Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Settlement reached in Iowa football racial discrimination case, Iowa's NCAA Tourney resume'

Episode Date: March 7, 2023

Trent Condon returns for the latest edition of the Locked on Hawkeyes Podcast. A look at the settlement reached by the university and the board of regents for $4.175 million and the amount of money that is to be paid by state taxpayers.Thoughts on Rob Sand pushing towards Gary Barta being dismissed as he has now been the Athletic Director as over $11 million has been given out in litigation during his watch.Kirk Ferentz had a statement and some thoughts and the words from Coach Ferentz.A hit on the Hawkeyes NCAA Tournament resume and what they have done and what can still be done during the Big Ten Tournament.Wrapping up with thoughts on the players in Indianapolis for the NFL Draft Combine.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta, well, he's losing money once again. Here's a problem. Now, us as taxpayers here in the state, we got to pay for it. Ridiculous. Today on Locked on Hawkeyes. Our 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 Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you get podcasts. You can find us on YouTube as well as you can watch the video feed of things over there. While you're there, hit that subscribe button. It helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. We got a busy one here today as Iowa yesterday. The settlement has been reached for Iowa football in the case against the four people named in the lawsuit.

Now, those names had been dismissed and pulled off the case, so it was down to just the state attorney's general office and a few other entities, including the University of Iowa. Well, Rob Sand, who is part of the board that approves these kind of measures and the amount of money that needs to be paid, he wasn't standing for it. We'll get into that here today. Also, a deeper look at Iowa's NCAA tournament resume as we get ready for the NCAA tournament. Of course, the Big Ten tournament before that. What does Iowa look like?

They will get, of course, either Wisconsin or Ohio State in their first game on Thursday of the Big Ten tournament. We will talk about that. And the NFL combine went incredibly well for the Hawkeyes players, five guys there. They all did a lot of high end things. We'll talk about that and break things down and a possibility of where we're going to hear those Hawkeyes names called coming up in the 2023 NFL draft. Let's get into it though. And I'll kick things off with a topic that I'll be honest. It is difficult for me to talk about because I'm not very smart.

I am not a lawyer. I don't pretend to be a lawyer. I don't have a big book of law like some people do. This is not one of my strong cases. I like talking about games. In my radio job, these things come up. I don't feel comfortable. I'll be completely honest with them.

The legalese, the terminology, it confuses me at times. I don't know exactly what's going on. And luckily, I haven't been in a the show from time to time. He's a lawyer, another one of my good friends, another lawyer. So they can help out a little bit and trying to understand it as I just try to wrap my mind around it because it's just not the way that my mind works. And that's it. I just want to put that caveat out there. So with that, the settlement comes down today and 4.175 million dollar settlement is the number so okay it's money it's funny money it really is you hear these numbers okay fine and you just kind of move on about your day until we found out not too long afterwards that that money is not going to be paid from the athletic department or the University of Iowa. A portion of it, about half of it, is going to be paid by taxpayers.

Now, I've been doing this, been in the radio business for 20 years. I've been talking about the Hawkeyes on air for a long time now. And for so many of those years when Kirk Ferentz was the highest played state employee, and he'd get people coming in and they'd be all fired up about that and all the money that he makes him, my tax money pays this out. No, it doesn't. The University of Iowa Athletic Department has been self-sustaining for a number of years, for a very long time now. And no, your tax money does not go to Kirk Ferentz or Fran McCaffrey or even the soccer coach or the swimming coach or the athletic department is a separate entity and they have become got to a level now where they're self

sustaining. They don't take state money anymore. Yeah, 2020, they had to going through the pandemic. Get that. That's being paid back. But it gets to this level. It becomes frustrating. And Gary Barta, I'm sure if you've been listening for a while, you know my piece on him.

He just can't get out of his own way. I'm sure he's a great person as it pertains to shaking the hands of the big donors and making them feel special and getting those guys out there and getting the checks keep coming in. Because as a fundraiser, we have heard Gary Barta, he is excellent as a fundraiser. But as an athletic director, some of the other pieces, not very good. So now we have four cases that have gone against the University of Iowa Athletic Department. Four different cases that now have cost upwards of $11.5 million under the watch of Gary Barta. So Rob's saying, ask the question pretty succinctly, right? How's this guy still working?

How is this guy still working? He said this to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. Enough is enough. Check that. That was the wrong quote there. He said, it reminds me of the scene in Zoolander where Will Ferrell says,

feels like I'm taking crazy pills here. It does. I saw another quote from Rob Sand. And he was one of the three people that officially had to make this decision. And the money was going to go. and he asked for Gary Barta's head because anybody that has this job and has now four separate times cost the athletic department this kind of money, will they stick around?

