The John Deere Classic near the Quad Cities is adding a pair of concerts to next month’s PGA Tournament. George McNeilly reports.

Tournament Director Andrew Lehman says Darius Rucker will perform after the third round on Saturday, July 8th and Blake Shelton will perform after the final round on Sunday, July 9th. It is part of the first ever “Concert on the Course” series.

Lehman says it could be the start of a new tradition.

The John Deere Classic is July 6th through the 9th.

Iowa State basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger says summer sets the tone and workouts are underway in Ames as the Cyclones look to build on back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament. Otzelberger says summer workouts have been a big part of their success the past two years.

The Cyclones are known for defense and toughness and Otzelberger says this is when it starts. ISU will close the summer with a trip to the Bahamas.

Otzelberger says how they do things in the summer is more important than what they do.

A highly ranked recruiting class is part of a large group of incoming players.

Senior forward Tre King says workouts are always an adjustment for the freshmen.

King says it is a talented group of newcomers.

Ames native Tamin Lipsey started all 33 games last season at point guard and was named to the Big-12 All-Freshman team. He is now one of the veterans.

Lipsey says the newcomers are making an immediate impact.

The Cyclones finished 19-14 last season and lost to Pitt in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Former Hawkeyes Jordan Amelon (women’s golf) and Kaevon Merriweather (football) have been selected as Iowa’s 2023 Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners. The duo were chosen from Iowa’s list of 2022-23 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winners, which had a representative from each varsity sport.

Amelon, an Iowa City, Iowa native, posted a 78.46 scoring average over 32.5 rounds during her senior season. Amelon played in 11 tournaments in 2022-23, which included a career-best 34th place showing at the Fresno Golf Classic. She also tied for 35th at the National Golf Invitational, helping the Hawkeyes to a team runner-up finish. During the fall, Amelon shot a career low round of 70 (-2) at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in Colorado.

Merriweather, a native of Belleville, Michigan, was named first-team All-America by Pro Football Focus, second-team All-America by Sporting News and Associated Press, and third-team All-America by Phil Steele. Merriweather was named first-team All-Big Ten by Phil Steele, second-team All-Big Ten by Associated Press and honorable mention All-Big Ten by league coaches and media. He was named a Permanent Team Captain, defense, and earned the Coaches Appreciation Award, defense. He was also recognized with the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. His career statistics include 118 tackles, with four interceptions for 33 yards and one fumble return for a 30-yard touchdown. Merriweather was named Big Ten co-Defensive Player of the Week following Iowa’s win at Rutgers in 2022, as he had a fumble return touchdown and a pass interception. As a senior, Merriweather was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Jason Whitten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, while he was recognized by Iowa media with the Duke Slater Golden Gavel Award as a junior. That award is presented to the Iowa football player who not only is most cooperative with local media, but exhibits themselves with professional integrity in all interactions. He was a member of the Player Council as a junior and senior. Merriweather participated in the 2023 Senior Bowl and signed a free agent contract with Tampa Bay.

The Big Ten first awarded the Outstanding Sportsmanship honor in 2003. The student-athletes chosen were individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior, were in good academic standing and demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

Following is a list of Iowa’s past Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award Winners:

Year              Men’s Award Winner                                           Women’s Award Winner

2003              Stuart Waters, Men’s Tennis                                 Kristin Johnson, Softball

2004              Nate Kaeding, Football                                         Laura Chipman, Softball

2005              Joe Johnston, Wrestling                                        Jennifer Skolaski, Swimming & Diving

2006              Adam Haluska, Men’s Basketball                           Liz Grajewski, Women’s Gymnastics

2007              Adam Haluska, Men’s Basketball                           Kara Zappone, Field Hockey

2008              Bart van Monsjou, Men’s Tennis                           Brittany Keyes, Rowing

2009              Christian Bierich, Men’s Tennis                             Wendy Ausdemore, Women’s Basketball

2010              A.J. Edds, Football                                                Laura Cilek, Women’s Golf

2011              Chris Brant, Men’s Golf                                        Kelsey Cermak, Women’s Basketball

2012              Matt Gatens, Men’s Basketball                             Betsy Flood, Women’s Track & Field

2013              Eric May, Men’s Basketball                                   Mareike Schrulle, Women’s Cross Country

2014              James Morris, Football                                         Theairra Taylor, Women’s Basketball

2015              Mark Weisman, Football                                      Melissa Dixon, Women’s Basketball

2016              Drew Ott, Football                                               Amy Ihm, Women’s Golf

2017              Nicholas Baer, Men’s Basketball                            Sophie Plasteras, Field Hockey

2018              Spencer Lee, Wrestling                                         Hannah Stewart, Women’s Basketball

2019              Alex Marinelli, Wrestling                                      Hannah Stewart, Women’s Basketball

2020              Connor McCaffery, Men’s Basketball                     Makenzie Meyer, Women’s Basketball

2021              Mehki Sargent, Football                                       Kate Martin, Women’s Basketball

2022              Patrick McCaffery, Men’s Basketball                     Bailey Ortega, Volleyball

2023              Kaevon Merriweather, Football                            Jordan Amelon, Women’s Golf

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa men’s basketball team will conclude its summer with a three-game tour of Paris and Spain in August, the program announced on Tuesday.

Head coach Fran McCaffery’s squad will make its way across the Atlantic Ocean on Aug. 5 before returning home Aug. 16. The Hawkeyes’ trip will take them to the Paris, Valencia and Barcelona with three games against opponents to be determined at a later date.

The Hawkeyes will spend four days in Paris (Aug. 6-9), three days in Valencia (Aug. 10-12) and three days in Barcelona (Aug. 13-15).

“We are grateful to have the resources available to provide this opportunity for our student-athletes,” McCaffery said. “Not only will our players experience different cultures and create lifelong memories with their teammates, but we get 10 extra team practices leading up to the trip. With us adding six new players, I believe this is a perfect time for this opportunity.”

The trip will be the first for Iowa since the program visited Germany, Switzerland and Italy in the summer of 2017.

“I could not be more excited for the opportunity our team has to go overseas this summer,” said Sandfort. “The extra practices will greatly benefit our new guys and our overall team by developing our on-court bond. The opportunity to see new cultures that few of us have experienced will be a special experience while allowing our team to become closer off the floor as well. This experience will benefit our team tremendously.”