Sioux City East's Adam Woodbury collides with West Des Moines Valley's Peter Jok during the second half of their Class 4A quarterfinal game at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday, March 7, 2012, in Des Moines, Iowa. Sioux City East won, 66-60. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette-KCRG)

Incoming Iowa freshman Peter Jok was one of 40 players named to the Parade All-American team, which was released on Saturday.

Jok, a 6-foot-6 combo guard, led Class 4A in scoring average with a 23.6 points a game at West Des Moines Valley. Jok hit 42 percent from 3-point range and sank 92.6 percent from the free-throw line (126 of 136 attempts). Jok expects to compete for playing time at the wing position this year.

Two other honorees with Iowa ties also made the squad. Bryce Alford, son of former Iowa head coach Steve Alford, and Cullen Neal, son of former Iowa assistant Craig Neal, also were named to the team. Steve Alford now coaches at UCLA, while Craig Neal coaches at New Mexico. Both will coach their sons next fall.

Iowa State also picked up one Parade All-American — 6-foot-1 guard Monte Morris of Beecher, Mich.

The Big Ten features three other Parade All-Americans. They include guard Derrick Walton Jr. (Michigan), guard Zak Irvin (Michigan) and forward Marc Loving (Ohio State).

Iowa State Cyclones defensive end Pierre Aka (91) and teammate defensive end David Irving (87) celebrate with the Cy-Hawk trophy following their 9-6 victory over Iowa Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — Iowa sent Iowa State a check for $609,775 earlier this year, the final payment under an old provision in the annual Cy-Hawk series.

In 2008, the non-conference rivals agreed on a 10-year deal where through 2012, the host school paid the visitor 20 percent of gate receipts after taxes. Beginning in 2013 through the contract’s 2017 expiration, the host school — Iowa State entertains Iowa this year at Jack Trice Stadium — will keep all gate revenue.

The schools’ previous arrangement favored Iowa State, which has a smaller stadium and cuts Iowa a check for 20 percent of an average home gate. Iowa sent Iowa State 20 percent from that day’s gate receipts.

Over the last eight years, Iowa’s payments to Iowa State totaled $2,371,074, an average of $592,768 after each home game. For its four most recent appearances at Jack Trice Stadium, Iowa received $1,526,555. That averages to $381,638.

Iowa State won last year’s game 9-6 at Kinnick Stadium. The teams renew their rivalry for the 61st time on Sept. 14.

From left: Iowa's Pat Angerer, Amari Spievey, and Adrian Clayborn take down Wisconsin's John Clay during the second half of their game Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009, in Madison, Wis. Iowa won, 20-10. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

The Big Ten’s seemingly perpetual wheel of expansion has decimated the league’s football scheduling process.

The 2011 and 2012 schedules vanished with the addition of Nebraska. Three seasons worth of schedules, two of which were released with great interest last spring, also went up in smoke when the league chose to add Rutgers and Maryland for the 2014 season.

When the league changes, so do the schedules. It happens in every sport. But one tweak in college football is news. Schedules are finalized years in advance. There’s a strategy and symmetry to each one. So starting all over again is a major undertaking, especially in a high-profile league like the Big Ten.

So we’re going to go back in time and show how the Big Ten arrived at its latest 2014 schedule. Before the 2011 season, each of the 11 squads played two rivals annually and the other eight teams six times over an eight-year period. Here’s a breakdown of the Big Ten’s protected rivalries from 1995-2010:

Iowa: Minnesota, Wisconsin

Minnesota: Iowa, Wisconsin

Wisconsin: Iowa, Minnesota

Northwestern: Illinois, Purdue

Illinois: Northwestern, Indiana

Purdue: Northwestern, Purdue

Indiana: Illinois, Purdue

Michigan: Ohio State, Michigan State

Ohio State: Michigan, Penn State

Michigan State: Michigan, Penn State

Penn State: Ohio State, Michigan State

-

From 2011 through this year, the 12 football programs (including Nebraska) were scheduled to face six teams every year — five within their division and one protected crossover. The divisions were based on competitive balance, not geography. Here’s a look at permanent Big Ten opponents over that three-year period:

LEGENDS DIVISION

Iowa (Purdue)

Michigan (Ohio State)

Michigan State  (Indiana)

Minnesota (Wisconsin)

Northwestern (Illinois)

Nebraska (Penn State)

LEADERS DIVISION

Illinois (Northwestern)

Indiana (Michigan State)

Ohio State (Michigan)

Penn State (Nebraska)

Purdue (Iowa)

Wisconsin (Minnesota)

-

Next year, the league shifts to 14 teams and divides by geography. There’s only one protected cross-divisional rivalry among the divisions: Purdue-Indiana. The schools will play everyone in their division and two crossover games in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, the schools will begin playing a nine-game schedule with three crossover games.

WEST — Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin

EAST — Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers

–

Through the changes, the Big Ten schedule has adapted multiple times. A couple of trivial scheduling items for Iowa over the years began in 2011 when the Hawkeyes were slated to open the 2011 Big Ten season Oct. 1 at Wisconsin. When the rivals were split into opposite divisions, Nebraska replaced Iowa and that game served as the Cornhuskers’ Big Ten debut (a 48-17 Wisconsin shellacking). Oddly enough, Iowa now will go at least six years without playing at Madison.

Iowa and Illinois were scrubbed from one another’s schedules for six seasons. The 2009 and 2010 years were a scheduled off-rotation based on the previous six-games-over-eight-years league policy. In 2011 and 2012, Indiana and Penn State were randomly chosen to face Iowa in cross-divisional play. The Hawkeyes were scheduled to meet Wisconsin and Ohio State in 2013 and 2014.

Either Iowa or Minnesota had ended their league season against the other school every year from 1983 through 2010. With Nebraska’s arrival, the league stapled the Cornhuskers and Hawkeyes together as a season-ending celebration. Minnesota was left in the cold.

–

Here’s a look at Iowa’s originally scheduled conference games from 2011 through 2016. Only the 2013 schedule stayed true to its original form.

2011: Oct. 1 — at Wisconsin; Oct. 8 — Illinois; Oct. 15 — at Penn State; Oct. 22 — at Purdue; Oct. 29 — Michigan; Nov. 5 — Indiana; Nov. 19 — at Ohio State; Nov. 26 — Minnesota

2012: Sept. 29 — Wisconsin; Oct. 6 — at Illinois; Oct. 13 — Penn State; Oct. 20 Purdue; Oct. 27 — at Michigan; Nov. 3 — at Indiana; Nov. 17 — Ohio State; Nov. 24 — at Minnesota

2013: Sept. 28 — at Minnesota; Oct. 5 — Michigan State; Oct. 19 — at Ohio State; Oct. 26 — Northwestern; Nov. 2 — Wisconsin; Nov. 9 — at Purdue; Nov. 23 — Michigan; Nov. 29 — at Nebraska

2014: Oct. 4 — at Wisconsin; Oct. 18 — Ohio State; Oct. 25 — Purdue; Nov. 1 — at Michigan; Nov. 8 — at Northwestern; Nov. 15 — Minnesota; Nov. 22 — at Michigan State; Nov. 28 — Nebraska

2015: Oct. 3 — Northwestern; Oct. 10 — Michigan State; Oct. 17 — at Purdue; Oct. 24 — at Minnesota; Oct. 31 — Illinois; Nov. 7 — at Pen State; Nov. 21 — Michigan; Nov. 27 — at Nebraska

2016: Oct. 1 — Minnesota; Oct. 8 — at Michigan State; Oct. 15 — Purdue; Oct. 22 — at Northwestern; Oct. 29 — at Illinois; Nov. 5 — Penn State; Nov. 19 — at Michigan; Nov. 25 — Nebraska

Here’s the latest Big Ten schedule for the 2014 season:

Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio walks the sidelines in the second half of Iowa's 19-16 overtime win at Spartan Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012, in East Lansing, Mich. (Liz Martin/The Gazette-KCRG)

Big Ten expansion has brought rivalry football back to its final weekend.

Each school received a season-ending rivalry assignment for the 2014 league schedule, which was released today by the league office. The schedule was revamped to accommodate newcomers Rutgers and Maryland, who join the Big Ten in 2014. The league also shifted into East and West divisions, and only one non-divisional match-up takes place over the regular season’s final four weeks.

As expected, Michigan-Ohio State reignites their annual rivalry game in Columbus as the season finale. The Big Ten flagship football programs have ended every regular season against one another since 1943.

Indiana-Purdue continues their season-ending tradition of facing off in a Big Ten finale, this time for the second straight year in Bloomington. Only once in the last 95 years have the schools not completed their Big Ten seasons against one another (1931). They’ll do it this time as non-divisional foes, the league’s only non-divisional game (and only protected crossover rivalry) to end the season.

“I hope that keeps up,” Indiana Athletics Director Fred Glass said.

Iowa and Nebraska will face off for the fourth time on Black Friday, their second Friday game in Iowa City. The Cornhuskers have won the first two meetings since joining the Big Ten in 2011.

Penn State and Michigan State will end their seasons against one other for the first time since 2010. They played 18 consecutive seasons and were protected rivals under the 11-team structure. For the final 17 seasons, the schools ended their Big Ten seasons against the other school.

When the league split into Legends and Leaders divisions in 2011, the teams went opposite ways. They did not play in 2011 or 2012 and are not scheduled to meet in 2013.

Athletics directors at both schools said they like the series but wouldn’t consider it a priority to extend it as a permanent season-ending game.

“I think Penn State is a good game for us,” Michigan State Athletics Director Mark Hollis said. “I’m not sure that’s a game carries the tradition of making that a priority in the scheduling process. You’ll see it in some years, and you’ll not see it in some others. I really don’t know because we don’t have the ’15 schedule yet.”

“We haven’t talked about it directly, but that could happen,” Penn State Athletics Director Dave Joyner said. “It may vary some. In the (current) divisions, we were playing Wisconsin in almost every ending game. It wasn’t dictated it was going to happen, but it was going to go on for the next five or six years anyway.”

Wisconsin faced Penn State to end the 2011 and 2012 regular seasons, and the teams were slated to finish against one another through 2016.

The Badgers will face their oldest rival, Minnesota, to conclude their regular season. The teams have played more often than any other two Division I rivals. The last time they concluded their regular seasons against one another was 2007.

Illinois and Northwestern will conclude their 108th meeting at Evanston, while Rutgers and Maryland finish their first year as Big Ten competitors against one another.

Other scheduling news

Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta (left) talks with Wisconsin Athletics Director Barry Alvarez before the Iowa versus Wisconsin game at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010, in Iowa City. (Jim Slosiarek/SourceMedia Group News)

Rutgers’ Big Ten debut begins Sept. 13 against Penn State. It’s the only Big Ten game through the first four weeks of the regular season.

Maryland’s first Big Ten game is held at Indiana on Sept. 27. The Terrapins’ home league opener is slated against Ohio State on Oct. 4.

Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue and Nebraska all have three-week stretches where they do not have home games. All four are scheduled with two road games and a bye during that span. It’s possible any of them could schedule a non-conference game during their bye to fill a three-week void.

Iowa and Illinois play for the first time since 2008 on Nov. 15 in Champaign. The teams will go eight years — 2007 through 2015 — before facing off in Iowa City.

Even with the geographical shift in divisions, the league kept a a pair of long-played trophy games in rotation for at least one year. Michigan and Minnesota, which have competed since 1909 for the Little Brown Jug, will open the Big Ten slate against one another at Ann Arbor. Illinois and Ohio State, which have played for the Illibuck since 1925, play Nov. 1 in Columbus.

Wisconsin and Michigan will not play one another for at least four consecutive seasons.

Wisconsin also will play at Iowa City for the third consecutive meeting. The Badgers were scheduled to face the Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium in 2010, 2013 and now 2014. The rivals’ last game in Madison was in 2009.

