Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - LOYALTY: Iowa Hawkeyes LOCK Ben McCollum With Raise—New Contract Terms, Buyout, & Fan REACTION

Starting point is 00:00:00 The details are out for Ben McCollum's new contract extension, leading Iowa basketball, and excitement rises as it looks like the Hawkeye headband's going to be in Iowa City for quite a while. You are Locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for being with us of making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen. every day. We got the Big Ten basketball schedule coming out tomorrow. We're going to break things down and some tidbits that have started to trickle out, including some non-conference. We talked with Ben McCollum a little bit about that last week and we got some information on that front and potentially what things are going to look like and not only the Big Ten slate, but some of the big games that are on the horizon. We're also going to talk some Hawkeye football, Spencer McLaughlin from Lockdown Ducks and Lockdown College football. We had a little back and forth talking some Iowa football with him a little bit, earlier so we had that conversation for you coming up today. Some good Hawkeye football talking a lot on the quarterback spot.

Starting point is 00:01:12 But we begin today with the news that came out on Friday. A new contract has been reached with Iowa and Ben McCullough. Now, this negates what was signed just a year ago. This is a brand new contract that will run through 2032. Just an extra year that was tacked on to the backside of this. But there is a raise that goes along with it in over a million dollars per year. that is going to go up for Ben McCullum. Now, obviously what he did throughout the course of the season,

Starting point is 00:01:39 including in the NCAA tournament, triggered a lot of bonuses for him this season. And those bonuses still are going to be there and the opportunity to build on what this base is. But the base goes up basically a million dollars a year, plus that extra year that is on the contract. Next year, he'll be making $4.35 million up to $4.45, the following year, 455, 4-6-4-75-485.

Starting point is 00:02:04 basically going up just a little, $100,000, just a little bit, easy for me to say, right? Yeah, I would definitely like to trade contracts with Coach McCollum at this point in time. But that final year of the contract, $4.8 million is where it is. Now, here was some of the sticking points, or at least what we wondered after the agreement was talked about last week is what the buyout number is going to be. As we know, North Carolina was very interested in Ben McCullum. They wanted to conduct an in-person interview, according to Matt Norris. Lander from CBS Sports. And Ben McCollum said no, he was good.

Starting point is 00:02:38 Didn't even go through the interview process. And A, shows you how well regarded Ben McCollum is. And secondly, what he wants to do, what he's striving to do in the Homsday School. A guy like me, like most of you, that grew up a Hawkeye fan, the importance. And we talk about us guys in our mid-40s, what Iowa basketball is, the importance. It's something that I talk about here often. And you can feel that same kind of thing from Ben McCollum. and getting Iowa basketball back to the winner that it once was

Starting point is 00:03:07 and becoming now a consistent winner. You know, as you hear Ben McCollum speak, the process that goes into it, it's something that is very difficult to kind of put your thumb on exactly what it is. It's if you know it, you see it kind of thing. But with Ben McCollum, it's not just the coach speak. He really believes in the way that they're building the foundation of this program.

Starting point is 00:03:29 And your number one was great because of what happened in the NCAA tournament. And even without it. It was an exciting year. A lot of good moments. There were some frustrating ones in there as well. Inconsistent, certainly, but you look forward and you look at what this program still can be. And you need the investment that goes along with it. And listening to Beth Gets and talking to her last week, you definitely get that perspective,

Starting point is 00:03:51 that the investment is going to be there for Iowa men's basketball. Not that it was left behind, but there were other things that took over. And, of course, the football program is what drives everything economically and certainly attendance-wise or the athletic department, ticket sales, the TV revenue that comes in for Iowa football. You can never let that languish. Coupled with, obviously what happened with Caitlin Clark, you had a generational player make her way through Iowa City. And with that, as we turned into the NIL era, there were certain things that needed to be dedicated to the women's basketball program. Wrestling, obviously what happens there in some of the other sports. And men's basketball was,

Starting point is 00:04:28 I don't want to say left behind, because that's not fair, but it was not at the forefront. of things. That definitely, I think, is a perspective that we all can see. Well, now it's back on the front porch, as it should be. The importance of Iowa basketball, what it means for so many people, and to have it back, to have the coach that you have now is a huge, huge component. Well, the buyout figure was something I found interesting. And look, I've been McCollum has another great season coming up this year, and a Kentucky comes calling, whoever comes calling, and blows Iowa out of the water in terms of money, and that's what it is. And he wants to take one of those blue blood jobs.