And he said if there was a doctor that was on his fourth malpractice case, yeah, I'd be asking the same questions here. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely, he should. And it's just a baffling piece about this. Now, it didn't happen. He didn't get the extra vote that was needed. That gets into politics.

Rob Sand is a Democrat. Unfortunately, the divide between Democrats and Republicans here, not just in our state, but across the country, continues to grow wider and wider. This one, at minimum, seems like something that maybe should have been thought about, talked about a little bit more, and the other two voting parties, they didn't want to get into it. Now, one of the two did say that, yes, there needs to be a deeper look at how Gary Bart is still employed and how Brian Ferencz is still employed. And bravo for that, because we've been yelled about that for a very long time. But that's where we are. A disappointing end. Now, Kirk Ferencz comes out firing.

He was very quickly afterwards. He came out with a release. And part of that, he said this, I'm greatly disappointed how the legal matter wasn't resolved. However, I am grateful to the players, parents, donors, fans, and others who remain supportive of our coaches and program during this time. The settlement negotiations took place between the plaintiff's counsel and the Iowa Attorney General's office, which represents the University of Iowa and the Board of Regents. These discussions took place entirely without knowledge or consent

of the coaches who were named in the lawsuit. In fact, the parties originally named disagreed with the decision to settle and fully believed that the case would have been dismissed with prejudice before trial. This is Kirk Ferentz for all intents and purposes saying, we think that we would have won in court. We wanted to go to court. We wanted our day to clear our name. And you understand that from his perspective. You absolutely get that, that that is what he wanted to have happen. Now, there's a little bit more here, a little bit deeper.

For more than two years, our program has been unfairly and negatively impacted by these allegations. Unfairly? Can't go there. Negatively impacted? Absolutely. There's not a doubt in my mind. This has made it more difficult on the program, but it needed to be. Kurt Ferentz has admitted that it needed to be. So that's the part that didn't exactly catch my ear in the right way.

To see that in writing, I can't go there. I can't, Kirk. I can't go there. That you were negatively impacted by this and unfairly, not so much. This is fair. Changes had to happen inside your football program. You have admitted as much. This is fair. Changes had to happen inside your football program. You have admitted as much. This is unfairly. Now, many of the things that were said were untrue. And when depositions were given to the individuals in the lawsuit, many of the things were recanted

that they originally said. That absolutely is unfair. When people are saying things about you that aren't true, that's unfair. What do you look at in this totality? That's the part that I have a struggle with. And maybe we're just talking back and forth here and we're kind of looking at it in a different perspective. Changes needed to happen inside the program. There's no doubt about it. Kirk's admitted as much. Can you let a sleeping dog lie here? Did you have to go this route? I don't know if it's a good look. Plenty of parts I liked about it. That last part rang a little hollow with me. But we do know $4.175 million. About half of that will go, of course, to the lawyers, and then the other half will go to the players. They will also have an ability to go to graduate

school on the university's bill. Doesn't have to be at the University of Iowa. And that's a good thing. Help these guys out. If they think it was unfair and this is a settlement that was reached, I have no problem with it. Again, I am not a lawyer. I don't pretend to be a lawyer, but on the surface, so be it. That's how settlements work. And if you live in the reality of today's world, this is how many times these kind of things happen. The Attorney General wanted this off the books. They were ready to move on.

Kirk Ferentz wanted to go to court. I will remind you, last time we saw Kirk Ferentz up in court during the Meyer grease bomb case that was happening, it did not go very well for Kirk. Kirk did not look good up there on the stand. Do you want your football program up there again? Do you want Kirk Ferentz up there again? He was not at his best that day when he stood on the stand. I don't think so.

But the hope is that you're able to move on. Your hope is that this is going to turn into something that is not impactful. Is it going to hurt recruiting? You know, negative recruiting is going to be out there. It's going to be a piece that's going to be used by universities and the Big Ten, conference brethren, people around you. This is going to be something that is out there. Now Iowa needs to continue not only improving everything,

all those aspects of the football program, not just for black athletes, but just the athletes in general. But secondly, they also have to now figure out how are we going to work against this recruiting negativity? It's been out there for two years. I guess that's the good news behind it. But how did it end for Dr. Tom? Dr. Tom, how did it end for Hayden?