Minnesota shook off its cycle of playing regional draws Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska in the same season by getting Iowa in back-to-back years. The Hawkeyes play at Minnesota on Nov. 8. It marks the fourth time in five seasons (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014) Iowa plays the Gophers in Minneapolis.

Newcomers Maryland and Rutgers earned a rough initiation to the Big Ten. Rutgers’ first five games are against Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin. Maryland sees perpetual upper-division teams Wisconsin and Iowa as its crossover games.

The 2014 season is the second consecutive season where schools will play 12 games over 14 weeks. The regular 12-game, 13-week rotation begins in 2015.

High-profile/historical games

Sept. 13 — Penn State at Rutgers

Sept. 27 — Maryland at Rutgers; Northwestern at Penn State

Oct. 4 — Ohio State at Maryland; Nebraska at Michigan State; Wisconsin at Northwestern

Oct. 11 — Penn State at Michigan

Oct. 18 — Nebraska at Northwestern

Oct. 25 — Michigan at Michigan State; Ohio State at Penn State

Nov. 1 — Northwestern at Iowa; Illinois at Ohio State

Nov. 8 — Ohio State at Michigan State; Michigan at Northwestern; Iowa at Minnesota

Nov. 15 — Iowa at Illinois; Nebraska at Wisconsin

Nov. 22 — Wisconsin at Iowa

Nov. 28 — Nebraska at Iowa

Nov. 29 — Michigan at Ohio State; Purdue at Indiana; Rutgers at Maryland; Michigan State at Penn State; Minnesota at Wisconsin; Illinois at Northwestern

Non-divisional crossovers

EAST

Indiana: Purdue, at Iowa

Maryland: Iowa, at Wisconsin

Michigan: Minnesota, at Northwestern

Michigan State: Nebraska, at Purdue

Ohio State: Illinois, at Minnesota

Penn State: Northwestern, at Illinois

Rutgers: at Nebraska, Wisconsin

WEST

Illinois: Penn State, at Ohio State

Iowa: Indiana, at Maryland

Minnesota: Ohio State, at Michigan

Nebraska: Rutgers, at Michigan State

Northwestern: Michigan, at Penn State

Purdue: Michigan State, at Indiana

Wisconsin: Maryland, at Rutgers

The Gazette reported on March 6 that Barnes, who is engaged to coach Kirk Ferentz’s daughter Joanne, had been working as an administrative assistant for the football program since January 2012. The Iowa Athletic Department reassigned Barnes on March 7 so he no longer reported through football and submitted a conflict-of-interest management plan April 10. The UI’s Committee on Conflict of Interest in Employment, composed of nine faculty and staff, approved the plan April 19.

Most of the plan is confidential, but it changed Barnes’s supervisor to Steve Roe, Iowa’s director of athletic communications.

The couple are planning to wed on July 6.

After adding Nebraska in 2011 and accepting Maryland and Rutgers as new members in 2014, the Big Ten appears content at the moment to stay at 14 members. It’s possible the rest of the college world might follow suit.

“Dead is a strong word,” Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said when asked if expansion was over. “But I would say integration and consolidation is where we have spent our time since the announcement of Rutgers and Maryland. I told you guys that we were inactive and all of our time was being spent on integration and consolidation and that continues.

“I shouldn’t speak for others, but for us we’ve been focused on making a home in a new region, making new members feel at home in this region and everything we’ll do competitively and in television and in bowl is to bring as quickly as we can a level of comfort.”

The league has realigned in football twice since adding Nebraska. The first go-around was based on competitive balance. The second, which begins in 2014, is focused on geography.

The ripple effect is massive since the Big Ten first announced it would look at expansion in December 2009. Thirteen different members have shifted to the five major conferences. The Big East once was consider a power league, but will have lost seven football members and eight basketball members by 2014.

Big Ten officials continue to monitor the college athletics landscape, but no one said expansion is a front-burner issue right now.

“I think there’s expansion fatigue around the country,” Indiana Athletics Director Fred Glass said. “People like stabilization. They like old rivalries, and they like regionalization. I don’t think any of us are particularly excited about those things changing. But in the modern world, they are.

“If we stay at 14, I’d be a happy camper. But if there’s some people who are interested that the commissioner and the leadership of the conference think makes sense, I think it would be foolish not to be open to that.”

Delany even chided reporters for continually asking about expansion.

“Some people say they’re tired of writing about it but they keep asking questions about it,” Delany said. “So I really don’t know which direction it is.

“From my perspective, we’re inactive and we’re focused on bringing new members into the fold.”

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany

CHICAGO — Any changes to the Big Ten’s basketball foundation will be subtle, not forceful, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said Wednesday.

“There’s no appetite for regional divisions in basketball,” Delany said. “I think 18 games is about right. I thought this year, as enjoyable as the season was, as competitive it was and as deep as it was, I thought players were really tired at the end of the year. I thought they got some of their legs back but they played so hard and each game was a physical and an emotional challenge and people were tired.”

The league expands to 14 teams in 2014-15 when Maryland and Rutgers join the Big Ten. The annual set-up will include five double-play series and eight single-play match-ups. That’s down from the current seven round-robins and four single-play games. Before Nebraska joined the league in 2011, each team played eight opponents twice and only two once.

Some schools are concerned about playing their rivalries less frequently in the new Big Ten. This year, for instance, Purdue and Indiana meet only once at West Lafayette. Many consider that series the league’s best rivalry, and Indiana Athletics Director Fred Glass wants to protect it as an annual home-and-home.

“I talked to the commissioner and some of the other leadership in the conference about at least looking at whether we protect rivalries or assuring two games home and away for certain teams,” Glass said. “Obviously, Indiana-Purdue, we’re only going to be playing in Mackey this year. It’s a rivalry all of our fans want to see. There’s others around the conference.”

Outside of Indiana-Purdue, most Big Ten schools boasts rivalries with multiple programs rather than with one clear absolute rival. Minnesota Athletics Director Norwood Teague said schools do want to incorporate as many round-robin regional rivalries into their schedule.

“It’s important,” he said. “Obviously we want to play as much regionality as we can.”

Delany said he hasn’t been involved in basketball scheduling discussions. Ohio State Athletics Director Gene Smith said it’s likely the athletics directors will talk more about future basketball scheduling at their fall meetings.

It’s a major issue for Glass, and he will continue to address it with his colleagues.

“I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves too much. There could be competitive issues with that, parity issues, I get that,” Glass said. “But I think we should at least look at protecting some of the rivalries around the conference in basketball home and away every year.”

“I think we would try to preserve Michigan-Michigan State, Purdue-Indiana, but we really haven’t talked about it yet,” Purdue Athletics Director Morgan Burke.

Iowa forward Melsahn Basabe (1), guard Anthony Clemmons (5), and guard Mike Gesell (10) celebrate a three point basket by forward Zach McCabe (15) during the second half of their NIT semifinal Tuesday, April 2, 2013 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

The Big Ten really didn’t do the Iowa men’s basketball team any favors when it came to single-play match-ups next year.

Last year there were four Big Ten teams with losing records, and Iowa plays three of them only once next year. Iowa’s only single-play against a team with a winning record was league champion Indiana, and that game will be played in Bloomington.

The single-play games against Indiana and Purdue make sense. The Hawkeyes and Hoosiers have played twice annually for the last eight years. Iowa and Purdue (home) have played twice each year for six seasons. Both series were due for single-play status.

The strange single-play assignments for Iowa were Penn State (away) and Nebraska (home). In three of the last five years Iowa and Penn State have played just once. Before last season’s last-second win at State College, Iowa had lost five straight at Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions were 2-16 in Big Ten play but boasts the league’s top returning scorer in D.J. Newbill. Guard Tim Frazier, a first-team all-Big Ten selection in 2011-12, also returns for a fifth year after a season-ending injury last year.

I’m really not sure why Iowa won’t play Nebraska twice next year. So far the teams’ four meetings have been compelling. It’s the Cornhuskers’ only game against a border foe and that series needs to have some oomph. It would have made a better single-play in Lincoln, Neb. to allow western Iowa fans to see a game. In fact, Nebraska’s three closest Big Ten opponents — Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota — are single-plays.

Other single-game quirks: Purdue and Indiana plays just once, at West Lafayette. It’s possible the teams could line up another non-conference game. Michigan and Ohio State won’t play twice and Ohio State Athletics Director Gene Smith said he has no interest in scheduling a non-conference game.

“We’re not chicken,” Smith said with a laugh.

Here are the schools’ single-play games for next season (courtesy of BTN):

Illinois: Michigan, Purdue, at Northwestern, at Minnesota
Indiana: Ohio State, Iowa, at Purdue, at Minnesota
Iowa: Purdue, Nebraska, at Penn State, at Indiana
Michigan: Northwestern, Penn State, at Ohio State, at Illinois
Michigan State: Nebraska, Minnesota, at Purdue, at Wisconsin
Minnesota: Indiana, Illinois, at Michigan State, at Nebraska
Nebraska: Wisconsin, Minnesota, at Iowa, at Michigan State
Northwestern: Illinois, Penn State, at Ohio State, at Michigan
Ohio State: Michigan, Northwestern, at Wisconsin, at Indiana
Penn State: Iowa, Wisconsin, at Michigan, at Northwestern
Purdue: Indiana, Michigan State, at Illinois, at Iowa
Wisconsin: Ohio State, Michigan State, at Penn State, at Nebraska

Iowa baseball coach Jack Dahm claps after one of Iowa's innings at bat during their game against Western Illinois at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City on Saturday, March 27, 2010. (Julie Koehn/The Gazette)

CHICAGO — Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta won’t discuss the future of Iowa baseball coach Jack Dahm until the season is completed.

Dahm, who is in his 10th season as head coach, has compiled a 232-302 record. He has two winning seasons in his tenure: 31-23 (2007) and 30-28 (2010).

“I think my common response, and I don’t mean to be boilerplate, is the way I go about it is I observe daily and evaluate annually,” Barta said Tuesday at the Big Ten meetings at the Sofitel Hotel. “So we have another series left and at the end of the year we’ll sit down like I do every year with each coach and talk about what the next step is.”

Iowa currently is ninth place at 19-27 with a 7-14 Big Ten record. The Hawkeyes close out this weekend with a three-game series at Purdue.

“Anytime, any of our programs isn’t in the top half or competing for championships I have concern,” Barta said. “Again, we really aren’t going to talk about it until the season’s over.”

Iowa defensive tackle Jeff Drost sacks San Diego State quarterback Todd Santos at the 1986 Holiday Bowl. (The Gazette)

CHICAGO — The Jell-O mold of the Big Ten’s future football lineup is taking formation by the minute.

An industry source said the Holiday Bowl and Big Ten are close to finishing a six-year agreement. The bowl will pick second in the Pac-12 and third in the Big Ten after the playoff and access bowls make their selections starting with the 2014 season. Officials cautioned that no deals are final, but they are optimistic.

“I think when the dust settles, you can speculate that the Big Ten is coming (to the Holiday Bowl), and you’ll be OK,” said the source with direct knowledge of discussions.

“They really take care of the student-athlete experience, they make sure that’s a high level,” Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said. “Historically, they have a great brand because of the great football games that have been played over the years.

“If that ended up being one of our bowls, I can speak positively to the experience there.”

The Big Ten previously contracted a representative to the San Diego-based Holiday Bowl from 1991-1994. The Big Ten also sent teams to San Diego from 1986 through 1988. Iowa has appeared in the game three times, winning two games by one point each and tying the other game against BYU.

“We have expressed interest in the Big Ten, and we’re looking at all of our options at this point,” said Bruce Binkowski, executive director of the Holiday Bowl. “I can’t really say anything until things are finalized.”

