IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior Jay Higgins has been named a 2024 Lombardi Award semifinalist, it was announced Thursday.

The award is presented to the college player who best embodies the values and spirit of legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi. These qualities are include character, discipline and excellence both on and off the football field.

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

Higgins is leading the Big Ten in tackles (sixth nationally), making 94 tackles (10.4 per game). He has led the team in tackles in all nine games, including a season-high 14 tackles against Ohio State, Washington and Michigan State. He also has three interceptions (18th nationally and tied for the most by a Power 4 linebacker) and forced two fumbles. Higgins, who has 311 career tackles in 54 games, has five double-digit tackle games this season and 16 in his career.

The Indianapolis native has 69 tackles in six Big Ten games, averaging 11.4 tackles per contest. Higgins is six tackles shy of reaching 100 for the season. The last Hawkeye to record back-to-back 100-tackle seasons was Jack Campbell in 2021 and 2022.

Finalists for the award will be announced in December.

Iowa (6-3, 4-2) returns to action Friday at UCLA (3-5, 2-4). Kickoff for that contest is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. (CT) in Pasadena, California. The game will be televised on FOX and broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network.

Jay Higgins | 2024 Honors
Dick Butkus Award Semifinalist
Lott IMPACT Trophy Quarterfinalist
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

Ames, Iowa – After leading the Iowa State wrestling program to its first Big 12 Conference title since 2009 and its highest NCAA Championship placement since 2010, head coach Kevin Dresser has been rewarded with a four-year contract extension thru June 30, 2029, ISU Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard announced today.

“We are excited that Kevin has agreed to a contract extension through 2029,” Pollard said. “Kevin and his staff have done a tremendous job revitalizing our wrestling program and we look forward to continued success under their leadership. The success and excitement surrounding the program is exactly what we expected when we hired Kevin to lead our program. It is very important to Iowa State University and our athletics department that our wrestling program be successful. Kevin has more than delivered in helping us achieve that goal.  I could not be more pleased with the direction of our wrestling program.”

A two-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year (2019, ’24) and the 2019 National Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year, Dresser begins his eighth season leading the Cyclone program on Nov. 8 when his sixth-ranked team takes on No. 20 Stanford in a 7 p.m. match at Hilton Coliseum. The eighth head coach in program history has reinvigorated the tradition-rich Cyclone program since returning to his native Iowa for the 2017-18 season. He owns a 241-79 (.753) record in 18 years as a head coach, including an 81-28 (.743) mark at Iowa State.

“On behalf of my staff and our team, I want to thank Jamie (Pollard) and everyone in this department for helping us get to this point,” Dresser said. “College athletics are becoming more challenging each year and this staff is committed to putting a great product on the mat every season. This will be a fun team to watch in 2024-25!  We look forward to the future in Ames with great anticipation and we look forward to the challenge of winning at the highest level.”

His efforts have seen Iowa State climb on the national stage, highlighted most recently by a 2024 Big 12 title and fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, ISU’s best since 2010. Dresser inherited a program that had scored just one point and finished tied for 57th at the 2017 NCAA Championships. Since then, Iowa State has finished T-45th, 16th, T-13th, 17^th, 11th and 4th at the national tournament and qualifying eight or more individuals to the NCAA Championships in six of seven years.

Iowa State had no conference champion in 2017 and failed to have a wrestler reach All-American status. Since then, Dresser’s program has produced 10 Big 12 Champions and 13 NCAA All-Americans. One of Dresser’s top priorities when arriving on campus in 2017 was bringing blue-chip recruit and Cyclone legacy David Carr to Ames. A catalyst in turning the program around, Carr won four individual Big 12 titles and a pair of NCAA titles in 2021 and 2024.

Fan support has been crucial to Dresser’s program revival and Cyclone fans are once again turning out in droves to watch wrestling in Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State averaged 6,690 fans per dual at home during the 2023-24 season, which ranked third nationally and was its highest average home attendance in the Big 12 era.