Well, it ended by recruiting. Recruiting went in the tank the last couple of years. Obviously, he's a Hawkeye football fan. We hope that's not going to be the case for this team. As we continue here on Lockdown Hawkeyes, we'll pep it up a little bit. That's right. We're going to talk a little more football, NFL Combine, and a great showing by all five Hawkeyes,

what they did in Indianapolis and certainly setting the stage for those guys hearing their names called even higher than anticipated. Just crazy some of the superlatives that are coming out with Iowa football. We'll talk about that. And the Iowa basketball resume after the loss to Nebraska, how damaging was the loss to the Huskers? We'll do that as we roll through here on the Tuesday edition of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast.

Today's episode of Lockdown Hawkeyes is brought to you by our friends at Built Bar. Well, as we make our way through 2023, spring breaks right around the corner, maybe try to eat a little healthier, getting that body in shape for summer. Yeah, it's coming. We're going to get there soon enough. Well, here's something for you. It's Built. With Built, healthy is actually tasty.

They're so delicious, you won't even think they're good for you. What makes them so good? Well, start right here. 100% real chocolate and great flavors like churro, peanut butter brownie, and coconut almond. I'm not sure how Built does it, but these bars taste like a candy bar while maintaining amazing macros. And that's even better.

Know why? Because they're healthy. 130 calories, 4 grams of sugar, and 17 grams of protein. Now, you don't have to wait around to get a box. For years, we've been telling you, go to Bilt.com to get your Bilt bar. And you can still do that. B-U-I-L-T dot com. But you can now go to

your local walmart or sam's club go to walmart today head to the pharmacy section grab yourself a built bars they got a box them there for you the four bar box with cookies and cream double chocolate or coconut puffs and if you're close to a sam's club head there for the big 13 bar box with hip flavors brownie, and churro. You can thank me later. Get yourself a box of Built Bars. Trey Connick back with you again here on Locked On Hawkeyes. As always, thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every single day. Let's get into a little Iowa basketball. So the Hawkeyes on Thursday, they will take on the winner of the Wednesday matchup between Ohio State and Wisconsin.

You think, all right, this is perfect, right? You're going to get the 12 or 13 seed. Most years, it's a slam dunk. Not so much this year. And this year's Big Ten where I maintain one through 13 because I threw Purdue in that mix too after what we've seen from them over the last three, four weeks of the season. They're all the same. I don't think this league is very good. That doesn't mean that they can't have a good NCAA tournament. Just watching the season.

It's college basketball as a whole this year. It's just, it's a down year that can make for an exciting year. And heck, maybe it'll surprise it and we'll get three teams to make the run to the lead eight or something like that from the Big Ten. I personally don't see it. But it's out there

because seemingly anything can happen this year in college basketball. And my apologies, I'm got a lemon drop here for my voices. I'm struggling a little bit here today. So, this resume. You lose to Nebraska, felt like, alright, this is gonna be a game changer, right? You lose to Nebraska, felt like, all right, this is going to be a,

this is going to be a game changer, right? You lose to this crappy, well, they actually didn't fall very far. Ken Palm, they dropped a couple of spots. Overall, the resume's in decent shape. You know, so many things had to happen for Iowa. First of all, after the win against Indiana to set themselves up to have a really good chance of getting a double buy. And they all did. All right. So everything was looking good there.

And then we'd know what happened. So Iowa would have been the third seed with a win. So today, going into Tuesday, after Monday's games are complete, the Nets 37. Good. Good solid shape. 11-9 in the Big Ten. Road record. They got four road victories. Straight to schedule. 1239 in the big 10 road record they got four road victories strength of schedule 123rd in the country overall strength of schedule non-conference strength of

schedule doesn't really matter 128 that was something that was more important back in the rpi days uh not a big deal anymore results based metrics iowa 36 38 good predictive metrics what Iowa, 36th, 38th. Good. Predictive metrics, which you can be. Miss I is 20th in Sagarin, 31st in BPI. Ken Palm has him at 35. Here's the great news. So, Iowa for a while had eight quad one victories. And they were one of the tops in the country. I think for a while they were like the fifth most quad one victories in the country. Well, that's changed.

As teams change and they evolve and they go up and down the rankings, well, with it, I'd say things are going to happen. Well, they got down to four at one point. Now let's back up to six. So this is what they are. There are six wins in quad one. Indiana on the road, Rutgers on the road, along with wins at home against Iowa State, Maryland, Indiana, and then the road win against Seton Hall, which is right on the cut right now as they're at number 75. So that's what you have in quad one victories. You couple with quad two and quad two also looking in really good shape. They're seven and two in quad two games.