Starting point is 00:05:06 Those opportunities very well could be there again for Ben McCullum. The buyout number is not going to matter. The buyout's going to be $5 million after this season, $4 million the year after that. It dwindles by year five down to a million dollars. And if it gets all the way to the end of the contract, there is no buyout that is there. But also remember, if we continue to see Iowa basketball

Starting point is 00:05:25 at many of the same successes that we saw this season, there's going to be new contracts that come. there's going to be more money that is invested. And speaking of Beth Gets, that's something that she's also talked about. She said that the philanthropic investment from some of the big money donors out there, to paraphrase, definitely went up for what we saw during the NCAA tournament, as you'd anticipate and what you hope for. And they definitely got that.

Starting point is 00:05:49 So it's an exciting time. Look, the details, at least we have a few of them and a few things that you can look at year after year. Another big component I was wondering about was the assistant. coaching pool. That also increased. Tyler Tashman looking through the contract had this, the minimum annual salary for the assistant coaches and support staff increases another $100,000, $107,500 to be exact for the contract that was signed a year ago. So more money that's going to go to those assistant coaches. And those are going to be guys also that are going to be in demand. Look, he brought so many guys that he has connections to and brought so many of the guys with

Starting point is 00:06:28 him from Drake, not just on the hardwood, but the coaching staff. And that's something that Ben McCullum in the beginning was very upfront about. It's not just going out there and getting guys, getting guys that have been through the Big Ten, have been through the power for, those kind of things. That really doesn't matter to Ben McCollum. It's about working with guys, you know, working with people who understand what he's looking for. And he definitely has that connection, went out and got Luke Barnwell from Texas Tech, previous connection that those two guys had. That was a big, big get that they got a year ago. The excitement, it is through the roof. There's no doubt about it. What Iowa basketball is doing at this point in time is

Starting point is 00:07:06 absolutely huge of what they were able to do in year number one of this program and the successes going forward. Some other things, the bonuses. Well, that's always interesting too. You get a conference championship, $75,000. Now, I would argue as somebody that is graying, you can't see it. I got my hat on today. If you're watching us on YouTube, but thank you for that. hit subscribe while you're here. I'm an old man, and I've never seen a regular season title. The last one happened in 1980. I was born in 1980, April of 1980.

Starting point is 00:07:38 No, 79. 80 was the final four. Goodness. That should be even more. I mean, double that thing, triple that thing. If they get a regular season title, look out. All right. Other bonuses for Ben McCollum in the new contract that he just signed.

Starting point is 00:07:54 Conference tournament championship, $50,000. All right, we've seen those. That's great. Would love to see another one of them. NCAA tournament invite. That gets you 50,000. You make it to the round of 32. There's another 75,000. 100K if you get to the sweet 16 elite 8, $150,000.

Starting point is 00:08:11 A final four, $200,000 as they bump that thing up even more. And winning a national championship, $400,000. On top of that, academic bonuses that are available, Big 10 coach of the year, national coach of the year. A lot of bonuses in there. And let's hope that Ben McCollum hits each and every one of those because I think all of us would be supporting both not just going to games and wearing the T-shirts and getting excited. I think we could all, if you're able to,

Starting point is 00:08:38 certainly chip in a little bit to make all that reality. Ben McCollum's got the new contract. And with it, a lot of excitement continues for this Iowa basketball team. The raises there well-deserved for Ben McCollum. We continue here, Lockdown Hawkeyes. We're going to get back to basketball a little bit later on. But first, we're going to talk some Iowa football with Spencer McLaughlin. You see him each and every day on Lockdown College football.

Starting point is 00:09:02 Spencer and I talking some Iowa football as we continue. Stay right there. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. If you've ever opened your bank account and thought, where'd all my money go? You're not alone. Keeping track of subscriptions, spending and bills, it can get overwhelming fast. That's where rocket money comes in, helping you take control of your finances all in one place. It tracks all your subscriptions in one spot.