The 2023-24 season was ISU’s best under Dresser’s direction, as four Cyclones – Evan Frost (6^th, 133), Anthony Echemendia (5^th, 141), Casey Swiderski (7^th, 149) and David Carr (1^st, 165) – earned All-America honors. It marked ISU’s most All-Americans since 2009 and Iowa State’s 68.5 team points and fourth-place finish were both its best at nationals since 2010. Carr won his second NCAA title to become the 17th Cyclone to win multiple national titles and the first since 2010 (Jake Varner, 2009-10).

Dresser was named the 2024 Big 12 Coach of the Year as Iowa State won its first league title since 2009 aided by individual championship performances from Echemendia (141) and Yonger Bastida (285). The Cyclones put 152.5 points on the board at the Big 12 Championship, the fourth-most in a tournament in league history and the most-ever by an ISU team in the Big 12 era. The Cyclones finished with a 13-2 overall dual record, a 6-1 Big 12 record and an 8-2 mark against ranked foes, losing only to No. 4 Iowa and No. 5 Oklahoma State, teams they would go on to finish ahead of at the NCAA Championships.

There is a top five showdown in the Class A quarterfinals Friday night when top ranked AC/GC hosts number-five Tri-Center. AC/GC coach Cody Matthewson.

Matthewson says the keys will be protecting the ball on offense and limiting big plays.

Tri-Center coach Ryan Schroder says they need to find a way to slow down the AC/GC ground game.

After winning the school’s first ever playoff game two weeks ago Tri-Center bids for a first trip to the UNI-Dome.

The Iowa Hawkeyes take a 6-3 record on the road to UCLA Friday night. The Bruins are 3-5 against what Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says has been a difficult schedule.

UCLA is coming off back-to-back road wins at Rutgers and Nebraska.

It’s Iowa first trip to the Rose Bowl for a Big Ten game.

Ferentz says in his first season as head coach DeShaun Foster has UCLA on the right track.

Iowa defensive end Deonte Craig on playing in the Rose Bowl.

Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins on playing in the Rose Bowl.

Higgins says practice was condensed this week to get ready for a Friday game.

Iowa State sophomore linebacker Kooper Ebel (E-bull) says the 17th ranked Cyclones are not taking Kansas lightly as they get ready for Saturday’s game in Arrowhead Stadium. After starting the season nationally ranked the Jayhawks have struggled to a 2-6 record.

Ebel says practice this week has been spirited and all of their goals are still attainable.

Ebel is looking forward to playing in the home of the Kansas City Chiefs.

For the first time since 2021, the Audubon Wheelers Football Team is back in the quarterfinals.  The Wheelers are 10-0 after their second consecutive undefeated regular season and two convincing playoff wins. However, their quarterfinal opponent might be their toughest challenge yet. In a rematch of the 2022 first round, Audubon will face a fellow undefeated team in Remsen St. Mary’s. In a clash of two top teams with a trip to the UNI Dome on the line, the stakes are a little higher than last time. Head Coach Sean Birks says he and his team are excited to return to the quarterfinal.

After a convincing 38-7 win over East Mills, the Wheelers followed it up with an arguably more impressive 42-18 second-round win over Woodbine. The offense was hot right from the start, scoring on the first four drives. The ground game was effective, collecting 231 yards and three touchdowns, with quarterback Carson Wessel earning 145 of those yards. The defense was also lights out, as Aaron Olsen and the defense forced four interceptions, while the special teams unit forced two more. It was a game Audubon controlled for much of the contest. Birks credited his team’s start as a main factor in gaining control of the game.

Although happy with the performance against Woodbine, there is always room for improvement. Birks knows they will have to step things up against the Hawks.

Standing in the way of a trip to the UNI Dome is a Remsen St. Mary’s team that is accustomed to winning. Winning a championship just two seasons ago they are back and looking to once again reach the pinnacle of Iowa 8-man football. Their offense, led by Landon Waldschmitt, is a physical one that produces well over 40 points per game. Birks says that limiting their production and forcing them into uncomfortable down and distances will be key.