“I think all of us are very positive about the Holiday Bowl,” Wisconsin Athletics Director Barry Alvarez said. “When I was at Iowa, we played in it for years. It was a great bowl. I don’t think we’ve signed anything, but I know that’s one that we’d be interested in.”

Alvarez is a Hall of Fame football coach at Wisconsin and a former assistant at Iowa.

The New York-based Pinstripe Bowl also appears certain to join the Big Ten’s lineup.The bowl’s current agreement matches the Big East (renamed American) with the Big 12. That bowl likely will pit the Big Ten against the ACC at Yankee Stadium.

“I think New York City around Christmastime is one of the most beautiful places in the world, or around the holidays,” Penn State Athletics Director Dave Joyner said. “I think people will find it’s a really great place to play.”

“It sure seems like it,” Alvarez said about the Pinstripe Bowl joining the Big Ten lineup. “I think everybody’s in favor of that.”

The league already has deals in place with the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl. The Big Ten champion is guaranteed to play in the Rose Bowl in eight of the next 12 seasons. The Rose Bowl hosts a semifinal game in the other four years.

A non-Big Ten champion will play at least three times against the ACC in the Orange Bowl over the next 12 years. If the league champion cannot appear in the Rose Bowl because of the semifinals, it will compete in another access bowl that season.

The league expects to extend long-standing relationships with the Capital One and Outback bowls. The Capital One has selected first among the Big Ten’s non-BCS bowl teams each year since 1993. The Outback Bowl’s relationship with the Big Ten began in 1994. It has the second pick among non-BCS Big Ten teams. Both games match the league with the SEC.

ESPN reported the Big Ten and ACC will share bids for the Music City (Nashville, Tenn.) and Gator (Jacksonville, Fla.) bowls over the next six years. The Big Ten will earn three spots in each bowl.

It’s also likely the Big Ten will stay with at least one Texas bowl, probably the Heart of Dallas Bowl at the old Cotton Bowl., and maintain its relationship with the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl (Detroit). It’s also possible the league will reach agreements with the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (Tempe, Ariz.) and the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (San Francisco).

“If that ended up being one of our bowls, I can speak positively to the experience there,” Barta said.

Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta (left) talks with Wisconsin Athletics Director Barry Alvarez. (Jim Slosiarek/SourceMedia Group News)

CHICAGO — Iowa will face one of the toughest Big Ten slates next year based on its single-play rotation.

Coach Fran McCaffery said this morning Iowa’s single-plays include Penn State (road), Indiana (road), Purdue (home) and Nebraska (home). Only Indiana qualified for the NCAA tournament of that four-team group.

– It seems the league will not split into multiple divisions for basketball. The basketball coaches met with athletics directors this morning and there was no discussion about divisions. It’s possible the league will consider an unbalanced scheduling format to accommodate rivalries such as Purdue-Indiana and Michigan-Michigan State.

– Basketball will remain at 18 league games.

– Both Wisconsin Athletics Director Barry Alvarez and Penn State Athletics Director Dave Joyner said there’s been no discussion about expansion. (insert your favorite snarky remark here)

“It’s not an active discussion,” Joyner said.

– The bowl lineup continues to take shape. Alvarez said it looks likely the league will pick up the Pinstripe and Holiday bowls, while Joyner said it’s likely to stay somewhere in Texas. Nothing is signed or finalized.

“It sure seems like it,” Alvarez said about the Pinstripe Bowl. “I think everybody’s in favor of that.”

“I think New York City around Christmastime is one of the most beautiful places in the world, or around the holidays,” Joyner said. “I think people will find it’s a really great place to play”

Alvarez was an assistant under Hayden Fry when the Hawkeyes competed in the Holiday Bowl in 1986 and 1987.

“I think all of us are very positive about the Holiday Bowl,” Alvarez said. “When I was at Iowa, we played in it for years. It was a great bowl. I don’t think we’ve signed anything, but I know that’s one that we’d be interested in.”

– Everybody seems happy with geographical divisions for football. Illinois AD Mike Thomas said he was excited to renew his rivalry with Iowa as was Alvarez. Joyner likes being conjoined (pun intended) with newcomers Rutgers and Maryland.

“We’re really happy with the mix,” Joyner said. “Geography is the right way to go. There’s lots of reasons. It’s pretty much unanimous. We talk about everything. It was pretty much a strong consensus that geographic orientation is the best way to go. I think we’re very excited about Maryland and Rutgers being very close by.

“Who knows 10 years from now who the powers are going to be? It comes and goes sometimes.”

– The 2014 football schedule will be released on Wednesday. It’s likely the 2015 schedule will follow.

Iowa's Pat Ingram (24) pulls in a long rebound against Quincy's Dalton Hoover (50) during their game Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.

CHICAGO — Iowa freshman guard Pat Ingram has elected to transfer, Iowa’s sports information department announced today.

Ingram, an Indianapolis native, averaged six minutes, 0.9 points and 0.6 rebounds in 19 games last season.

“He wanted to be closer to home and obviously he wants to play more,” McCaffery said this morning at the Big Ten meetings in Chicago. “He’s a terrific, terrific person. I think the world of him. We wish him nothing but the best.”

Iowa now has one available scholarship for the upcoming season. McCaffery said if he fills it, it’s probably with a transfer.

“I would say there’s nobody that we’re looking at right now,” McCaffery said. “You never say never on something like that, but we’re not like locked in on anybody.”

Earlier this year, I talked with Ingram’s former high school teammate, Purdue’s Terone Johnson. This is what he said about Ingram:

“I think he’s a great player,” Johnson said last fall. “I was there I thought he brought a lot of energy to the floor. I’ve seen him play his last couple of years of high school and he got way better every year. He’s definitely a guy that’s going to come in and work hard every day.

“He’s definitely more of an accepting guy into a role. He’s a guy that definitely can give you 12-14 points a game easily because of work-hard plays and stuff like that.”

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery smiles before a game against Stony Brook in the second round of the NIT on Friday, March 22, 2013 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

CHICAGO — Iowa still has a few holes on its schedule for the upcoming basketball season, coach Fran McCaffery said.

“We’ve got to schedule at least one more game, maybe two,” McCaffery said from the Big Ten spring meetings at the Sofitel Hotel. “We might go on the road. We’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to get figured out.”

McCaffery previously said he’d be interested in setting up made-for-TV games with high-profile opponents. Shifting from the Great Alaska Shootout to the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament has made finding those match-ups difficult.

“That’s still a possibility but the longer it goes, the harder it is to find those games than you think,” he said. “Luckily we’ve got Notre Dame (in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge). That’s big. The Atlantis games are huge. Those will be TV games. Iowa State is a TV game. I’m sure the Drake game will be on TV.

“I was hoping for something that made sense. It’s a question of whether can you get somebody to play you at home or not. Or whether you want to go on the road and get the rest of your schedule situated. Scheduling, with the change of the tournament, has just been a little bit in flux right now. Normally you’re a little more settled than this.”

The Battle 4 Atlantis field is full with competitive teams. Kansas and Villanova were NCAA tournament teams last year, while Tennessee competed as a No. 1 seed in the NIT. USC, Wake Forest, Xavier and UTEP fill out a solid lineup. Iowa finished second in the NIT.

“It’s going to be a tremendous challenge for our team, and it’s one that we’re excited about,” McCaffery said. “You look at the quality of opponents in that tournament, and it’s exactly what we wanted. Not trying to slight Alaska in any way because it was a great field up there.”

Here’s Iowa’s known non-conference schedule:

Nov. 10 — vs. Nebraska-Omaha (home)

Nov. 28-30 – Battle for Atlantis in Bahamas (3 games)

Dec. 3 – vs. Notre Dame (home)

Dec. 7 — vs. Drake (Des Moines)

Dec. 13 – at Iowa State

PLAYER UPDATES

Forward Melsahn Basabe, an incoming senior, will head home to Glen Cove, N.Y., for part of the summer before in August for mandatory team workouts. Basabe is on pace to graduate next May without attending summer school.

“He’s doing well,” McCaffery said. “He’s far enough ahead credit-wise, but he’ll come back and practice with us and get ready for our foreign trip.”

Guard Devyn Marble, the team’s leading scorer, will spend late June attempting to qualify for the USA World University Games Team. Tryouts are June 24 through July 1 at Colorado Springs, Colo. Davidson Coach Bob McKillop is the head coach.His assistants are Michigan Coach John Beilein and South Carolina Coach Frank Martin.

The World University Games are held July 7-16 in Kazan, Russia. Marble will be a senior this year.

“I’m thrilled for him,” McCaffery said.

Both Mike Gesell and Gabe Olaseni suffered foot injuries late in the season, but both are in good shape for summer workouts, McCaffery said. Gesell’s right foot injury — labeled a stress reaction — was more severe and caused him to wear a boot off the floor for the last six weeks of the season. Olaseni will be a junior center, while Gesell will be a sophomore guard.

“(Olaseni) had some soreness at the end of the year but when you have soreness in your feet, you’ve got to shut it down,” McCaffery said. “There’s no other way to deal with that. In Mike’s case we put him in a boot. We didn’t put Gabe in a boot. His wasn’t as bad. He’s fine.”

“(Gesell is) out on the floor doing stuff. Unless something else happens … but I think we held him out long enough so that it wouldn’t happen. I suspect if it gets to the point where he did feel anything wrong, he’d shut it down.”

Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffery. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

CHICAGO — Big Ten men’s basketball coaches lack the same zeal as their football counterparts to split the league into divisions.

After a full day of meetings at the Sofitel Hotel, basketball coaches have yet to discuss a potential divisional alignment, Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said.

“I don’t think divisional play is where we’re headed,” McCaffery said. “I guess we could talk about it (Tuesday). It really wasn’t on the agenda.”

The coaches did talk about future scheduling. In 2014-15, Rutgers and Maryland join the Big Ten to give the league 14 members. It’s likely the league schedule stays at 18 games, so based on the current model, Iowa would play five teams twice and eight teams once.

“That model hasn’t been decided yet,” McCaffery aid. “Who do you place twice, who do you play once and how does it rotate on a year-by-year basis? We did talk about that, but there was nothing decided.

“We’re definitely trying to protect rivalries and make sure that you’re going to continue to play those teams.”

There’s also discussion about preserving significant rivalries so the games are played twice annually. Currently there are no protected rivalries in Big Ten basketball.

“If you’re Purdue-Indiana, for example. That’s different,” McCaffery said. “Michigan-Michigan State. For us, we have Iowa-Iowa State, but we’re in different leagues. We don’t have another team in the state that’s in our league. You can go through it and pick those. Those are the two that come to my mind right off the bat.”

The coaches will meet on Tuesday morning before adjourning from their spring meetings.

University of Northern Iowa men's basketball coach Ben Jacobson (left) leans out of the alumni suite to talk with Athletic Director Troy Dannen during the team's Media Day on Monday, Oct. 18, 2010, at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls. (Liz Martin/SourceMedia Group News)

IOWA CITY — Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany wants league programs to fund athletic scholarships to fit the cost of attending a school.

Northern Iowa Athletics Director Troy Dannen doesn’t know how his cash-strapped department could pay for it.

Whether or not to fund scholarships to include incidental expenses, such as laundry money, as Delany likes to say, ranks among the most divisive issues for athletics officials. The opinions are split with many wealthy conferences — such as the Big Ten — promoting a $2,000 stipend for athletes. Programs with modest budgets, like Northern Iowa, believe spending more on athletes could actually decrease overall aid to a majority of athletes.

The average cost of an out-of-state Big Ten scholarship is $37,129, according to numbers submitted to The Gazette by all 13 public institutions (including Rutgers and Maryland) via the Freedom of Information Act. However that falls $3,410 short of providing minor expenses like campus transportation, telephone calls and supplies not covered by scholarships.

The $2,000 stipend initially received approval from the NCAA board of directors in October 2011, but 160 schools then voted to override the legislation.