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Starting point is 00:11:39 Who better to talk about whether the Hawkeyes will finally master the forward pass than Trent Condon of Lockdown Hawkeyes here to discuss. So coming out of spring ball here, Trent, let's go to the position that is either the first thing you talk about with Iowa or the last thing you talk about with Iowa. Today it is the first. Who's going to be the quarterback this fall? Oh, boy. It's a question that is going to dominate certainly the conversation for us leading up until August camp and throughout, I'm sure. And I don't know if we're going to have a definitive answer even after the first game of the year. They open up with Northern Illinois. They get Iowa State after that. And I really do believe it is going to be a two-person battle. We're going to see both

Starting point is 00:12:18 those guys in the first game, not just a mop-up duty, but both those guys probably playing with the first team. You got Hank Brown who came in from Auburn. kind of your prototypical guy, a 6-3, 6-4, good size. He definitely has the arm strength that you'd hope for, had some starts when he was at Auburn before that. One went well and then didn't go very well when he opened up in SEC play. But overall, just really looks the part, looks like the kind of quarterback that Kirk Farrant historically is like.

Starting point is 00:12:44 Your prototypical, strong-armed big guy, that's what he has. And then he got Jeremy Hecklinson, who came in from Wake Forest. They had an analyst, Warren Rogero, who was the former Wake Forest coordinator. And with him, he's literally. He's listed at 511. If he's 511, I'm six foot. And I'm definitely not. So he is a little. Yeah, you and me both. We are six feet tall. Yes. Jeremy Hecklinsky is not. But he's got moxie. He's got movement. He's got a little bit more shifting to certainly to him. Ruggiero at Wake Forest. People might remember the slow mesh. We saw that incorporated for about three snaps against Iowa State. And everybody got all excited. Oh, here it comes. And we never saw it again. But Regero has moved on. He is moved on along with. it. But there is some excitement about him just because we've seen the last couple of seasons.

Starting point is 00:13:31 Mark Grinowski, obviously, his running ability was his strength. And we saw that last year with 16 rushing touchdowns. But you go to the previous year when Kate Bacemara opened up the season as a starter. He got banged up. And then we got to see a whole lot of Brendan Sullivan. He was a guy that could move. And it opened up the offense in a way we just haven't seen in a really long time, a guy that can move around and make some plays with his legs. And I think that's where at least the fan base wants to see is it's going to be Jeremy Heklinsky, the guy that can move around a little bit. But, you know, it's going to be a coin flip.

Starting point is 00:14:02 And does it come down to Kirk Farrant's who he wants? Or is it going into year number three, Tim Lester, the offensive coordinator, who he wants? That is going to be something that will definitely be keeping an eye on. Could it be a mix of both, even as the season progresses, where you get down in the red zone? And maybe it's Hecklinksky's time to shine. And between the 20s, it's a little bit more Hank Brown oriented. to present that vertical threat?

Starting point is 00:14:26 If you would have said that to me just a couple of years ago, absolutely not. Kirk Ferrence, his brain is broke when it comes to quarterbacks. And not in the way I think maybe a lot of people might think, and I see you smirking over there. I mean, it might be. The hypothetical folks you're thinking they might have a little bit of ground to stand on. I completely understand where most people's minds would race to that thought.

Starting point is 00:14:49 But he struggles so much making change. And I've never heard of. coach in any line of coaching that talks about leadership more. And for whatever reason, the quarterback position, we see it make moves all the time. We see possession changes. We see guys in and out of the lineup, guys that lose their job just because they're not playing at a high level. But quarterback for Kirk parents, I think this dates back to the Jake Rudok, C.J.

Starting point is 00:15:11 Bethard, and they wanted Ruddock to stick around. But C.J. Bethard was the better quarterback. It was the fan base is quarterback that they wanted. And ultimately, that turned out to be true as Iowa goes 12 and 0 with Bethard as the quarterback, Ruddock moves out. and finishes up his career at Michigan. But there's just something about that that is stuck with him and he is unwilling to make a change at that position.

Starting point is 00:15:32 Yet two years ago, the exact same thing you brought up, that actually happened, where Sullivan was the quarterback that came in a lot during the red zone. McNamara moved out and it really opened up their offense and the run game they were able to incorporate with Caleb Johnson, who had a great season that year running back and then Sullivan in his running ability. So I would have told you a couple years ago, no way now at minimum, Yeah, I think it has to be on the table.