Now they do have the losses in quad three. Two losses in quad three. Now the losses to both Wisconsin and Nebraska at home, those are stingers. You know, and if you just flip those two results and I know you can't play this game, right?

I mean, they're the number two seed. We're talking about a team in contention for probably at this point, what a six seed, maybe even a five, make a run of the big 10 tournament, maybe all the way to a four. I mean, we can play this game, the Eastern Illinois five, make a run in the Big Ten tournament, maybe all the way to a four. I mean, we can play this game. The Eastern Illinois game, you throw that in the mix too.

Just on and on and on. The good news is, I know that loss stunk. And the way it played out, and watching those dopes from Nebraska hit shots against us, and we can't, just can't rotate. You see the way that Nebraska rotates defensively, and the way that they double, and then everybody's a step in front and everybody knows what they're supposed to do defensively. And here's Iowa looking like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off and no idea what they're doing. And then a wide open three.

And it, it gets incredibly frustrating as I've said many times before, that's what they are. And that's what this team's going to be. You know what? Go out there. I want Wisconsin. I want our third shot. You know what? Go out there. I want Wisconsin.

I want our third shot. I don't think they're good. I don't think the Badgers, probably even an NCAA tournament team, if I was making my bracket right now, and I've gone through the process a little bit, they're on the outside looking in for me. Bracketologists disagree.

At least some of them that are out there I was still fine even if they lose to Ohio State or Wisconsin that's not going to be great I think they're probably in that 8 seed range right now maybe drops into a 9 or even a 10 but again not in danger of missing the NCAA tournament so let's not freak out

let's not lose our minds go out there play well get another shot against Michigan State and see where the chips fall is it a sure thing that in the semifinals of Iowa can get there and win two games lose our minds, go out there, play well, get another shot against Michigan State and see where the chips fall. Is it a sure thing that in the semifinals if Iowa can get there and win two games, that Purdue is going to be winning there? I'm not so sure. Rutgers is a desperate team not playing well. Michigan's in the same boat.

Michigan probably needs two victories at minimum to become an NCAA tournament team. You know how motivated they're going to be. And Dickinson is one of the few players in the Big Ten that can actually guard Edie straight up. No, he's not great at it, as we've seen this year, but he can do it in comparison. And you would hope Jawan Howard would come up with the gameplay. Well, they got to get there first and they got to get past Rutgers.

But look, we saw the magic a year ago and they came from this exact same spot. They're number five seed in the Big Ten tournament. They ripped things off. The opponents that they played were a little bit different. They got Northwestern in the first round. Then they played Rutgers. Really good matchup for them as we've seen the last couple of years against the Scarlet Knights.

And then, of course, the win against India in the semifinals before getting the championship game against Purdue. The team played well. It all clicked. And we know this team can play well. We know it can click for them. So enough with the sad sack that it's all over. This team is screwed. It all clicked. And we know this team can play well. We know it can click for them. So enough with the sad sack that it's all over. This team is screwed. They might be. But you know what? They might win. And they might make a run again. And let's have fun. Because

before we know it, this basketball season is going to be over. And boy, we're going to be hoping that we had some Hawkeye hoops to talk about. Wrapping things up on the other side, we talk NFL draft as we continue on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Great weekend for Lucas Van Ness, Jack Campbell. Absolutely incredible. We will get into all of that here today as we continue with the conversation. On a Tuesday, it's the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Tuesday, it's the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast.

Today's episode of Locked On Hawkeyes is brought to you by FanDuel. FanDuel Sportsbook, well, right around the corner as we have flipped the calendar to March, you know what that means. The big college basketball tournament right around the corner. Of course, we got the Big Ten tournament going on right now. Well, our friends over at FanDuel, they got odds up already to see who is going to be the betting favorite for the Big Ten. In fact, let's take a look at those numbers right now over at FanDuel to win the Big Ten tournament in Chicago. Updated numbers right now.