“Our record has been pretty clear for a very long time and that is there should be as much assistance as we can provide to the cost of education,” Delany said. “We’re not there yet.”

Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said he’s open toward increasing stipends toward need-based athletes.

“I have been, and continue to be, open to discussions about expanding the definition of the scholarship,” Barta said.

But for UNI, a program where none of the current sports are fully funded, adding a $2,000 stipend to its roughly 380 athletes financially would cripple the department.

“The problem with the full cost of attendance and going that direction is if you get outside the 55 schools, the rest of us are going to make this decision: Do I want to just not do it,” Dannen said. “Then there’s a significant difference in the value of scholarship. So there’s a competitive disadvantage.”

Some schools would cut sports or trim partial scholarships to save on costs with fully-funded scholarships.

“All I’m going to do is reallocate my existing scholarship pool. We don’t have the revenue streams to add to it,” Dannen said. “How am I going to reallocate that scholarship pool? Obviously I have equity balances but you’re going to have to reduce some scholarships and make some bigger, so basically you’re going to put more money in the hands of fewer people. That’s counter-intuitive.

“We may say, ‘All right, theoretically, you get 63 scholarships in football, but your total money stays the same. If you fully fund the cost of attendance to 20 kids, you may only have 57 scholarships to give instead of 63. That’s the choice you’ll be faced with.”

Fully funding scholarships eventually could resolve Ed O’Bannon’s lawsuit against the NCAA. O’Bannon claims football and men’s basketball players are exploited and should receive a cut from the NCAA’s media deals for using their likeness.

“If there’s a settlement in this case at any point, you can almost guarantee that allowing the full cost of attendance will be a central part of it,” said John Infante, a former NCAA compliance officer who authors the “Bylaw Blog” on NCAA-related issues.

It also could cause a split between the wealthier Division I programs — like Iowa — and schools like Northern Iowa, Dannen said.

“If O’Bannon wins, it basically changes whether we can hold amateurism up as a fundamental tenet of the organization,” Dannen said. “People sometimes lose sight because college athletics is more than 55 schools. There are 900 and some schools that play it from Division I down to Division III. There are 300 schools that play Division I athletics outside of the big money schools. There’s a lot of tipping points as to when does there become a fourth division.

“This could well be one of those tipping points.”

Big Ten Conference commissioner Jim Delany watches as the Iowa Hawkeyes take on the Maryland Terrapins in the second half of their semi-final game in the NIT Tuesday, April 2, 2013 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY —— The most important development in college athletics this year won’t happen on the football field or basketball arena.

Instead it will occur in a federal courtroom.

Ed O’Bannon, a former All-American basketball player at UCLA, field an antitrust suit accusing sued the NCAA, its licensing company, all NCAA schools and conferences of engaging “in a price-fixing conspiracy” to deprive college football and men’s basketball players from earning revenue based on their likeness.

A hearing is set for June 20 to determine whether the lawsuit should certify as class-action and include current student-athletes. A trial is scheduled for July 2014. Should O’Bannon’s case ultimately prevail — damages are trebled in federal antitrust cases — it could vault damages into the billions for the NCAA and schools and trickle down to local communities.

“It changes the nature of college sports,” Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany told The Gazette. But Delany also said, “Our people have no interest in settling. It will go through the court system, and it’s probably many, many years away.”

The questions are as immense as the potential ramifications. If O’Bannon wins, who gets paid? O’Bannon’s filing stipulates football and men’s basketball players deserve half the revenue from video game look-alikes and classic game rebroadcasts to lucrative television rights package. That could set back athletics departments financially five or more years.

Another question is how — and with what means — would the schools pay its athletes?

“I’ve noticed economists who said this will redirect revenue from coaches to athletes, but I think that’s misguided,” said former NCAA compliance officer John Infante, who authors the “Bylaw Blog” on NCAA-related issues. “I think what you will see if they lose a significant judgment … nonrevenue sports will be the first to feel the cuts, whether that’s eliminating the individual sports or defunding across the board, getting rid of all of their scholarships and working with the NCAA to eliminate its minimums.”

Northern Iowa is a midlevel Division I program with a $12.3 million athletics budget and boasts maybe one marketable moment — Ali Farokhmanesh’s 3-point shot in 2010 NCAA tournament that shocked top-ranked Kansas. UNI Athletics Director Troy Dannen said his school is in “reactive mode” on this case.

“If the class is certified, it’s so hard to speculate, particularly with a school like UNI,” Dannen said. “What is the financial harm? What is Ali’s financial interest? I don’t know. There’s so many tentacles to this thing.”

For Northern Iowa and other NCAA schools in Iowa, cutting sports is one option, as is decreasing both the funding and the amount of scholarships per sport. The subject is sensitive for athletics departments. Iowa State Athletics Director Jamie Pollard declined to comment, while Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta answered questions through email.

“I’ll be very interested to see how the courts decide this particular case,” Barta wrote. “I won’t begin to speculate how it will or will not affect college athletics or the Iowa Hawkeyes until I see what direction the legal decision heads.”

The greatest stakeholders are both the NCAA and major conferences, such as the Big Ten. According to its most recent tax filing, the NCAA earned nearly $815 million from Sept. 1, 2010 through Aug. 31, 2011. Its expenses totaled more than $773 million and it listed assets exceeding $506 million. The non-profit organization generated $690 million that year in television rights alone.

The Big Ten’s 13 public schools (counting future members Maryland and Rutgers) earned nearly $300 million from the league and NCAA sources in the 2012 fiscal year. Those figures, which were obtained by The Gazette through the Freedom of Information Act, also show the schools combined to spend more than $149 million on athletic scholarships that year for 6,146 athletes.

“Some people say they (athletes) should get half the media dollars,” Delany said. “Half the media dollars do go to aid. They happen to go to aid for men and women in lacrosse and basketball and baseball and football. Some people say that’s not fair because most of the money comes from football and basketball. Hey, where do you think the money’s been coming from since 1906?”

Athletes sign away their likeness as part of form release 08-3a, which grants their universities and leagues the right to “publish, duplicate, print, broadcast or otherwise use in any manner or media, my name, voice, photograph, likeness or other image or descriptors of myself for any purpose … without limitation uses in promotional and marketing materials (by the league’s television partners).” The release also states that “I agree that neither I nor my heirs shall be entitled to any compensation for the use of my name, voice, photograph, likeness or other image of descriptors of myself.”

An athlete refuses to sign is ruled ineligible. O’Bannon’s suit seeks to strike that form as “void and unenforceable.”

Athletes have complained for years about exploitation by their universities. Former Michigan star Chris Webber complained to author Mitch Albom that his jersey was sold in a campus bookstore for $75 and he didn’t have enough money for lunch.

Current Big Ten schools earned anywhere from $21.4 million (Michigan) to $4.44 million (Penn State) in licensing and royalties in 2012. Much of that revenue is from jersey sales from numbers currently worn by popular football or men’s basketball players. Texas A&M merchandise sales jumped a reported 53 percent after quarterback Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy.

“Texas A&M is an institution that’s been around for 130 years,” Delany said. “If Johnny Manziel was playing arena football, what’s the uniform worth?”

Officials counter that athletes earn scholarships at prestigious institutions. The average cost for an out-of-state student to attend one of the Big Ten’s 13 public schools is $37,129. For a red-shirt athlete, the five-year value approaches $200,000. Plus athletes receive academic tutoring, access to top-notch personal trainers and medical care that would cost a regular student tens of thousands of dollars over a college career. Many athletes see little game action, and their marketability has little value outside of the uniform.

“Student-athletes are provided an unbelievable opportunity competitively, academically, and financially,” Barta said. “I don’t support an approach that pays student-athletes for playing.”

In conversations with other league officials, Delany said the message was, “There should be no compromise on this. This is not something you can negotiate about.”

In a declaration filed in March, Delany wrote the Big Ten might consider a Division III model without athletic scholarships O’Bannon ultimately prevails. He later told The Gazette, ““We don’t want to go Division III. We want to (stay) Division I.” But the impact of such a shift — however unlikely — would devastate communities like Iowa City.

Josh Schamberger, president of the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Iowa football’s economic impact is $105 million per year in the community. He called Iowa football games “basically seven Christmases for these businesses.”

“It’s such an integral part of quality of life that anything that would come about jeopardizing that is certainly would have a big impact here in community,” Schamberger said.

While Infante cited some of Delany’s examples, like the Division III model as “illogical,” he also said the threats are not empty, either.

“That sort of tells you the stakes that are out there,” Infante said.

Iowa senior associate athletics director Jane Meyer gives a tour of the new indoor practice and recreation facility Wednesday, June 27, 2012 on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City. The 102,000-square foot facility features a 100-yard football field, four batting cages, at 6,000-square feet of storage and will be available for practices on August third. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Iowa senior associate athletics director Jane Meyer is a finalist for the vacant athletics director job at Rutgers, according to the Asbury Park Press.

Meyer was one of 11 people listed by the newspapers as candidates for the position.

Meyer has served as Iowa’s second-highest ranked athletics official since 2001. She serves as Iowa’s senior woman administrator, sport administrator and oversees all intercollegiate athletics facilities projects and operations.

Meyer previously has served as chairwoman of the NCAA Division I women’s basketball committee and was the NCAA’s director of education outreach from June 1999 through March 2001. Meyer also was the associate director of athletics at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

The Rutgers position opened last month with Tim Pernetti’s resignation.In the wake of men’s basketball coach Mike Rice abusing players verbally and physically during practice, Pernetti left the program. Rice was fired for his actions, which were caught on video and aired first by ESPN.

Rutgers will join the Big Ten on July 1, 2014.

IOWA CITY — The second phase of Iowa’s new $55 million football center remains on schedule despite the rough spring weather stalling some construction efforts, senior associate athletics director Jane Meyer said Thursday.

This 72,000-square foot addition includes football offices, a 21,000-square foot strength and conditioning center, a 2,100-square foot players lounge with computer stations, a 4,500-square foot locker room, a 185-seat meeting room and locker rooms. There also will be a public viewing area along with video displays and an interactive kiosk for fans on gameday.

The department has raised nearly $30 million privately toward the project, which should be completed by fall 2014. The indoor practice facility, which was finished last summer, will have a new brick facade, Meyer said at the monthly Presidential Committee on Athletics meeting.

Iowa’s scoreboards at Kinnick Stadium are receiving a $9 million face-lift. The new HD video board is capable of live in-game stats, video replays and advertising in the north end zone. The clock will remain digital, and the improvements will be complete by football season.

“We’ve been talking about it for a while,” Meyer said. “The technologies have changed significantly.

“There were also some mechanical parts on it that were starting to fail us. It became worse this past season.”

Iowa is replacing the field hockey playing surface at Grant Field for $1.8 million.

“We determined after their fall season that we needed to get that thing replaced,” Meyer said. “We have a nationally ranked team. They need to have state-of-the-art facilities, so we made that decision to replace it.”

As part of a shared cost with recreation services, Hawkeye Recreation and Tennis Center will receive new lights and a resurfacing for $825,000. On the horizon, the athletics department will split the cost with the academics and recreation departments on an estimated $15 million facility on the west campus for the marching band. That project has yet to be designed.

The department expects both its revenues and expenses to exceed original calculations but is projected to bring in about $500,000 more than it spends. Iowa’s original athletics budget was for $80.62 million. The fiscal year closes June 30.

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Devyn Marble (4). (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — Iowa’s quest to upgrade its non-conference schedule just received a major boost from the Big Ten Conference.

The Hawkeyes, fresh from an NIT finals appearance, will play host to Notre Dame as part of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge on Dec. 3. The match-up will pit two teams that won 25 games last year. It also will pit Iowa coach Fran McCaffery against a program he assisted for 11 seasons under Digger Phelps and John MacLeod.

