I say it’s difficult to even find (the candidates) they don’t exist. And if they do, they’re probably going to be in a larger metro, urban, suburban areas where there’s just more opportunities.”

St. Anthony’s conducts bilingual class for its students

St. Anthony’s Catholic school brings Spanish speaking teachers to the U.S. to teach students the language.

Zuazu Hernández taught Spanish and drove a bus at Creston during the 2024-25 school year. But falling enrollment and budget cuts resulted in his position being eliminated.

A program drawback is teachers only have three-year visas, he said.

“When you have a very good individual that comes to your district from a foreign country after the third year, you still have that need again,” Stender said. “So, we just open it back up to the same program, but you’re doing another refresh of the process, and while that’s a challenge, it’s still better than not having a teacher in the classroom.”

Not every world language teacher comes from Spain

Another issue schools have faced is filling teaching positions for immersion programs.

In the early 2000s, St. Anthony’s started a Spanish-immersion program after several families with children of Honduras and Guatemala descent wanted their kids to have a Catholic school education and maintain their connection to the Spanish language.

“A lot of teachers go to school to teach Spanish, but they go to school to teach it as a standalone Spanish class,” principal Jennifer Raes said. “… We were really searching for teachers that could come here and teach in any subject, just a regular teacher, but also has the skills of teaching in Spanish and English.”

Marisol Guerra, a Honduras native, came to the U.S. in 2010 to help start St. Anthony’s program. Guerra manage to come to the U.S. as part of that year’s Spain exchange program cohort.

More than a decade later, the school offers classes in English and an immersive track where 85% of the students’ day is spent learning in Spanish. While families were hesitant in the beginning to take part in the immersion program, there is now a waitlist of almost a dozen families.

“There was uncertainty, (but) they wanted their children to learn a second language,” Guerra said, “and they wanted without knowing, I think, they also were exposing them to other cultures and opening their minds to other things.”

The over the years, St. Anthony’s has employed teachers who moved to America from Spain, Mexico and other Latin American countries.

The over representation of teachers from Spain likely is due to other countries not offering similar exchange programs, said Bulthuis, a member of the Iowa World Language Association.

It took several years for the veteran teacher — who came to Iowa in 2005 — to become credentialed to teach in the U.S. because she was not part of an exchange program.

“I think that world language teachers can be difficult to recruit because the pool of candidates is relatively small, so teachers need a strong language proficiency, cultural knowledge and all the teaching certifications,” said Bulthuis, who left Ecuador in 2003 because of the country’s financial crisis, “(but) many people who speak another language also have opportunity in other careers.”

Bulthuis does not recommend loosening the criteria to teach in Iowa but suggests improving or streamlining the process for an international teacher to obtain a state teaching license.

“… Not every Spanish speaking country is going to have (an exchange) program like that in place to help their community,” Bulthuis said,

Cultural exchange

Educators say employing international teachers goes beyond language skills.

“International educators can bring tremendous cultural and linguistic expertise to the classroom, which is an incredible skill and very valuable for students,” Bulthuis said.

That cultural exchange can carry over into a school’s lesson plans.

Zuazu Hernández often lets his American students’ interests drive what he teaches them about Spanish culture. These questions have ranged from wanting more insight into bullfighting, the Spanish school system, stereotypes and politics.

“Sometimes, they are more interested in me as a person, or the things I can tell them about Spain than the actual Spanish language,” he said, “but they have that curiosity that I think all teachers, we have to take advantage of.”

While reading “¡Viva el toro!” by Lisa Ray Turner and Blaine Ray, a novel about bullfighting, Zuazu Hernández talked to students about his family’s love of the cultural spectacle and how it is losing popularity in Spain because of how the bulls are treated.

Zuazu Hernández is open about his perspective on the practice to his students.

“To me, bullfighting is not worth sustaining just because it’s a tradition — traditions are not always good or acceptable — but rather because it’s an art, and it expands the depth of human understanding of the most intense truths in life, with death as the scariest of all,” he told the Des Moines Register in an email.

His students appreciate his candidness and the chance to learn from teachers with different lived experiences.

