Hawk Central Hour

The Register's Chad Leistikow kicks off this Thursday Hawk Central Radio Hour with Dargan Southard, who was in Ann Arbor to cover the Hawkeye women's 79-66 win at Michigan. Chad does an audio version of his "five thoughts" column to underscore the importance of Wednesday's W. Later, Chad and Tyler Tachman discuss the big loss of Ladell Betts from Iowa's football staff and the Iowa men's basketball team's Big Ten Tournament chances.

A podcast-only edition of the Hawk Central Radio Hour, as the Register's Chad Leistikow is joined by teammate Tyler Tachman to discuss the Hawkeyes' week out East and the future of Fran McCaffery. We talk about Chad's balanced, deep dive on the decision Beth Goetz is facing in the coming weeks. Dargan Southard later jumps on to break down his trip to Columbus, where the Iowa women dropped a crazy overtime game to No. 8 Ohio State. We look at potential seeding ahead for Indianapolis and the NCAAs.

On this week's Hawk Central radio show, Iowa football defensive coordinator joins the Register's Chad Leistikow for 21 minutes to discuss Super Bowl headliner Cooper DeJean's time with the Hawkeyes, including his impact on Parker's secondary and comparisons to Nile Kinnick. Dargan Southard later joins Chad to discuss back-to-back road wins for the Iowa women's basketball team and the reasons why this team is clicking so well right now.

The start of this early-February week was packed with news, so we delivered our Hawk Central podcast a day early. Tyler Tachman joins Chad Leistikow to break down the Owen Freeman season-ending injury, then Dargan Southard and Chad delve into the monstrous 2/2 win over USC for the Iowa women. How does the schedule look from here?

Coming off Iowa's 85-80 home win against Northwestern, the Register's Chad Leistikow and Dargan Southard look at the recent team developments (including a two-game win streak) with big-picture conversation about previous transition years for Iowa women's basketball. Later, Chad and Tyler Tachman dig into the Cooper DeJean story line, offensive-line recruiting and the opportunity for resurgence or peril in men's basketball.

It hasn't been the month Fran McCaffery or Jan Jensen envisioned for their Iowa basketball teams. The Register's Tyler Tachman and Dargan Southard dissect what's happened and what could be coming down the road for both programs.

Men's basketball leads our conversation this week, following the Hawkeyes' 99-89 loss to USC late Tuesday night. The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman also look ahead to Friday's game at UCLA and discuss Mark Gronowski's surgery and its impact on the Iowa football quarterback derby. Chad and Dargan Southard finish things up to discuss whether it's time to move Hannah Stuelke to the 5 spot.

Her first year as permanent Iowa AD in the books, Goetz sits down with the Register's Chad Leistikow to discuss all the hot-button topics, including Kirk Ferentz's successor, the upcoming dilemmas surrounding revenue sharing in college athletics, men's basketball attendance, Carver renovations and more. Sit back and enjoy this laid-back conversation.

The Mark Gronowski buzz continues, as Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman of the Des Moines Register follow up on their emergency pod Tuesday by leading off Wednesday's Hawk Central radio show with more talk about the South Dakota State transfer, including why he came to Iowa and what it says about Tim Lester. Plus, Chad and Tyler break down the quarterback room of the future, the Iowa men's comeback against Nebraska. Women's basketball talk ensues about Chad's column to play the freshmen more.

Iowa football made the transfer-portal splash fans were looking for Tuesday, officially landing quarterback Mark Gronowski from South Dakota State. He arrives with one year remaining following four successful seasons with the Jackrabbits, two of which ended with an FCS national title. With Iowa's QB revamp now complete, the Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman analyze what the Gronowski add means moving forward.

Sunday's big home showdown against No. 8 Maryland signals the start of regular season's second half in Iowa City. The No. 22 Hawkeyes sit with a strong record and have meshed together nicely. But there is clearly another gear this team can hit. Ahead of Sunday's big matchup, the Register's Chad Leistikow and Dargan Southard dissect where Iowa is and where it can go as Big Ten play intensifies.

The Hawkeyes owned a 10-point lead in the second half of Monday's Music City Bowl loss to Missouri. But a sputtering finish stuck Iowa with a disheartening 27-24 loss to end a frustrating 2024 season. Live from Nissan Stadium in Nashville, the Register's Chad Leistikow joins Tyler Tachman to recap a year of missed opportunity in Iowa City.

In a podcast-only edition of Hawk Central this week, the Register's Chad Leistikow is joined by friend of the program Tom Kakert of Hawkeye Report. Chad and Tom, recording from Nashville, look at some of the greatest plays in Iowa football history, news of the day from Tennessee and the Beau Pribula fallout for Iowa's quarterbacks room. Plus, we take a closer look at the Music City Bowl matchup vs. Missouri.

Before five categories to evaluate in the Iowa football program's 8-4 regular season, the Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman evaluate the addition of Hank Brown and the pursuit of Penn State transfer Beau Pribula. We also take a look back on the Iowa-Iowa State basketball games in Carver-Hawkeye Arena and look forward to big non-conference games for the women (Friday vs. UNI) and men (Saturday vs. Utah).

The transfer portal takes top billing, even on Cy-Hawk basketball week. The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman look at a potential Auburn transfer quarterback and discuss the Hawkeyes' portal approach in this pivotal period for the 2025 Hawkeyes. We also take stock of the Music City Bowl, the 2025 signing class and preview the Iowa-Iowa State men's game on Thursday.

With Iowa now awaiting its bowl destination, the Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman dissect the Hawkeyes' 8-4 regular season and all that came with it. Plus, Fran McCaffery's bunch pulled off a stunner over Northwestern, while Jan Jensen's group continues motoring forward at 8-0 with a big game vs. Tennessee upcoming. The Register's Dargan Southard joins the show to talk all things Iowa women's basketball.

Miguel Recinos. Keith Duncan. Marshall Meeder. And now, Drew Stevens. Four times since 2018 now, Iowa has beat Nebraska with a last-second field goal in dramatic fashion. Stevens, after being benched in last season's Nebraska thriller, redeemed himself with a game-winning 53-yard boot that just snuck inside the right upright. Live from Kinnick Stadium, the Register's Tyler Tachman and Chad Leistikow dissect another crazy night at Kinnick Stadium.

Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman get your set for Iowa-Nebraska football. Our Five Big Questions segment focuses on the addition of Nebraska offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen and whether the Iowa passing offense can exceed last year's historically low total. After our predictions, Chad and Dargan Southard transition into 16-plus minutes of Iowa women's basketball conversations.

Although College Football Playoff and Big Ten title aspirations have long faded, no one associated with Iowa football wants any season to have a Nebraska loss. The Hawkeyes will again lean on walk-on Jackson Stratton at QB, but Iowa should have better depth behind him this week with Cade McNamara and Brendan Sullivan both practicing. The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman discuss everything in play for the Hawkeyes to close the regular season.

For a team long out of College Football Playoff and Big Ten title contention, Iowa sure had a dramatic week ahead of Saturday's game at Maryland. Rumors swirled particularly around Cade McNamara and Jermari Harris, both of whom didn't travel but remain active members of the Iowa football team. The Brian Ferentz reunion that was supposed to be a big deal suddenly faded to the backdrop, and so did the rest of the noise by kickoff Saturday. The Hawkeyes ended it all on a high note with a 29-13 win over the Terrapins, a game in which Kaleb Johnson, Drew Stevens and the Iowa defense shined in vintage fashion. Live from College Park, the Register's Chad Leistikow joins Tyler Tachman to dissect.