“It’s going to be exciting hosting Notre Dame, a successful program that is rich in tradition, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena,” McCaffery said in a statement. “Notre Dame is an extremely well-coached team that has advanced to the last four NCAA tournaments. This will be another good test for our basketball team early in the season.”

The Fighting Irish are making their first appearance in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge after moving from the Big East this year. Notre Dame finished 25-10 last year but was routed in its NCAA tournament appearance by Iowa State 76-58 at Dayton, Ohio. The Irish return 6-foot-5 guard Jerian Grant, a second-team all-Big East selection. Grant led the team in scoring (13.3 ppg), assists  (194) and was second in steals (44). Grant scored in double digits 28 times and four times scored at least 20 points.

Combo guard Pat Connaughton, an incoming junior, was named to the Big East all-tournament team in March. He averaged 16.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in three games. He shot 61.5 percent (16-26) from the field and .625 (15-24) from 3-point range. Guard Eric Atkins also returns after averaging 11.2 points last year. The Irish graduated all-Big East first-teamer Jack Cooley, who scored 13.1 points and grabbed 10.1 rebounds a game.

“This is a great non-conference game for us in a very tough environment,” Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey said in a statement. “Fran McCaffery has done a fabulous job with the program there and return all five starters from last season. It will be a very good test for our team and players. I like how our non-conference schedule is shaping up for next year with many tough early-season contests. It certainly will prepare us for the rigors of ACC play.”

Iowa returns nearly 93 percent of its scoring from last year, including all-Big Ten third-team selections Devyn Marble and Aaron White. Marble, who will be a senior point guard, earned all-NIT honors after averaging 20.6 points during Iowa’s five NIT games. White, an incoming junior forward, led Iowa in rebounding and was one of only four Big Ten players to average at least 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds a game.

The Hawkeyes were one of the final six teams omitted from the NCAA tournament last year, and non-conference strength-of-schedule was a primary factor. Iowa lost its Big Ten-ACC Challenge game to Virginia Tech, which eventually finished last in the ACC. Iowa is only 2-10 all-time in the Challenge and has lost seven straight.

Notre Dame leads the all-time series 8-5 and won the schools’ last match-up 77-68 as part of the preseason NIT on Nov. 17, 1990 in South Bend. The teams also met in an consolation NCAA game after the 1970 season, in which Iowa won 121-106. The Hawkeyes scored 75 points in the first half against the Irish.

A few of Iowa’s games next year are determined. The Hawkeyes will open on Nov. 10 against Nebraska-Omaha. They compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament from Nov. 28-30 at the Bahamas, which includes Kansas, Villanova, Tennessee, USC, Xavier, UTEP and Wake Forest. Iowa also faces Drake in the Big Four Classic on Dec. 7 at Wells Fargo Arena and plays at Iowa State on Dec. 13.

Big Ten-ACC Challenge games:

Tuesday, December 3
Florida State at Minnesota
Illinois at Georgia Tech
Indiana at Syracuse
Michigan at Duke
Notre Dame at Iowa
Penn State at Pittsburgh

Wednesday, December 4
Boston College at Purdue
Maryland at Ohio State
Miami at Nebraska
North Carolina at Michigan State
Northwestern at North Carolina State
Wisconsin at Virginia

Here are the team records in the 143-game series:

• ACC (82-61) — Duke 12-2; Boston College 6-1; Wake Forest 10-3; Maryland 10-4; Clemson 9-5; Virginia 8-5; North Carolina 7-7; Florida State 6-8; North Carolina State 5-8; Georgia Tech 4-9; Virginia Tech 3-5; Miami 2-4; Notre Dame 0-0; Pittsburgh 0-0; Syracuse 0-0
• Big Ten (61-82) — Illinois 7-7; Ohio State 6-6; Purdue 6-6; Nebraska 1-1; Michigan State 6-7; Wisconsin 6-8; Northwestern 6-8; Minnesota 6-8; Indiana 5-7; Penn State 5-7; Michigan 5-7; Iowa 2-10

The 2014-15 campaign will offer two new Big Ten teams, including current ACC member Maryland (and Rutgers). It’s likely the Terrapins will be banished from this year’s clash for the same reason Iowa and Nebraska football were separated from the Insight Bowl in 2010. The last thing a scorned conference wants is a high-profile infomercial about its departing team starting a new rivalry in its future league.

The ACC holds a 10-3-1 record in the challenge, but the Big Ten has not lost the last four (the schools tied 6-6 last year).

This year’s challenge will debut in early December because of a late Thanksgiving. While it’s the start of a new cycle where teams could play back-to-back games on the road or at home, it’s generally frowned upon. This year’s match-ups — while not released — could have some interesting flavor and it could keep the  preferred home/road rotation in place.

The challenge match-ups were released May 14 last year, and they’ll be released today. Here’s an educated guess as to who will play whom in the 15th Challenge this fall:

Duke at Michigan State — The teams met in the Sweet 16 and play fairly regularly. The Spartans rank second and the Blue Devils are fourth in Sports Illustrated’s way-too-early rankings. It’s a natural match-up.

Michigan at North Carolina — The last time these teams played was April 5, 1993. Yes, the national championship game where Chris Webber infamously called a timeout that resulted in a technical. Now that Webber’s 10-year disassociation with Michigan is over, this could have major build-up. Also, SI ranks Michigan fifth and North Carolina ninth entering next season.

Syracuse at Ohio State — The Orange makes the transition to the ACC after a Final Four season. Ohio State played in the Elite Eight. Both have top-15 potential this year.

Notre Dame at Iowa — The Fighting Irish were an NCAA tournament team (then s0undly beaten by Iowa State), and Iowa played for the NIT title. Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery coached at Notre Dame under Digger Phelps and John MacLeod and his wife, Margaret, was an Irish All-American player and former assistant. Of course I’d rather see Iowa host North Carolina so Cedar Rapids native Marcus Paige could face former AAU teammates Mike Gesell and Adam Woodbury.

Indiana at Virginia — The Cavaliers return probable ACC preseason player of the year in Joe Harris. Virginia was surprisingly discarded from the NCAA tournament before falling in the NIT quarterfinals to Iowa. Indiana was the nation’s top-ranked team before losing in the Sweet Sixteen to Syracuse. I could also see this match-up flip with Syracuse-Ohio State.

Wisconsin at Pittsburgh — Two gritty, defensive basketball programs that competed in the NCAA tournament last year. I’m sure there would be plenty of television shots of Pittsburgh football coach (and Wisconsin native) Paul Chryst in attendance.

Illinois at North Carolina State — Both squads lost some valuable players off their NCAA tournament teams but will remain competitive in their leagues.

Miami at Purdue — The Hurricanes lose a ton from its ACC championship team, while the Boilermakers have enough talented underclassmen to make a move in the Big Ten.

OTHERS:

• Wake Forest at Minnesota
• Penn State at Georgia Tech
• Northwestern at Boston College
• Florida State at Nebraska

Here are the team records in the 143-game series:

• ACC (82-61) — Duke 12-2; Boston College 6-1; Wake Forest 10-3; Maryland 10-4; Clemson 9-5; Virginia 8-5; North Carolina 7-7; Florida State 6-8; North Carolina State 5-8; Georgia Tech 4-9; Virginia Tech 3-5; Miami 2-4; Notre Dame 0-0; Pittsburgh 0-0; Syracuse 0-0
• Big Ten (61-82) — Illinois 7-7; Ohio State 6-6; Purdue 6-6; Nebraska 1-1; Michigan State 6-7; Wisconsin 6-8; Northwestern 6-8; Minnesota 6-8; Indiana 5-7; Penn State 5-7; Michigan 5-7; Iowa 2-10

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Iowa Director of Basketball Operations Jerry Strom puts Chris Street's No. 40 jersey over an empty chair at the end of the bench before a game against Wisconsin on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — Jerry Strom, a mainstay during an era of change for Iowa men’s basketball, has retired after 33 years with the program.

Strom, 60, has worked for six Iowa men’s basketball coaches after taking a graduate assistant job under Lute Olson in 1981. He was promoted to director of operations, a position he held for 30 years, in 1983. He worked under Olson, George Raveling, Tom Davis, Steve Alford, Todd Lickliter and Fran McCaffery.

Strom handled the program’s day-to-day activities and assumed travel responsibilities this year when former trainer John Streif retired. For 26 years Strom served as director of the Hawkeye Challenge, a tournament both The Gazette and KCRG previously sponsored. He also provided  color commentary for radio broadcaster Jim Zabel for six years.

Strom is a graduate of Fontanelle High School and received college degrees from Concordia (Neb.) College and Western Illinois.

“I was living my dream,” said Strom.  “Working at Iowa was the greatest years of my life. It is, and always has been, about the people.  That’s what makes Iowa and the community so special.”

“Jerry Strom has been a very good friend of mine for over 20 years,” McCaffery said.  “I was thrilled to have the opportunity to have him on our staff.  For the three years that we worked together, his contributions were beyond exceptional. He’s part of the Iowa basketball family forever.”

Sioux City East's Adam Woodbury (right) is fouled by West Des Moines Valley's Peter Jok during the second half of their Class 4A quarterfinal game at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday, March 7, 2012, in Des Moines, Iowa. The duo will be teammates at Iowa this fall. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery has no plans to red-shirt incoming freshman Peter Jok this fall. Actually, McCaffery expects Jok to compete for playing time right away.

“With Peter, we looked at a lot of different players,” McCaffery said. “We just kept coming back to him as a guy that we think as a ball handler, as a passer, as a shooter, as a multiple-position player, fits our style of play and we’re thrilled with him.”

Jok is a 6-foot-6 wing slated to fit at both off-guard and small forward next year. He’ll compete with Mike Gesell, Josh Oglesby, Aaron White, Jarrod Uthoff and Zach McCabe for playing time.

Jok led Class 4A in scoring average with a 23.6 points a game at West Des Moines Valley, which was ousted in a Class 4A substate final. Perhaps most important for Iowa, Jok was consistent from 3-point range (42 percent) and the free-throw line (92.6 percent), knocking down 126 of 136 attempts.

“I think he’ll bring in a variety of skills,” said Iowa assistant coach Kirk Speraw, who actively recruited Jok. “He handles it, passes it well. He’s very unselfish, he’ll move the ball, he certainly can shoot it and shoot it from deep, which is something that we need. I think he can be a very good defender as well. I think he brings the total package.

“But he’s got to make the transition as everybody does from high school to the collegiate level, not only the Division I level but to the Big Ten level. That will be an adjustment for him, and it will take some time.”

Jok also has just one healthy season to show off his abilities. He suffered a torn patella tendon in his left knee as a freshman and spent two seasons playing through the pain. After his sophomore year he opted for surgery and struggled as a junior, averaging 10.2 points a game.

This year he blossomed and was a first-team all-state performer.

Iowa assistant coach Kirk Speraw talks with incoming freshman Peter Jok last fall at the Big Four Classic in Des Moines.

“I think it was an important year for Pete this year to get back to being healthy and getting some of his confidence back and his game and himself,” Speraw said. “I think he’s a great young man, first off, and fits very well with our team. He already feels a part of everything just on a few visits that he’s been up to Iowa City, and he’s a great teammates for the guys.”

Jok also will get a chance to develop camaraderie with the Hawkeyes earlier than in previous years. This is the second summer that college basketball players can receive two hours a week of one-on-one coaching. Plus, an NCAA rules change will allow Jok to travel and compete with the team on its overseas trip to England and France in August.

“With the ability now to work out in the summers, I think he’ll have a leg up,” Speraw said.

The Hawkeyes will join the Battle 4 Atlantis from Nov. 28-30 in the Bahamas, dropping the Great Alaska Shootout. The difference in tournaments is stark, from its competition to its high-profile opponents.