Purdue is your betting favorite. No surprise there. Plus 185. Indiana, the second choice at plus 440. Michigan State plus 650. Maryland at 9-1. Illinois and Northwestern, they're both 10-1. There's the Iowa Hawkeyes. They are the seventh betting choice at 12-1 to cut down the nets for the second straight year. You want to take a flyer? I don't mind Penn State. Yeah, Penn State can get to the Saturday at 25-1. You got a chance to hedge out of things a little bit,

put yourself in the conversation. Well, here's what else FanDuel can do for you. How about this? New customers, you can get a no-sweat first bet up to $1,000. That's bonus bets back if your first bet doesn't win. Just download the FanDuel Sportsbook app. It's safe, secure, and super easy to do. Then you can bet on everything from the money line point scores,

three pointers drained in a game. They have it all at FanDuel plus FanDuel even lets you combine your bets for a chance at a bigger payout with same game parlays. So don't miss your chance to get your no sweat first bet up to $1,000 of bonus bets. When you go to FanDuel.com slash lockdown again, it's FanDuel.com slash lockdown to learn more, make every moment more with to fanduel.com slash lockdown. Again, it's fanduel.com slash lockdown to learn more. Make every moment more with FanDuel,

official sports betting partner of the NBA. Wrapping things up here on Lockdown Hawkeyes, I'm Trent Condon. As always, thanks for hanging out with me here on Lockdown Hawkeyes. Glad to have you aboard with us as we wrap up with a little NFL talk, a little football talk here with this Hawkeyes, glad to have you aboard with us as we wrap up with a little NFL talk, a little football talk here with this Hawkeye team. Jack Campbell, if you had a tiered system of leaders

in the Kirk Ferencz era, Kirk loves talking about that, right? Loves talking about leadership, the senior leaders, that's always so important to him and what kurt talks about seemingly on a yearly basis well jack campbell if he's not at the top of the list he's right up there i mean that dude just exudes confidence and what you you're putting together a football player jack campbell is it and it was so funny to see after the interviews, people, oh boy, I can see why all this talk

is coming from. And then he goes out there for a middle linebacker. He puts together a performance. When he combined all the drills together, one of the most incredible performances physically of a linebacker that we've seen in a long time that's a middle linebacker we're talking fred warner territory we're talking brian erlacher territory that's the kind of territory we're talking about the combination of size speed athleticism that jack campbell displayed now lucas van ness we knew that was going to happen i mean that was not a surprise

at all riley moss maybe didn't run the 40 quite what he wanted to. And he had even that he was opening eyes all over the place. And it was, you know, the lazy narrative. Well, he's white. He's going to be a cornerback. No, this guy was an elite track kid in high school. Being a track runner had the hips, obviously, to be a cornerback. And he's showing out once again, starting in the senior bowl that turned some heads. And now what he did in Indianapolis that continued there. Laporta is Laporta, right?

He's going to be good. He's going to be solid. And if he is healthy, he's going to play in the league for six, eight, 10 years. That's just what you're going to get. Another one of those tight ends from Iowa.

And then came on Merriweather. He did good things as well. And a guy that we've talked about his importance to Iowa football over the last three years and just how important it is. Just really cool stuff there. And it's always so much fun at this time to hear NFL people, to hear the draft next to hell, to hear the scouts and all the people that are involved in the NFL.

You know, it's going to happen. You know, the positives are going to be there yet when you hear it, it's just a great feeling. It really, really is. And it brings you back to so many of the positives are going to be there, yet when you hear it, it's just a great feeling. It really, really is. And it brings you back to so many of the positives that we get with Iowa football and the kind of people that they do mold and the kind of people that they do put into the next level. And if you put in the work and if you're willing to do those

things and make some sacrifices, there's going to be some good things at the end of the road for you. that there's going to be some good things at the end of the road for you. Also made me thinking, boy, yeah, they got a lot coming back, but those are some talented, talented guys that are going to be off to the NFL. We'll continue to break things down more here on Locked on Hawkeyes. Of course, we got the senior day coming up for the NFL players, the guys trying to get ready for the league, the guys that were not invited to Indianapolis, an opportunity there.

If there was an event, if there was a time, if there was a lifting session, whatever it may be, they're going to have an opportunity with a bunch of scouts coming to town in Iowa City here coming up, and we'll talk about that a whole lot more. Spring football right around the corner. No official date has been set yet. Also last week, we had a chance to hear from a lot of the players, including a bunch of the transfers coming in. We'll continue to talk about that more throughout the week. It's a busy one. Thursday, of course, Iowa gets started in the Big Ten tournament.

We got wrestling coming up then with a week off before nationals begin. Same thing for the women's basketball team. They will get the brackets also next Sunday, along with the men's bracket there. Whole lot going on. We got you covered. Iowa baseball, they got a matchup against Coe coming up today. Game number two at home this year at Dwayne Banks Field, as they'll take on Coe before a big road trip for them down to Texas Tech. We got you covered each and every day here. Your team every day with the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast.

Thanks for hanging out with me today. We'll talk to you again tomorrow. Go Hawks.