“I like having different teachers because they have different experiences, and I think it adds to the overall class,” said Grace Heston, an 11th grader Dallas Center-Grimes High School. “When you’re learning about Spanish, you’re not just learning about a language, you’re learning about the culture associated with it.”

Samantha Hernandez covers education for the Register. Reach her at (515) 851-0982 or svhernandez@gannett.com.

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NCAA Wrestling Championships at-large bids announced

Published

14 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

NCAA Wrestling Championships at-large bids announced

The 330 wrestlers competing in Cleveland at the NCAA Championships are now set.

After the conference tournaments established the lion’s share of wrestlers, the NCAA announced the at-large bids on Tuesday, March 10, completing the rest of the field.

Brackets and seeds will be announced on March 10, but here’s a look at the contingents each state of Iowa program will be sending after the at-large bids were announced.

Iowa wrestling NCAA qualifiers

For the third year in a row, Iowa wrestling will be sending nine to the NCAA Championships. Victor Voinovich did not earn an at-large bid at 157 pounds after finishing ninth at the Big Ten Championships, one place outside of NCAA automatic qualification. He concludes his season with a 12-6 record.

Voinovich narrowly earned the starting job over Jordan Williams at 157, with Iowa coach Tom Brands saying it was very close, but Voinovich had shown a little more “fight” this year. Now that Voinovich hasn’t qualified for NCAAs, it’s a decision that will go further under the microscope.

What’s done is done, however, for Iowa. They’ll take Dean Peterson (125), Drake Ayala (133), Nasir Bailey (141), Ryder Block (149), Michael Caliendo (165), Patrick Kennedy (174), Angelo Ferrari (184), Gabe Arnold (197) and Ben Kueter (285) to Cleveland in hopes of salvaging what has been a tough season.

Iowa State wrestling NCAA qualifiers

For the first time since 2010, Iowa State will send all 10 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. Vinny Zerban earned an at-large bid at 157 pounds despite falling short of the automatic qualifying threshold at the Big 12 Championships. Zerban suffered a concussion and medically forfeited out of the tournament after his first match in Tulsa. His health status will be worth monitoring NCAAs inch closer, from March 19-22.

The Cyclones look poised for one of their best postseasons in recent memory with their 10 qualifiers ―Stevo Poulin (125), Garrett Grice (133), Anthony Echemendia (141), Jacob Frost (149), Zerban, Connor Euton (165), MJ Gaitan (174), Isaac Dean (184), Rocky Elam (197) and Yonger Bastida (285). The loss of Evan Frost hurts the Cyclones, considering his pedigree and season as a whole, but Grice’s has earned several ranked wins since entering the lineup in February and could still add some much-needed team points as the team chases a team trophy.

Behind title contenders Elam and Bastida, proven podium threats in Poulin, Echemnedia, Jacob Frost and Zerban (if healthy), Iowa State will be in the mix for a top-four finish in Cleveland.

UNI wrestling NCAA qualifiers

Northern Iowa will send five to the NCAA Championships. Automatic qualifiers Julian Farber (133), Caleb Rathjen (149) and Ryder Downey (165) will be joined by Jared Simma (174) and Nick Fox (184), who each earned at-large bids. The number of qualifiers could extend to six, with Trever Anderson (125) being the alternate at 125 pounds for NCAAs. However, he had to medically forfeit out of the Big 12 Championships, so his health status would be in question if he got called up.

With that, Max Brady (141), Cael Rahnavardi (157), John Gunderson (197) and Adam Ahrendsen (285) will have their seasons come to an end. Brady, a true freshman, will still have three NCAA chances in his career after showing promising moments in relief of Cory Land’s season-ending injury. Gunderson, a U23 World team member, will return for next season as well. Rahnavardi and Ahrendsen were both in their final seasons of eligibility.

Following injuries to Land and Wyatt Voelker, it’s been a hard year for the Panthers. This is half the number of NCAA qualifiers that UNI had last season when they qualified 10 for the first time since 1986. The last time UNI had five or fewer qualifiers was 2016.