Kansas headlines the Battle 4 Atlantis field this year, and is joined by NCAA tournament qualifier Villanova. Other Atlantis teams include Xavier, UTEP, Tennessee, Wake Forest and USC. The only team in the tournament with an RPI  below 109 was Wake Forest (13-18). The average RPI for the tournament is 79.

The Great Alaska Shootout field boasts one NCAA tournament team (Harvard). Denver and Indiana State competed in the NIT last year. Tulsa and Green Bay — which replaced Iowa — played in other postseason tournaments. The field’s average RPI is 135.

Iowa’s non-conference RPI was a primary reason why the Hawkeyes did not qualify for the NCAA tournament last year. The Hawkeyes finished 25-13 overall and second in the NIT, but Iowa was 21-12 after the season. NCAA tournament chairman Mike Bobinski said Iowa was one of the last six teams discussed for an NCAA tournament spot.

Last year’s Battle 4 Atlantis featured a bullish field. Eventual NCAA tournament champion Louisville, Duke, Minnesota, Memphis, Missouri and VCU all made the NCAA tournament.  Stanford was an NIT qualifier and Northern Iowa won 20 games.

“Both the Great Alaska Shootout and Battle 4 Atlantis are phenomenal tournaments,” said head coach Fran McCaffery.  “The Great Alaska Shootout is a tournament rich in tradition, while the Battle 4 Atlantis is an exciting new tournament that began two years ago.  We are excited about this new opportunity for our program and fans.”

Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffery. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffery has no problem telling reporters his team could challenge for the hierarchy next year in Big Ten play.

Iowa returns nearly 93 percent of its scoring on an upper-division Big Ten team that won 25 games last year. Those are enough reasons to energize a fan base and excite a basketball program.

“I don’t think there’s any question about it,” McCaffery said. “We were right there last year. We finished sixth. With a couple of breaks, we could have been higher than that. The league is so good top to bottom and things won’t change year in and year out. Certainly we are in position to make a move.”

The Hawkeyes finished the season as the Big Ten’s top rebounding squad (39.1 per game), led in assists (15.1) and were second in blocked shots (4.8 per game). Additionally, Iowa was second in free-throw percentage and 3-point defense and third in field-goal defense. All of which were priorities for McCaffery entering the season.

However, Iowa’s field-goal shooting plummeted from 45.5 percent to 41.9 percent. Even worse, Iowa ranked 11th in 3-point percentage at 30.5 percent, down from 37.3 percent.

“We were able to win 25 games despite the fact that our offensive shooting percentage went down,” McCaffery said. “So that has improve. Our 3-point percentage has to go up, and I think it will. We’ve got really good shooters. We’ve got really good players. We’re going to have more experience next year, so those numbers will go up. Hopefully the defensive numbers will go down again.

“Obviously we were focusing on defense, and we dramatically improved in that area.”

Iowa also will have high expectations this year. The Hawkeyes received votes in the USA Today/Coaches poll for the first time since 2006. Shortly after the Final Four, at least four web sites ranked Iowa in the preseason top 25. McCaffery has no concerns about how those accolades will affect his team.

“I think they’ll react very well,” McCaffery said. “I think they’re excited about that challenge. I really do. I think they came here expecting to be in that position and are preparing to what’s necessary to stay at that level because it’s one thing to get there. It’s a lot harder to stay there, I think.”

Illinois guard Brandon Paul (3) puts up a 3-point shot over Iowa guard Devyn Marble (4) during the second half Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

FINAL ATTENDANCE FIGURES

Iowa finished sixth among Big Ten schools in attendance, averaging 13,625 fans per game. That’s the school’s best number since the 2001-02 season. Based on the 2011-12 numbers, Iowa would rank in the top 20 for the first time since 2003.

Iowa totaled six sellouts this season and two others topping 15,000.

Indiana led the Big Ten at 17,412 per game. Wisconsin and Ohio State each averaged better than 16,500 per game. Illinois and Michigan State round out the top 25.

FUTURE SCHEDULES

Iowa is scheduled to attend the Great Alaska Shootout this fall and a four-team event in New York in 2014. But an available spot in the Battle 4 Atlantis has Iowa weighing its options.

Two industry sources said the Bahamas-based tournament sought Iowa as the eighth team in its lineup. The Atlantis field is solid with Kansas, Tennessee, Villanova, UTEP, USC, Wake Forest and Xavier. Iowa never has appeared in the Bahamas.

The Great Alaska Shootout field includes Denver, Harvard, Indiana State, Pepperdine, Texas Christian, Tulsa and Alaska Anchorage. Iowa twice has appeared at the Great Alaska Shootout, the last coming during the 1995-96 season.

McCaffery was mum on all scheduling.

“I haven’t even looked at it yet,” he said.

As for Big Ten play, Iowa will play Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois and Ohio State twice. The Hawkeyes played each team just once during the most recent two-year cycle. It’s likely Iowa will play Indiana, Purdue and Northwestern just once this year.

PLAYER COMINGS AND (NOT) GOINGS

McCaffery said no player with red-shirt this upcoming season and he doesn’t expect any players to transfer. Eric May is the only senior leaving the program, and Iowa has transfer Jarrod Uthoff and incoming freshman Peter Jok entering the lineup next year. Power forward Kyle Meyer was red-shirted last year and he’ll be eligible, too.

Minutes were an issue at times last year with Iowa using a 10-player rotation.

“It might be bigger (problem this year), but that’s OK,” McCaffery said. “We have, I think, the ability to go in a lot of different directions in terms of size, speed and matching different skill sets.

“I think you look at our team this year, so many different times it’s a different group of guys on the floor when we made our run. Next year, I think we’ll have even more options.”

UNI football head coach Mark Farley (from left) and Athletic Director Troy Dannen talk with people during the UNI Panther Prowl at Elmcrest Country Club on May 7, 2012. (Stephen Mally/Freelance)

IOWA CITY — The Big Ten’s decision to eliminate future schedules with Football Championship Subdivision schools has no bearing on whether Northern Iowa will leap to the bowl subdivision.

Northern Iowa Athletics Director Troy Dannen told The Gazette his school is unlikely to move beyond the FCS for one simple reason.

“It comes down to economics,” he said. “That discussion has never been about the competitive part of it, although it is a lot easier to have that discussion if you are competitive. It’s always been a fiscal discussion. If you can sustain a budget necessary not just to play at the FBS but to be competitive at the FBS level.

“Frankly as things sit today, our budget would have to increase by about $6-7 million to be a median level Sun Belt or Mid-American Conference budget. I think that answers a lot questions right there, whether it’s feasible today financially or whether it’s feasible one, five, 10 years down the line. If you look at the numbers today, I don’t know you can put your athletic department in that kind of position fiscally.”

According to numbers provided to the U.S. Department of Education, UNI’s football expenses totaled nearly $3.33 million in fiscal year 2011. Every football program in the MAC, a potential destination if UNI committed to the FBS, spent at least $5.12 million that year.

Much of Northern Iowa’s athletics department revenue comes from games at FBS programs. Last year the school took in $950,000 with games at Wisconsin and Iowa.

The Big Ten announced a policy Sunday — and Commissioner Jim Delany reiterated Wednesday — that league schools must schedule games against schools that regularly carry 85 scholarships. That prevents Iowa from continuing games against Missouri Valley Conference schools Missouri State (2013), Northern Iowa (2014, 2018), Illinois State (2015) and North Dakota State (2016). Big Ten schools will be allowed to play those games only if they cannot reach a contract settlement.

The Panthers were competitive in last year’s games at Big Ten venues, losing only 26-21 to eventual Big Ten champion Wisconsin and 27-16 at Iowa.

“I feel disappointed for future players of the University of Northern Iowa because it was a great stage and environment and a great opportunity,” UNI Coach Mark Farley said Monday. “I know the reasons, but really it’s too bad for some of the players that will come through the future who won’t be able to experience that.”

Northern Iowa will continue to regularly play FBS opponents, despite the Big Ten policy. UNI has games scheduled against Iowa State this year, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. Along with playing at Iowa in 2014, the Panthers will travel to Hawaii.

“Our preference would be always to play somebody who is a bus ride away,” Dannen said. “Now, in the next year, we’re playing Hawaii as a second game. Well, we cut the bus game, but Hawaii pays for team transportation. So it’s a little bit of a different animal with that type of trip.”

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany

CHICAGO –The Big Ten could be due for a bowl shakeup in its next round of agreements.

The league will remain tied to the Rose Bowl and likely the Capital One and Outback bowls. But beyond those, the league could be set for a new round of bowling.

“It could be a lot,” Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said today about possible bowl lineup changes.

The league enters its final year of current bowl ties. Beyond the above three, the Big Ten also sends teams to the Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Fla.), Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (Tempe, Ariz.), Meineke Car Care Bowl (Houston), Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas) and Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl (Detroit).

Delany said he’s actively talking with bowls and could have deals reached within a few weeks to early June. He’s also discussed joining with other conferences to alternate bowl bids to eliminate fatigue from fan bases and host cities.

“We’ve been all talking about that, but it’s mostly bowl-centric,” Delany said. “It’s really hard for three conferences to get on the same page and deliver. Because ultimately the bowls are driven by the market. The Southeastern Conference is very popular. So I’m not going to go there and tell them what they should do with the SEC. We’re pretty popular. Some conferences are less popular.”

Delany wouldn’t say which bowls are in play for the league. There has been discussions with the league picking up the Holiday and Pinstripe bowls. The Big Ten also will have more say in determining which teams head to what bowls.

“We’ve always sold pick, good or bad,” Delany said. “Sometimes bowls are going to make decisions and make them in the short term. ‘I’m not going to get this team again. I had them last year. I know I’m not going to get them next year, so I better take them now even though there might be a better team that can stimulate attendance and have a really good game.’ So as you go into the parlay, the idea is that you’re going to get more different teams, more different sites to play, more opponents.

“I think there will be some election or selection. But I think there will some guidance by conferences stronger in the past, with some consultation. We’re a long way from getting that in code or in writing.”

University of Iowa President Sally Mason sits with football coach Kirk Ferentz. (Brian Ray/ SourceMedia Group News)

IOWA CITY — Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany often uses punctuation — usually a period or a comma — to describe his league’s status on expansion. Now a semicolon seems more appropriate.

The Big Ten Conference will move forward in 2014 with 14 members, but officials acknowledge the number could change depending on the college environment. Hence, the semicolon could shift to either a comma or a period with a slight alteration.

“(Delany) is always monitoring the landscape,” said University of Iowa President Sally Mason, who also serves as chairwoman for the league’s council of presidents and chancellors. “It’s hard to know exactly this will all shake out in the years to come, especially in the near-term future. But I would say, as I’ve said previously, we are feeling very good about the future of the Big Ten Conference and certainly the conference partners we have right now. There just isn’t any active discussion for further expansion for the moment.”

The league announced in 2009 it would consider expansion, and Nebraska was accepted as new member in June 2010. Last fall, Maryland and Rutgers became the 13th and 14th Big Ten members and both will begin play in 2014.

The addition of Maryland and Rutgers altered the foundation of college athletics. Rutgers and Louisville — which replaces Maryland in the ACC — will leave the Big East, which since has imploded. Amid speculation that the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC has interest in plucking some of its members, the ACC’s 15 schools formally adopted a grant of media rights last week. If any member leaves the ACC, its future television revenue would remain with the league through 2027.

“Since the Maryland and Rutgers additions, we’ve been working full speed ahead on administration, financial and academic integration,” Delany said Sunday on BTN. “We’re going to continue to do that. I think that each conference — whether it’s the Big 12, the ACC, the Pac-12, the Big Ten — all of us are alert and aware to what’s going on. I think different entities, conferences, whether it’s the ACC or the Big 12, adopt positions to protect themselves, as they should. Our position really hasn’t changed. We were active, but we’re not active. We’re always alert to what’s going on and watch it.”