Starting point is 00:15:54 And it also shows you that the old man will be 71 years old when next season starts. Yes, he is still willing to change, adapt. And that is the reason that he is still around and still one of the only programs, four of them. Over the last decade and full seasons played 2020, of course, we have the shortened season that year. That has won eight games or more, along with Ohio State, Georgia and Alabama, along with Iowa, those are the only four programs that have been able to accomplish that. it's not the high levels of those programs, but, you know, consistently, I was going to be there and going to be solid. Well, the other reason Kirk Farrants is still around, he's got to recoup those wins that the NCAA took away from.

Starting point is 00:16:34 Such garbage. I mean, you got, you got programs out there outright cheating. You got coaches that are going back and forth about tampering. Nothing has ever done about that. Kirk Ferretz does what an adult does. He says, we made a mistake. He owns up to it. And what happens? The NCAA comes down hard. And by the way, the mistake. was what, contacting him a few hours early? Yes, contacting Cade McNamara when he was no longer part of the Michigan program. He wasn't even in Ann Arbor. He was rehabbing in California at the time. He had already made a note to everybody that he wasn't going to be with the Michigan program.

Starting point is 00:17:08 It's a bunch of garbage. And with the tampering that it actually happens in college football to them come down on Kirk Barents in Iowa because they were truthful. God forbid in this world, not just this college football world, Just as world overall, we actually have somebody that is truthful and owns up to a mistake. Well, for Kirk Farrants, that means that you have to vacate just four of those wins that Macon Mare played. And then he went out there and he won a division title with some of the worst quarterback

Starting point is 00:17:33 play you will ever see, including Deakin Hill rolling out there and making just enough plays to win the crappy Big Ten West. Yeah, those were not the days. They were, but I don't know that they truly were. To rehash the old Jerry Tarkhanian line, the NCAA was so mad at Ole Miss. They took it out on Iowa, and that's what's going down here.

Starting point is 00:17:58 Now, the backdrop to this quarterback conversation we're having, Trent, is that through the first three games, Iowa can try and figure some stuff out and maybe keep it open and let these guys play. But starting game four, once Big Ten play begins, no room to mess around.

Starting point is 00:18:19 And I feel obliged to remind the college football public out there that Iowa has probably the most difficult beginning to conference play of any team in the country. I challenge you to give me a schedule. I have looked at a lot of them. I haven't seen a beginning four-game stretch that is as difficult as going to Michigan that's how you start.

Starting point is 00:18:48 You host Ohio State. At least you get to be at home. And then, oh yeah, that's the only home game in this four-game stretch. Then, of course, on a short week, they have to go to the West Coast and play Washington on a Friday, October 9th. Then they get a week off. And then they're on the road again at Minnesota,

Starting point is 00:19:11 which no matter what you think of PJ Fleck is not, in fact, an easy place to play. So they have to have it figured out by September 26. Whatever the plan is, two quarterbacks, the runner, the thrower, don't care. By then you cannot be mulling around and going, oh, we go back and forth with these. That would have 0 and 4 written all over it. Well, I'd say 0 and 3 because the one thing that we also know about Kirk Barents is he despises Phil Fleck.

Starting point is 00:19:44 He thinks that he is the pompous SOB that he actually is. He has no time for him. He was calling timeouts in 10 degree weather up there in Minnesota with a five touchdown lead just to stay a little bit longer. He said, we figure we'd leave the timeouts there and we take the pig with us,

Starting point is 00:20:00 the best traveling trophy in college football, Floyd of Rosdale. Kirk Ferrets, he has certain guys that he doesn't exactly have affinity for. And definitely Phil Fleck is one of those people. They have dominated the series. In fact, Do you know the only win that Phil Flack has against the Hawkeyes during his Minnesota tenure?