However, all five of their wrestlers have each shown moments of brilliance, either this season or in prior NCAA Championships. They may be a smaller crew than normal, but Downey, Rathjen, Farber, Simma and Fox are all ones to watch in Cleveland.

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.

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DCI agent say he was fired for questioning Iowa college gambling probe

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

DCI agent say he was fired for questioning Iowa college gambling probe

A former Iowa investigator is suing the state, claiming he was fired for criticizing a high-profile college sports gambling probe.
Mark Ludwick alleges his termination was retaliation for testifying that investigators conducted illegal searches and were told to mislead students.
The gambling investigation, which led to charges against dozens of student-athletes, has faced legal challenges over its methods.

A longtime investigator for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says he was forced out of the agency because he voiced reservations about a high-profile investigation into gambling in college athletics.

Mark Ludwick was hired by Iowa’s top investigative agency in 1997 and was terminated in November 2024, according to a lawsuit filed Feb. 20 in Polk County. According to his complaint, Ludwick was fired after two “frivolous” investigations, one claiming he’d exceeded the speed limit driving to a murder scene, and the other for assistance he provided to a domestic abuse victim.

The real reason, Ludwick alleges, is that officials were embarrassed after Ludwick testified under oath about what he regarded as weaknesses in their sports wagering investigation, which resulted in dozens of Iowa State University and University of Iowa student-athletes facing suspensions, 25 being criminally charged and 19 pleading guilty to underage gambling.

Ludwick testified in early 2024 he believed investigators had conducted illegal searches to identify the online gamblers and that he and other agents had been directed to lie to students about whether they were subjects of the investigation. He also alleged that stress about the case contributed to another agent’s fatal heart attack, although the agent’s relatives disputed the connection.

Now Ludwick is accusing the state of violating Iowa’s whistleblower protection statute. He declined through his attorney to comment. The Iowa Attorney General’s Office also declined to comment, and the Iowa Department of Public Safety, which includes the DCI, did not respond to an inquiry about the case.

Gambling investigation raised constitutional concerns

In the gambling investigation, DCI investigators used software tools provided by GeoComply, a Canadian company that contracts with online sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings, to look for evidence of illegal gambling activity. Using a GeoComply system, the investigators created a so-called “geofence” around college athletic facilities that allowed them to detect student athletes using wagering accounts registered to parents and friends to place bets ― sometimes on their own games.

Although the investigation resulted in numerous arrests and suspensions, it also drew controversy, in particular for agents’ failure to obtain warrants before conducting their location searches. GeoComply, which had encouraged Iowa to use its service, responded by cancelling the state’s access.

A large group of current and former students sued the state, accusing investigators of violating their constitutional rights. In November 2025, a federal judge ruled that the state’s investigation “does not comport with the Fourth Amendment,” which provides protection from illegal searches.

Nonetheless, the court dismissed the lawsuit, finding the officers involved were entitled to immunity. An appeal is pending.

Ludwick’s reservations emerge in depositions

Ludwick was an experienced investigator for the DCI, working on high-profile cases including the 2015 murder of Shirley Carter, whose son was tried and acquitted, and the 2017 deaths of two girls in a fire started by a relative.

While not the lead agent on the 2023 gambling investigation, Ludwick was tapped to assist by interviewing some of the student athletes. He later testified he grew concerned that the state’s geofence searches amounted to illegal, warrantless searches, and declined to participate in the case any further. He alleges that other DCI agents shared his concerns and also maneuvered to avoid being involved in the case.

Ludwick says he reported his concerns to his superiors. In January 2024, he was deposed by defense attorneys for four of the students, and “testified truthfully during his deposition that he believed an illegal search had been conducted.” Defense attorneys cited Ludwick’s remarks within days in filings covered by numerous media outlets, including the Des Moines Register, which “caused embarrassment and increased scrutiny for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Commissioner Bayens, and other employees,” Ludwick’s suit states.

According to the complaint, officials launched an investigation into Ludwick for speeding on March 5, weeks after the embarrassing testimony was reported. On Aug. 8, officials initiated a second investigation after, Ludwick says, “he attempted to help a victim of domestic abuse flee her abuser.” He denies his actions violated Iowa law or department policy.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.

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