Membership in the Association of American Universities, a prestigious consortium of research institutions, remains a primary tenet to Big Ten future expansion. Thirteen of the league’s 14 schools are AAU members. Nebraska was expelled from the AAU shortly after it was accepted into the Big Ten in 2010.

“I certainly would have to think long and hard about the merits of something like that,” Mason said of admitting a non-AAU member into the Big Ten. “We’ve been pretty clear about the quality of institutions that we have thought are appropriate to be a member institution of the Big Ten Conference.”

Sunday, the Big Ten’s council of presidents and chancellors voted to realign the football divisions geographically in 2014 and add a ninth league game in 2016. Delany said on BTN expansion was not on the agenda and discussed during the meeting.

“I think we feel like we’re in a pretty strong position right now,” Mason said. “What we want to focus on for the moment is making certain that our new conference members — whether it’s Nebraska, Maryland or Rutgers — that they’ll all integrated well into the Big Ten Conference. There really isn’t any ongoing active discussions about further expansion at this time.”

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Iowa fullback Mark Weisman (45) is hit by Northern Iowa defensive back Garrett Scott (15) after catching a pass out of the backfield during the first half of their college football game Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — Big Ten officials approved a scheduling philosophy Sunday designed to keep its member schools from scheduling Football Championship Subdivision opponents beginning in 2016.

But the guidelines are loose and ambiguous.

“It isn’t a matter of not being allowed, the question really is will be there opportunities,” University of Iowa President Sally Mason told The Gazette. “I wouldn’t say that it’s not going to be allowed. Certainly my understanding is if we’ve already scheduled out past 2016 for some of these match-ups, that’s likely to be allowed.”

That’s the position at least one of Iowa’s scheduled FCS opponents is taking. The Hawkeyes are scheduled to play Northern Iowa in 2014 and 2018, and the schools plan to continue their instate series, UNI Athletics Director Troy Dannen said.

“At this point in time I don’t think there’s an absolute prohibition,” Dannen said. “I’ve already spoke with Gary (Barta, Iowa’s athletics director) and I’m operating under the assumption that we have a ‘14 game and an ‘18 game with Iowa. I’m under the assumption that nothing is going to change until I’m given some absolute direction otherwise. Right now I don’t have any reason to believe that will happen and will be given that direction.”

The Big Ten and its television partners want its schools to play higher-profile opponents and not just collect victories for paychecks. With the league expanding to 14 members in 2014, officials want the schools to play more, not less.

“Commissioner (Jim) Delany announced (Sunday) we will move to nine conference games in 2016, and, beginning that same year, will also focus on playing more ‘comparable’ opponents and BCS level teams,” Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said.

“Currently we are scheduled to play Northern Iowa in 2014 and 2018. The new parameters would not allow us to play additional games in the future, but we’ll work with the conference to see about keeping the two games already scheduled.”

The Big Ten approved a nine-game league schedule beginning in 2016 and wants each of its schools to upgrade its non-conference schedule. Eliminating FCS competition is seen as a positive. But for schools like Northern Iowa or North Dakota State — which recently has beaten Minnesota and meets Iowa in 2016 — competitive games aren’t the problem.

Northern Iowa competed in losses at Wisconsin (26-21) and Iowa (27-16). North Dakota State has won the last two FCS titles and has beaten Minnesota the teams’ last two meetings.

“I’d be hard-pressed to believe that playing North Dakota State or Northern Iowa says less about your team than playing Eastern Michigan or a school at the bottom of the Sun Belt,” Dannen said.

Iowa State defensive end Pierre Aka (91) and teammate defensive end David Irving (87) celebrate with the Cy-Hawk trophy following their 9-6 victory over Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — The Big Ten’s new alignment and scheduling rotation will give Iowa the chance to play its league border rivals every year and the flexibility to continue its series with Iowa State on an annual basis.

Talk about your ultimate win-win.

The league’s council of presidents and chancellors approved a geographic split among its 14 schools and a nine-game league football schedule beginning in 2016.

The West Division, which includes Iowa, will play four home games in even-numbered years and five home games in odd-numbered years. That scheduling sync allows Iowa to keep its rotation with Iowa State intact. The Hawkeyes host in even-numbered years; the Cyclones play host to Iowa in odd-numbered seasons.

Iowa requires seven home games each season for financial stability.

“As it turned out, the way it’s split, we’re able to keep our seven home games, which I’ve said from the beginning is critical,” Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said. “All of us agreed that we needed to preserve seven home games. In order to do that, the 5-4 split was critical for us in Iowa to continue our rivalry with Iowa State. It worked out. We had the opportunity to continue to play that game uninterrupted.

“Jamie (Pollard, Iowa State’s athletics director) and I have talked over the years. If the conference scheduling ever changed, beyond either of our controls, that would be something that we’d have to take a look at. The options in that case would have been, do we interrupt it and restart it? Do we stop the series? But fortunately it didn’t come to that. The way that it came out, we’re able to continue the series uninterrupted.”

Iowa and Iowa State have played every season since 1977. The schools have a contract through the 2017 season.

Geography, a devalued component in the previous round of Big Ten realignment, became the only principle that mattered in the Big Ten’s latest divisional football layout.

The league’s council of presidents and chancellors unanimously voted Sunday to split the 14-team league into Eastern and Western divisions beginning in 2014. The league will slice in half between West Lafayette, Ind., and Bloomington, Ind., which shifts Purdue to the west and Indiana to the east.

“Big Ten directors of athletics concluded four months of study and deliberation with unanimous approval of a future football structure that preserved rivalries and created divisions based on their primary principle of East/West geography,” Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement.  “The directors of athletics also relied on the results of a fan survey commissioned by BTN last December to arrive at their recommendation, which is consistent with the public sentiment expressed in the poll.”

Iowa will compete in the West Division against border schools Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois and Northwestern, as well as Purdue. The East Division consists of Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana and newcomers Maryland and Rutgers.

The league also trimmed permanent crossover rivalries to strictly the Indiana-Purdue game.

The foundation of each division was set when Maryland and Rutgers were accepted as new members beginning in 2014. The only question was whether Michigan State, Indiana or Purdue was going to join the West Division.

“We talked about a lot about whether Michigan State was in the loop or in that mix or Purdue or Indiana,” Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said. “But in the end we just all came to the conclusion that Purdue-Indiana was probably the most logical split in the middle, and then just making sure we protected them by making sure they were going to be able to play on an annual basis.”

In 2014-15, the league will maintain an eight-game league schedule (six divisional, two non-divisional). In 2016, the Big Ten will begin a nine-game league schedule, meaning every football player will compete against every other Big Ten school at least once in a four-year period.

The teams will play the other six schools in its division annually and play three others in the opposite division. Based on a 12-year average, the schools will face two non-divisional opponents six times, four non-divisional teams five teams and either Indiana or Purdue four times.

Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta (left) talks with Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez before the Iowa versus Wisconsin game at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010, in Iowa City. (Jim Slosiarek/SourceMedia Group News)

The league’s East Division schools will have five home games in even-numbered years, while the West Division schools will play five home league games in odd-numbered years. That allows Iowa and Iowa State to continue their football series “as is,” Iowa Sports Information Director Steve Roe confirmed Sunday.

Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said his school requires seven home football games each year for financial stability. Iowa is scheduled to play Iowa State at Kinnick Stadium on even-numbered years, which alleviates any issues with the scheduling.

When the Big Ten added Nebraska in 2011, the league split based primarily on competitive balance. Ohio State and Michigan were placed in opposite divisions, as were Penn State and Nebraska along with Iowa and Wisconsin. The unwieldy split was panned more for the divisional names — Legends and Leaders — than the competition, although many fans struggled to remember which teams were placed in each division.

The league also allowed Michigan and Ohio State to maintain their traditional season-ending clash despite competing in opposite divisions. That meant the teams could face twice in consecutive weeks, a scenario that could devalue either the rivalry or the league championship game. That’s still a possibility this season.

“Big Ten directors of athletics met in person or by conference call six times from December to March to discuss a new Big Ten football model,” Delany said.  “The level of cooperation and collaboration was reflective of what we’ve come to expect from this group of administrators who have worked extremely well together on a number of complex matters over the past several years.  We are all looking forward to ushering in this new era of Big Ten football.”

Iowa now will reignite annual games with traditional rivals Wisconsin and Illinois. Iowa and Wisconsin have played 86 times, including 72 over the last 76 seasons. The only four seasons (1993-94, 2011-12) they didn’t play was because of Big Ten expansion. The series is tied 42-42-2. The Iowa-Wisconsin rivalry was the only primary rivalry not preserved annually in the current alignment.

“I know the fans will appreciate having more of an East-West deal and so going to away football games will be easier,” Barta said. “It will be nice to have Wisconsin back on the schedule every year and then just kind of all of our surrounding state rivals on the schedule annually.”

Iowa and Illinois have not played since 2008, and the five-year playing gap is the league’s longest among teams since Iowa and Illinois didn’t play from 1953-1966. The Hawkeyes will keep its annual battle with most-played foe Minnesota and burgeoning rivalries with Northwestern and Nebraska. The Hawkeyes also will continue to meet Purdue, its current protected crossover opponent, each season.

Here’s what Ferentz had to say Saturday. Remember, he’ll join the crew on “On Iowa Live” Monday night at The Field House on Blairs Ferry Road.

Minnesota defensive back Troy Stoudermire (2) dives after Iowa wide receiver Keenan Davis (6) in the first half of their game at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, in Iowa City. (Liz Martin/The Gazette-KCRG)

Cedar Rapids native and Iowa wide receiver Keenan Davis will have the opportunity to play in the NFL.

Davis was undrafted Saturday, but the 22-year-old agreed to terms with the Cleveland Browns on Saturday night. He will leave later this week for mini-camp.

“It definitely was the longest day of my life,” Davis said. “But all I wanted was a chance. That’s all I’m begging for. I know I can compete at that level, so all I needed was a chance. I’m glad I got it.”

Davis caught 111 passes for 1,459 yards and seven touchdowns in his Iowa career. He picked the Browns over Minnesota and Tampa Bay

“It’s a better situation and better opportunity for me,” Davis said.

Iowa cornerback Micah Hyde and Iowa State linebacker A.J. Klein earned similar accolades in college, attended the same all-star game and were selected a mere 11 picks apart in the fifth round of Saturday’s NFL draft.

Klein, a two-time, first-team all-Big 12 selection and 2011 Big 12 defensive player of the year, was picked 148 overall by the Carolina Panthers. Hyde, the Big Ten’s defensive back of the year in 2012, was drafted 159 overall by the Green Bay Packers.

Klein likely will back up NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Luke Kuechly at middle linebacker. He joins former Cyclone Hayworth Hicks, who is a guard with the Panthers.

“I am so excited,” Klein said. “I had talked with Carolina back at the East-West Shrine Game and again with their scouts. I am so happy this is over and excited that I will get to play with some great defensive players at Carolina. It is a great organization.”

Hyde will play multiple positions in the secondary and receive a healthy dose of special teams with the Packers. Former teammates Bryan Bulaga and Mike Daniels will help him get acclimated.

“He can play corner, he can play nickel, dime. That’s where a lot of his value is at. We’re going to bring him in and see what he can do,” Green Bay cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt said.

Iowa State tackle Carter Bykowski was picked in the seventh round by San Francisco. He was selected 246th overall.

“I didn’t think I would be drafted,” Bykowski said. “I was fortunate to be in this position. I thought I might have some (free agent) choices and then the phone rang and I talked to (head coach) Jim Harbaugh and (offensive line coach) Mike Solari. It was a short conversation but they were very positive and I am looking forward to working in their system.”