Starting point is 00:20:18 That was the fair catch game, the Cooper DeGine, non-fair catch game. That was the only time he needed the officials to help him out to get a victory against the Hawkeyes. I was dominated that one, but I do agree. The first three, you're not going to find anything more difficult than that. On the road for Michigan, you get to come home, maybe the most talented team in the country in Ohio State. And then a short week against Washington by far, obviously your longest road trip on top of it. Her parents terrible on the West Coast lost to a terrible UCLA team a couple of years ago, blew the lead last year against USC and historically going back to some non-conference

Starting point is 00:20:52 games against Arizona and Arizona State. The West Coast has been terrible and now you've got a short week on top of it. You better figure out how to throw the football a little or it could be rough. Iowa's win total according to our friends at Fandul, seven and a half. And I tell you, whichever side you feel inclined to take there, you're going to sweat that one out to the final week because the back half certainly clears up. But none of that matters if you don't figure out who's going to start at quarterback.

Starting point is 00:21:22 So perhaps we'll check in on that when the summer rolls around. And these thoughts have had time to marinate in the crock pot of our brains a little bit. He is Trent Condon of Lockheyes. I'm Spencer McLaughlin. Appreciate everyone listening. We'll see you next time. And until then, hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day.

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Starting point is 00:22:30 Head to wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. That's Wayfair, W-A-Y-F-A-R dot com. Wayfair, every style, every home. Trent, I'm back with you one final time here, Lockdown Hawkeyes. Thanks for being with us in making Lockdown Hawkeyes, your first listen every day, your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. And if you are in Every Dayer and with us each and every day, the Every Dayer Club is built for you. You can get Lockdown Hawkeyes ad free. Plus, on top of that, you can join us on Discord.

Starting point is 00:23:05 You got questions, thoughts, ideas, anything you want to pass along to me, jump aboard our Discord. Just go to Lockdownhawkeyes. dot supercast.com. That's locked on hawkeyes. dot supercast.com to join the everyday air club. Rapping things up here and some good reporting. I didn't see who had it first, but I saw

Starting point is 00:23:23 two of the major Hawkeye websites out there. Did have the Big Ten slate that we're going to get officially on Tuesday from the Big Ten offices. Iowa basketball this year. We'll have double plays coming up this season against Wisconsin, Nebraska again, and Ohio State. The home slate, this year, not overly daunting a lot of very winnable games, at least on paper going into the

Starting point is 00:23:47 season for the Iowa men. They will get home games against Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan State, maybe the most difficult one, Oregon, Penn State, and Washington. The road trips coming up this year, they will go, now settle in. This is where this schedule gets difficult in trying to find road victories this year. That is going to be tough. The two easiest ones are Rutgers and Northwestern. But here are the remaining games. on the road at Illinois, at Michigan, at Northwestern, as mentioned, at Purdue, UCLA and USC. That'll be the West Coast trip coming up this season as Iowa will go to L.A. this year. It is going to be daunting. No doubt about it on the road this year.

Starting point is 00:24:29 Can you find a way to Iowa get three, maybe four victories on the road and do a good job at home? That's going to be incredibly important, certainly coming up this season. We'll dive into this a little bit more. Some non-conference scheduling nuggets also coming out. Last week, there was a report that Creighton and Iowa will be playing in Des Moines, so waiting for official word on that one, but also potentially a game against an SEC team home and home. I've seen that bandied about.

Starting point is 00:24:57 I've also seen people believe maybe it's going to be neutral. Alabama, the guys over at 24-7. Hawkeye Insider mentioned that that could be the possibility of what they're working on and finishing that one up. I want to talk to Coach McCollum last week. at the Poe County I Club. He mentioned the possibility that they were close to signing a deal with one of those in a premier program. They have a road trip coming up this year, the return game against Xavier.

Starting point is 00:25:20 That's another one and should be a good one. And certainly a chance at a nice road victory for Iowa coming up this season. Of course, the Iowa State game also on the schedule. Does it look like Iowa's going to be playing in an exempt tournament this year? Potentially, that means a possibility of a lot more home games. And let's fill that thing up. Get Carver back bouncing. once again. Again, we'll have more on this coming up tomorrow as we will talk a little bit more

Starting point is 00:25:44 about the schedule when it becomes official and dive in a little bit deeper into those matchups and some of the numbers that show you just how tough this could be for Iowa in the Big Ten next season. That'll do it for today. Thanks for being with us on your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast, Locked on Hawkeyes. We'll talk to you again tomorrow. Until then, go Hawks.

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - LOYALTY: Iowa Hawkeyes LOCK Ben McCollum With Raise—New Contract Terms, Buyout, & Fan REACTION

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