2/1/2010
Written By: Mike Rickord
Category: Open Mike  

The state of Iowa was blessed this bowl season as Iowa State and Iowa returned from the Insight Bowl and The Orange Bowl with the hardware that both head coaches’ hoist on the front cover of this first issue of The Iowa Sports Connection in 2010. Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads led his Iowa State Cyclones to victory in the Insight Bowl and a season record of 7-6 in his first year at the helm. Kirk Ferentz continues to rack up wins, awards, and BCS recognition after a victory over Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl and is quietly becoming the greatest coach in Iowa football history as he surpasses his mentor Hayden Fry in many coaching categories.
  

The state of Iowa, regardless of your school affiliation, should be extremely proud of these two men of character that are leading our state institutions on and off of the field. Paul Rhoads, in his first year has brought his enthusiasm for his home state back into the ISU program just as his buddy Dan McCarney did and as it was during the McCarney era the enthusiasm is infectious. Paul Rhoads has the ability to emotionally will his kids to wins even when they may be the underdog.  It is a pleasure to watch the enthusiasm and genuine joy that he has brought back to Ames and the entire Cyclone family!
  

Kirk Ferentz, on the other hand is just the stoic, consistent leader that could fit into Warren Buffet’s business management teams style without missing a beat. Kirk does not get over excited and neither does his staff or players. The 2009 Iowa Hawkeyes focused on fundamentals while watching the flash and trendy offensive schemes come and go. With a very young nucleus of skill position players on offense and a defense that finally got national recognition at the end of the season and ho-hummed it’s way to a BCS bowl victory and an 11-2 season. The Iowa Hawkeyes did it the old fashioned way “They Earned it”! No one believed that this team deserved to be in BCS bowl game and the Hawks carried that chip and underdog attitude to a convincing victory over Georgia Tech in Miami on a frigid Florida evening. How fitting in the midst of the brutal weather that Iowa has endured this winter to carry a little of our climate to south Florida and bring back the oranges and a breath of sunshine to the doldrums of a record Iowa winter.
  

In reflection of the 2009 college football season it was an excellent year across the state for fans at every level. Iowa and Iowa State won bowl games; UNI did not reach the playoffs but played the game of the year and were seconds away from knocking off the Hawks. Central College made it to the playoffs in D-III as did Morningside College in NAIA. The beauty of this success is that hundreds of young Iowans that played their prep football in the state make up a great percentage of the players on these teams. This is a testament to the caliber of Iowa high school football teams and the coaches that build their base for a successful collegiate career. 
  

This is our first issue of 2010 a year that will be the best in our 12 year history with the state’s most expansive multi-media coverage of Iowa sports “From the Pee Wees to the Preps to the Pros”! Our staff and our partners at WHO-TV 13, the great radio affiliates across our Iowa Sports Connection Radio Network, and all of the schools across Iowa have built the states most comprehensive network of Iowa high school sports all year long. No One! in Iowa covers high school sports and activities all year long as in depth! The Iowa Sports Connection covers every school ,and every sport both boys and girls all year long with a state wide blend of radio, TV, digital magazines, websites and of course the Iowa Sports Connection magazine that you have in your hands that you can pick up at every Casey’s General Store in all 99 counties.  I am extremely proud of our firm as we head into the New Year and you will see a much more interactive website this year with expanded high school coverage and a new look to the magazine, both print and digital. The TV productions will improve and are available on multiple platforms as well.
  

In closing, I thank you for picking up a copy of The Iowa Sports Connection as we enter a dozen years covering the great stories across Iowa “From the Missouri to the Mississippi”! Have a Championship Month! God Bless You! God Bless America!