Other Hawkeyes and Cyclones agreed to terms as free agents after the draft. Iowa State linebacker Jake Knott will join the Philadelphia Eagles, as will Iowa guard Matt Tobin. Iowa quarterback James Vandenberg picked Minnesota, according to Davis and Iowa football’s Twitter account.

Vandenberg will be one of five quarterbacks on the Vikings’ roster. Three quarterbacks started NFL games last year: Christian Ponder, Joe Webb and Matt Cassel (Kansas City). McLeod Bethel-Thompson also is on the roster.

Dubuque native and Iowa State wide receiver Josh Lenz agreed to terms with the Chicago Bears. Lenz caught 104 passes for 1,325 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also averaged 22.8 yards on 40 kickoff returns.

“I was hearing from teams all day,” Lenz said. “After the seventh round was over it was a matter of deciding what was the best place for me. After talking with my agent I decided that I would head for Chicago.”

Iowa State defensive lineman Jake McDonough agreed to terms with the New York Jets.

Iowa running back Michael Malloy (26) is wrapped up by linebacker Cole Fisher (36) during the team's spring game Saturday, April 27, 2013 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

PLAYER OF THE DAY

Red-shirt freshman running back Mike Malloy showed both power and speed while running with the ball. Malloy rushed for 56 yards on 12 carries and scored a touchdown after absorbing a big-time hit from linebacker Cole Fisher.

Malloy played primarily with the second offense but in the second half rotated with Bullock, Canzeri and Weisman.

Runner-up: Wide receiver Cameron Wilson, who caught 10 passes for 131 yards.

PLAY OF THE DAY

Canzeri took ran to the right, was stuffed behind the line of scrimmage, changed directions and rushed 22 yards to his left to put the ball on the 8-yard line. He also scored on a 48-yard pass in the flat where he outran the defense. Canzeri finished with 47 yards rushing and 56 yards receiving.

DEFENDER OF THE DAY

Junior defensive tackle Carl Davis had three sacks and two knockdowns — in the first half. He was a force throughout the game.

Iowa running back Damon Bullock (5) talks with reporters following an open practice Sunday, April 14, 2013 at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — Damon Bullock worked at first-team running back alongside Mark Weisman, but that’s not the only position the junior played this spring.

Bullock said he also shifted to wide receiver frequently in spring practice, a position he also played as a freshman. He did not play wide receiver during Saturday’s spring game.

“Plenty of reps (at wide receiver),” Bullock said. “Right now we haven’t introduced it during the spring game or anything but when practice is (going) and no media around, I’m always around the receivers.”

Bullock said he has no preference on the positions.

“Equally,” he said. “I just want the ball in my hands.”

Bullock (6-foot, 195) suffered from at least one concussion last year and played in just six games. He rushed for 513 yards last year. As a true freshman he ran for 20 yards and caught one pass for 11 yards in the regular season. He added a 10-yard reception in an Insight Bowl loss to Oklahoma.

Bullock is sharing time at running back among Weisman, red-shirt freshman Michael Malloy and red-shirt sophomore Jordan Canzeri this spring. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said Bullock’s versatility could make him a weapon at either position.

“We haven’t really worked Damon much in the passing game this spring,” Ferentz said. “I’ve kind of kept him in the backfield and wanted to get the other guys as much work as possible. But certainly that’s something we may realistically utilize more of. He’s proven he’s a guy that can help us move the football and make some plays for us. We could never have too many of those types of guys, hopefully we can utilize him in a smart way next year.”

Bullock switched numbers in the offseason from the traditional running back number of 32 to 5. It had nothing to do with his position, he said.

“I didn’t like it,” Bullock said. “It just felt too big for me and everything. I just wanted something closer to my high school number. My high school number was 4.”

Iowa Hawkeyes cornerback Micah Hyde (18). (Liz Martin/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — Iowa cornerback Micah Hyde was selected in the fifth round by Green Bay in today’s NFL draft.

Hyde, 22, picked up the Big Ten’s Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year Award and was named first team All-Big Ten by both league coaches and media. He tied for 18th in Iowa history in interceptions with eight. He totaled 240 tackles in his four seasons. He started his last 38 games at Iowa and played in 51, including three bowl games.

Hyde scored three touchdowns in his Iowa career: one on an interception (2010, Missouri), one on a lateral (2010 Michigan State) and one on a fumble return (2012, Purdue).

Hyde is the 11th member of Iowa’s 2010 Orange Bowl defense to get drafted. Others include: defensive end Adrian Clayborn (2011, 1st round); linebacker Pat Angerer (2010, 2nd round); cornerback Amari Spievey (2010, 3rd round); defensive tackle Christian Ballard (2011, 4th round); defensive tackle Mike Daniels (2012, 4th round); linebacker A.J. Edds (2010, 4th round); defensive tackle Karl Klug (2011, 5th round); cornerback Shaun Prater (2012, 5th round); safety Tyler Sash (2011, 6th round); defensive back Jordan Bernstine (2012, 7th round). Bernstine was injured and did not play in the Orange Bowl.

Five other players from that defense signed undrafted free-agent contracts: defensive end Broderick Binns; linebacker Jeremiha Hunter; safety Brett Greenwood; linebacker Jeff Tarpinian; linebacker Tyler Nielsen.

Iowa State's A.J. Klein (right). (SourceMedia Group News/Jim Slosiarek)

Iowa State linebacker A.J. Klein was selected in the fifth round by the Carolina Panthers in the  NFL draft.

Klein, a two-time, first-team all-Big 12 selection from Kimberly, Wis., recorded 361 tackles in four seasons to rank fourth all-time at Iowa State. He tied the NCAA record for career interception returns for touchdowns by a linebacker (four). Klein (6-2, 248) was the Big 12′s 2011 co-defensive player of the year. He finished his Iowa State career with 17 games of double-digit tackles.

Klein’s selection marks the second consecutive season Iowa State has at least one draft pick. Offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele was picked in the second round last year by the Baltimore Ravens. Osemele started at guard in the Super Bowl this year. Klein is the first ISU linebacker drafted since Buffalo picked Alvin Bowen in the fifth round in 2008.

The vote is seen largely as a formality. League officials have discussed revamping the divisions geographically since adding Maryland and Rutgers beginning in 2014.

Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta told The Gazette in January the football divisions would have a strong geographic slant. ESPN reported last year week the Western division will include: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin, The Eastern division will include: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers.

The geographic slant revamps the current divisional structure based on competitive balance. The design was to split top-tier powers Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Nebraska into separate divisions. But with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers, the league chose to realign based on geography.

The revamp will reignite the Iowa-Wisconsin rivalry (tied 42-42-2) on an annual basis. The teams had played 72 times over the last 76 years. The only reason the teams did not play those four seasons was because of Big Ten expansion (1993-94, 2011-12). Iowa and Illinois will meet in 2014 for the first time since 2008, a year earlier than originally scheduled.

The league also expects to approve a nine-game league football schedule beginning in 2016, according to ESPN.

BTN will air a report about the divisions beginning at 6:30 p.m. The show will include an interview with Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany.

Iowa guard/forward Eric May (25) celebrates as he comes off the court following their victory over Maryland in an NIT semifinal Tuesday, April 2, 2013 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Iowa held its postseason awards banquet Thursday in Coralville. As you can imagine, the mood was much lighter and energetic than it was a few years ago.

To no one’s surprise, senior Eric May earned the Chris Street Award, which is given to the player who best exemplifies Street’s spirit, enthusiasm and toughness. Street died in a car accident on Jan. 19, 1993.

In each of the last three years, the Street Award was given to three of Iowa’s best captains or any era: Jarryd Cole, Matt Gatens and now May.

May also earned co-defensive player of the year honors with freshman center Adam Woodbury. Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery introduced May and raved about his on-court improvements and concluded by saying, “Whatever he decides to do from this point forward, he’s going to be phenomenally successful in whatever he chooses to do.”

May then delivered a heartfelt five-minute speech, ranging from laughter to tears. Here’s what he had to say:

“I guess I will start by just thanking the Hawkeye family. It’s been an interesting four years, but obviously I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I’m part of one of the best things that there is, to be a part of the Hawkeyes. And the support that you guys have, you guys have brought.

“We people need to know what that Chris Street Award means, that means a lot to me. I have a lot of respect for his family and for what Chris Street brought to this program. To be mentioned in the same sentence as him, that really means a lot. I just want to thank the Street family. A lot has been said about them, but I think it deserves to be said one more time.

“I want to thank my coaches. It was a crazy, crazy ride, but they were always there. Court agilities, pre-game quizzes, whatever. They were always on my case helping out, helping me with my play. There were some times where it would have been easy to pack it. … You really made it special for me. I’m really thankful I had all of you guys.

“To get to the team, I wish I had one more year. This is my family. Every day, they’re probably sick of me now because I’m still in the gym working out and they’re like, ‘Is guy going to leave?’

“This team’s like family. I said recently I’ve never been around a team where I get along … every single guy is like my best friend, my brother. I’ve got their back, and I know they’ve got mine in whatever we need to do. I think that’s why we were so successful. I just have so much respect for these guys … I don’t want to cry because I don’t want to hear it from my brother-in-law (laughter).

“All these guys, I’m going to miss it. It’s the best time of my life. I’m going to miss it. Finally, I want to thank my family. … There’s too many of them to mention all of them. But they’ve been here my entire life . … They’ve got my back. My parents, I love you guys. Home and away, they’re always there. … They’re on TV and stuff and my dad’s looking like an idiot. (laughter)

“They come to every game, and I’m sure they’re happy I came to Iowa, where it’s only an hour and a half drive. That makes it a little easier. But my family, my parents, I’m the luckiest man in the world to be able to experience all of that love.

“I told Coach (Kirk) Speraw I’d say this but my girlfriend Emily, this is the fourth banquet she’s been to. The first one, I met with Coach Speraw actually, I don’t think we’d ever talked. And he meets Emily, and he says … ‘You outkicked your coverage big time.’ (laughter)

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. This is the best experience of my life. I’ve got to get off this stage now.”

Here are the award winners:

CHRIS STREET AWARD: Eric May

TOP PLAYMAKER: Devyn Marble

CO-FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Mike Gesell, Adam Woodbury

CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER AWARD: Eric May, Adam Woodbury

MOST IMPROVED: Gabe Olaseni

BEST ROUNDER: Aaron White

ACADEMIC AWARD: Mike Gesell

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The team also showed a couple of videos during the banquet. One is a highlight video. The other video is to the Family Guy’s “Bird is the Word.”

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Iowa will take a foreign trip in August to London and Paris. The last time Iowa traveled abroad the Hawkeyes under Lickliter went to Italy and Greece in 2009.

McCaffery was excited to bring the team to England, from which Gabe Olaseni hails.

“We’re taking Gabe to home to see his family and have some fish and chips,” McCaffery joked.

Iowa will be able to take all players, including incoming freshman Peter Jok, to Europe. The Hawkeyes also will get 10 practices to prepare for the trip.

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McCaffery said the team’s non-conference schedule has not been finalized, but it will be an upgrade over last season.

“We’re going to put a challenging schedule in front of this team, one that they can handle,” McCaffery said. “The one thing I know about with the players in this room is they knew why they came. They knew what they were getting into, they want to be a part of it, and we’re not done. We’re honestly happy and excited about winning 25 games, but we are not satisfied. And we are not going to be satisfied until we cut the nets down in that other tournament. That’s the plan. That’s what we’re going to work towards.”

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Freshman guard Mike Gesell, who was hampered by a stress reaction in his right foot the last six weeks of the season, said he’s sitting out spring workouts to let his foot heal. He might be ready to resume shooting after semester finals conclude. He added that he should be ready for summer workouts and the Prime Time League in June.

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McCaffery expects all 13 players next year to compete heavily for minutes, including transfer Jarrod Uthoff and incoming freshman Peter Jok. McCaffery said nobody will transfer or red-shirt next season.