IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa women’s soccer team enters the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 regional seed. Iowa (13-2-4) will host Missouri State (13-4-3) in the First Round at 6 p.m. (CT) on Friday, Nov. 15, at the Iowa Soccer Complex. The No. 3 seed is the highest seed in program history.

All first-round matches will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required).

Friday will be the second time the Hawkeyes have hosted an NCAA Tournament match. Iowa played host to Bucknell last year where they won, 2-0, in overtime. Iowa set a program home attendance record with 2,639 spectators in attendance.

The Hawkeyes earned a No. 3 seed after finishing third-place in the Big Ten regular season. Iowa has four ranked victories on their resume which is a program record. The Hawkeyes head into the post season two wins shy of tying their program record for most victories in a season.

10 Big Ten teams were selected to be a part of the NCAA Tournament field, a conference record. Nine of the ten Big Ten teams earned top six seeds in their respective quadrants.

NCAA Tournament Second Round play takes place on Nov. 22, with Sweet 16 action scheduled for Nov. 24. Those games will take place at eight non-predetermined campus sites.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior linebacker Jay Higgins has been recognized as one of nine semifinalists for the 2024 Lott IMPACT Trophy, it was announced Monday.

The Lott IMPACT Trophy is awarded annually to the nation’s top defensive player, who best exemplifies the characteristics of Ronnie Lott by making an IMPACT on and off the field. IMPACT is an acronym for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.

Higgins is also a semifinalist for the Butkus and Lombardi awards. He was named a midseason All-American last month by the Associated Press, Sporting News, CBS and The Athletic.

Higgins (6-foot-2, 232 pounds) is second in the Big Ten in tackles (10th nationally), making 98 tackles (9.8 per game). He led the team in tackles in Iowa’s first nine games of 2024, including a season-high 14 tackles against Ohio State, Washington and Michigan State. The native of Indianapolis has five double-digit tackle games this season and 16 in his career. His 315 career tackles are tied for 17th in program history. Higgins also has three interceptions and two forced fumbles.

Higgins is the only player in the nation with 90+ tackles and three interceptions. His three picks are tied for the second most among linebackers from a Power 4 conference.

Off the field, Higgins has volunteered his time at Safe Haven Animal Shelter, Community Crisis Services and Food Bank, Special Olympics, Dream City and Student Athlete Academic Services.

He was voted upon by the local media as the 2023 Duke Slater Golden Gavel honoree, which goes to the Iowa football player who not only is most cooperative with local media but exhibits himself with professional integrity in all interactions. He is a two-time Hayden Fry Extra Heartbeat Award honoree, which is presented to a team member who shows exemplary leadership and dedication throughout the year as well as the offseason. Higgins has been on the team’s Player Council each of the last three years, a select group a players voted upon by teammates who assist in formulating policies and being involved in team decision-making throughout the year.

Former Hawkeye linebacker Josey Jewell won the Lott IMPACT Trophy in 2017, while teammate Cooper DeJean was a semifinalist for the award in 2023.

Finalists for the award will be announced in December. The finalists will be invited to attend the annual Lott IMPACT Trophy award show on Dec. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas.

Iowa (6-4, 4-3) returns to action Saturday, Nov. 23 at Maryland. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. (CT) in College Park, Maryland. The game will be televised on BTN and broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network.

Jay Higgins | 2024 Honors
Dick Butkus Award Semifinalist
Lombardi Award Semifinalist
Lott IMPACT Trophy Semifinalist
AP, CBS Sports, Sporting News, The Athletic Midseason All-America
Chuck Bednarik Award midseason Watch List
Preseason National Defensive Player of the Year by Phil Steele
Preseason first-team Walter Camp All-American
Preseason first-team All-America by AP, ESPN, CBS Sports
Preseason first-team All-America by Phil Steele, Athlon Sports
Preseason first-team All-Big Ten by Phil Steele, Athlon Sports
Preseason Big Ten Honors List
Bronko Nagurski Trophy preseason Watch List
Lombardi Award midseason Watch List
Wuerffel Trophy preseason Watch List
Senior Bowl preseason Watch List
UI October Male Athlete of the Month

The Exira-EHK Volleyball Team has much to be proud of when looking back at their 2024 season. The Spartans captured the program’s best record since 2012, finishing the season with a 15-6 record. For the first time in recent memory, they also hosted a regional postseason and advanced past the first round with a 3-0 win over CAM. They nearly went further in the postseason after erasing a 2-0 deficit to come up just short in the quarterfinal to Fremont-Mills. Exira-EHK accomplished nearly every goal they set out to accomplish, and Head Coach Derek Reischauer was extremely proud of what they did and how they did it.

From the start, winning a regular season conference championship was a goal the Spartans wanted to accomplish. On October 10th, senior night nonetheless, Exira-EHK would do just that defeating West Harrison/Whiting 3-0. In a season full of special moments, Reischauer said this one topped the list.