The Hawks also bring one of the better 8-man defenses to the table as well. Led by Braxton Kneip and his 54 tackles, they have allowed more than 12 points just once. The key to putting up points against this tough defense: eliminating negative plays

You can catch all the action on KJAN starting at 6 pm Thursday.

The Iowa Hawkeye women had six players in double figures in a 91-73 win over Northern Illinois as Jan Jensen earned a win in her debut as Hawkeye coach.

Jensen felt the Hawkeyes lacked consistency.

Lucy Olsen led the Hawkeyes with 19 points and added seven assists. The Hawkeyes return to action Sunday by playing Virginia Tech in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Riverside Bulldogs volleyball team had their state tournament run end on Wednesday night with a 3-0 defeat to the top seeded Ankeny Christian Eagles in the 1A State Semifinals. The Eagles won 25-12, 25-21, 25-18 to move on to the state championship on Thursday. The Bulldogs end their season with their best season in program history.

Ankeny Christian set the tone early in the opening set going on a rapid seven point run to start and closed out the first set with 5 straight points. The Bulldogs bounced back in the second set making it 14 all midway through, but fell short with a barrage of kills by Katie Quick and Carley Craighead. Riverside seemed poised in the third, tying it multiple times throughout the match and getting their first lead since 1-0 back in the second. That still wouldn’t be enough to stop the Eagles as they used a five point run to create a big enough gap and eventually grab the match.

Ankeny Christian was led by an impressive night from senior Katie Quick who finished with 13 kills, 25 assists, and 3 service aces. Katelyn Weathers had 13 digs and Macey Nehring had 8 kills for the Eagles. Ankeny Christian improved to 39-5 and will play again in the Championship at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Riverside was led by 7 kills and 4 digs by senior Sophia Taylor. Fellow senior Elly Henderson had 6 kills and 10 digs. Bentley Rone had 14 assists and Madison Kelley had 3 blocks. The Bulldogs end their impressive season with a record of 39-4.

Riverside senior Elly Henderson was proud of the way her team competed throughout the 2024 season and in the state tournament.

Henderson was also grateful to be a part of one of the best teams in Riverside volleyball history,

Bulldogs head coach Brooke Flathers was tearful when describing the joy and pride she had in her senior class.

Looking to next year’s group, Flathers has confidence in their ability and what they will bring to the program.

This was Riverside’s first year making it to the Class 1A state tournament semifinals.

UCLA bids for its first home victory on Friday night when the Bruins host Iowa. The Bruins are 3-5 overall after a win at Nebraska but are 0-3 in the Rose Bowl. UCLA coach DeShaun Foster.

It will match a UCLA defense that gives up just over 100 yards per game against Hawkeye running back Kaleb Johnson, who averages better than 142 yards per game.

Foster says the key against a good running back is swarming to the football.

After two straight wins the Iowa Hawkeyes get ready for Friday night’s game at Big Ten newcomer UCLA. Quarterback Brendan Sullivan has ignited lopsided wins over Northwestern and Wisconsin after a subpar effort in a loss at Michigan State.

That’s Hawkeye coach Kirk Ferentz. With Cade McNamara still sidelined Jackson Stratton will be the backup quarterback this week. The Colorado State transfer stepped into that role after Marco Lainez was injured in practice last week.

Stratton appeared in four games for Colorado State in 2022.

Iowa has not won a game in Pasadena since a victory over California in the 1959 Rose Bowl and none of the games since have even been close.

Iowa quarterback Brendan Sullivan says there are no excuses as the Hawkeyes get set to visit UCLA Friday night. The Hawkeyes are 6-3 and have a short week of preparation before heading to the west coast.

Sullivan is coming off his first start in a win over Wisconsin and says he is still looking to build chemistry with his receivers.

Sullivan says offensive coordinator Tim Lester has been focused on his foot work.