A program-building season usually comes with superb play from young players, and the Spartans got just that. The offense was led by junior Jaelynn Petersen and sophomore Taryn Petersen. Jaelynn finished the season leading the team with 214 kills, while Taryn finished not far behind with 169 while leading the team with 161 digs. Sophomore Brooklyn Flathers compiled 232 assists to lead the team. You also can’t forget about senior Mayne Jorgensen who finished second on the team in digs. Reischauer said that every player found a way to improve throughout the season and contributed to the program’s success.

Another key to a successful season is finding ways to improve team play throughout the season. One big improvement for the Spartans was their passing. Passing, especially the first pass, is a big key in setting up an attack and allows a team to consider different attack options. Reischauer knows how important it is and was pleased with how his team’s passing improved throughout the season.

Of course, no season is perfect and this young Exira-EHK team has room to grow. A big thing Reischauer wants to see improved heading into next season is the diversity of their attack.

The Exira-EHK Spartans Volleyball is a young team that has a bright future ahead of them. They could return nearly the entire roster, minus the lone senior, Jorgensen. It is a group that has a lot of potential and a group that will now have the benefit of experiencing success. Reischauer says he plans to make competing for conference championships and more the norm at Exira-EHK.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Students in a northeast Iowa school district can sign up for sports teams, but they might not have anyone to compete with next year. That’s because the Decorah Community School District (DCSD) will operate as an independent during the 2025-2026 school year, after the Northeast Iowa Conference dissolves at the end of the 2024-2025 school year.

KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids reports that at a school board meeting Monday night, the resounding feeling was that the process in place has not worked for this district at all.
Iowa law states every district is entitled to belong to an athletic conference. The Iowa Department of Education denied an appeal from DCSD to switch to the Upper Iowa Conference. The state denied that request saying the high school’s enrollment size is more than double the average enrollment of other schools in the conference.

If the district had joined the WaMaC conference, that would have meant teams traveling close to 300 miles round trip for some competitions. District officials said at Monday’s meeting that athletic competition schedules are created 2 to 3 years out, and it’s “preposterous” to start making one on a much shorter timeline.

Officials said school year 2025-2026 had been determined by default, so what they’re doing now is working on a solution for the 2026-2027 school year.

The conference changes do not affect football.

Curtis Jones had 20 points and Milan Momcilovic added 16 points as Iowa State beat Missouri-Kansas city 82-56 in Ames. Momcilovic finished four of seven from three point range.

That’s ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger. The Cyclones overcame a slow started and erupted for 48 second half points.

Jones came off the bench and connected of seven of 11 shots in nearly 29 minutes of action.

The Cyclones are 2-0.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Senior forward Anna Miller has earned the first MVC Player of the Week award of the 2024-25 season, the league announced today.

Miller had a sensational opening week for the preseason favorite Bulldogs. The Rochester, Minn. native averaged 22.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 4.5 blocks in the Bulldogs’ wins over North Dakota State and Saint Louis. Miller started the year with a 22-point, 13-rebound, 6-block outing at Bison. Anna’s six rejections at NDSU gave her 219 for her career, making her the all-time leader in blocked shots in Drake women’s basketball history. Miller followed that with another 24 points and 11 boards in the Bulldogs’ home opener against Saint Louis. Her 24 points were just one shy of tying her career best.

All three MVC weekly award winners are listed below.

Player of the Week: Anna Miller, F, Drake

Newcomer of the Week: Addison Martin, F, Illinois State

Freshman of the Week: Camryn Runner, G, Evansville

Anna and the Bulldogs will continue their non-conference schedule tonight with a road tilt at Creighton before hosting in-state rival Iowa this Sunday (Nov. 17).

The 8-Player District 10 All District Team list has been released and is avaliable below in pdf form.

Copy of 2024 8 Player District 10 All District Teams

Below is a link for the Class 2A All District (8) Football Teams list including First and Second Teams with Special Awards and Honorable Mentions.

2024 Class 1A District 8 Awards – Copy of All District Final Sheet (1)

The Iowa men return to action Tuesday night when they host South Dakota. The Hawkeyes are 2-0 while the Coyotes are 3-0 for the first time since 2019.

That’s Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. Senior Payton Sandfort is averaging more than 18 points and nine rebounds so far. He is also second in the country among forward in assists.

McCaffery says Sandfort has expanded his ability to make plays for his teammates.

Northern Iowa athletic director Megan Franklin says the search for a new football coach is already underway. Mark Farley announced on Sunday that his 24th season as Panther coach will be his final one.

Franklin says the job is an attractive one that will draw a lot of interest.

Franklin feels the school’s commitment to football and the UNI-Dome will help attract candidates.