Soccer Jamboree comes to Kingston Stadium on April 1, 2010

Spring is here and the weather is great right now. We encourage you to catch some prep soccer on April 1.

MEN'S SOCCER JAMBOREE - THURSDAY, APRIL 1

All six games will be played at Kingston Stadium with each game consisting of 40 minutes with a 10 minute on field warm-up. The schedule will run as follows:

Kingston Stadium picture info


• 3:30 pm Jefferson vs. Solon


• 4:20 pm IC West vs. Xavier


• 5:10 pm Prairie vs. Marion


• 6:00 pm IC High vs. Mt. Vernon


• 6:50 pm Linn-Mar vs. Kennedy


• 7:40 pm Washington vs. CPU

Admission will be charged - $2 for everyone Use the gate behind the pressbox to enter the stadium.

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Iowa welcomes the Fran McCaffery era of Hawkeye Basketball for 2010-11

Athletic director Gary Barta introduced Siena head coach Fran McCaffery as the new head coach of the Iowa Hawkeye basketball program. Video of today's media conference introducing the new coach.

Talk about a 'good fit' for Iowa basketball in the introduction of Fran McCaffery. He received a six year contract starting at $1.1 million that will move to $1.35 million, with incentives and escalation clauses.

He has more experience recruiting in the State of Iowa and playing at Carver-Hawkeye Arena than his two predecessors had entering the Iowa job.

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It's Great to be a Hawkeye: Iowa City will soon welcome Fran McCaffery to Iowa Basketball

News is that Gary Barta, Iowa's AD, has extended the Iowa basketball position to Fran McCaffery, who has been head coach the past five seasons at Siena College, a Jesuit university.

Who will be the next Hawkeye basketball coach? - The Gazette
Several media reports confirm Siena Coach Fran McCaffery has accepted the Iowa coaching job ...

Report: McCaffery to Iowa ‎- WNYT
Iowa is expected to announce the move Monday in Iowa City, Iowa. McCaffery will replace Todd Lickliter, who was fired two weeks ago after the Hawkeyes' ...

Like Dr. Tom Davis, who coached at Iowa for 13 years, McCaffery brings a strong East Coast resume to Iowa City. Like Dr. Tom, McCaffery has been a head coach previously at three other schools. McCaffery has eleven years of coaching in the Midwest, as an 11 year assistant at Notre Dame. McCaffery lead Lehigh, UNC-Greensboro and Siena all to the NCAA Tournament, including three straight trips at Siena.

He may not have the doctorate, like Dr. Tom, but he has an Ivy League education on his resume, from Penn. We would imagine that Fran McCaffery knows a little about teaching young men the game of basketball and about life. Always an important skill for an Iowa head basketball coach. Always important at the 28 Jesuit universities found the USA.

Dr. Tom and Coach Fran were head coaches at Jesuit universities. Dr. Tom at Boston College, while McCaffery has been the past five seasons at Siena. Jesuit universities have great history in college basketball, from Georgetown to Gonzaga. Creighton is the closest Jesuit university to Iowa City.

Ironically, Iowa could have hired a Jesuit coach from Creighton (Dana Altman) three years ago, but settled for Butler's Todd Lickliter. Iowa's two previous coaches, Licklter and Steve Alford, had only coached at one Division I university previous to becoming the head coach at Iowa.

Coach Fran, like Dr. Tom, has coached at three universities in the past prior to coming to Iowa City. Of course, nothing is official yet, but multiple sources from The Gazette's article have confirmed, 'Fran is the Man' for the University of Iowa's basketball position.

We are excited about the choice, after reports that Dayton's Brian Gregory were heard. It appears that Iowa's AD Gary Barta didn't want to lose on the opportunity to hire Fran McCaffery, who was mentioned for other jobs opening in 2010, as the two articles below highlight.

Coaching carousel chatter ‎ESPN (blog) - Andy Katz
Iowa was extremely interested in Gregory, so this move is odd for them if he's truly the top choice. Iowa has talked to McCaffery and he remains a finalist ...

Skinner to St. John's in a holding pattern ‎Boston Globe
McCaffery, meanwhile, may be out as a possibility at St. John's since he has emerged as the leading candidate for the opening at the University of Iowa, ...

We look forward to the official announcement on Monday that Fran McCaffery will be the University of Iowa's next head men's basketball coach. The rebuilding job will be McCaffery's who brings a strong resume to the table for the Hawkeyes men's program. Official announcement with Media is Monday.

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What's up in Iowa City with the head men's basketball position and the 2010-11 basketball roster?

Who will replace coach Todd Lickliter in Iowa City?

Many fans want a big name, such as former Iowa assistant and current Tennessee head coach, Bruce Pearl. Others suggest that Pearl is not realistic, but maybe his #2 assistant, originally from Lone Tree, Iowa, would be?

Who will remain and make up the 2010-11 Iowa basketball roster after the new coach is signed?

Payne: Players likely to return - Iowa Press -Citizen

Spring Break has just ended for both the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa.

When rumors began flying around that coach Todd Lickliter was not going to be retained for his fourth season at Iowa, two names were mentioned. The first was a former Iowa graduate and current Providence coach Keno Davis. The other is leading his team into the Sweet 16 and resides just up the road (80 miles) at the University of Northern Iowa, coach Ben Jacobsen.

Iowa athletic director Gary Barta has his work cut out for himself. Firing an Iowa coach, even after a poor 10-22 season, when four more years remain on his contract, doesn't fly real well in Iowa City. There is a lot of speculation to the reasons why?

The bottom line is Iowa needs a fresh start, with a new head coach in men's basketball. As the women face #1 seed Stanford in the second round tonight of the women's NCAA Tournament, many Hawkeye fans will be interested to know, what is Gary Barta going to deliver for a men's basketball coach in 2010?

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Best wishes to the UNI Panthers vs. Kansas in the NCAA 2Nd Round!

The sole banner carrier for the MVC in the 2010 NCAA Tournament is the University of Northern Iowa this year. The Panthers won a first round game 69-66 with a three pointer with less than five seconds to knock off #8 seed UNLV.

Next up: #1 seed Kansas in the Midwest Region 2Nd Round game from Oklahoma City in the NCAA Tournament.

Column: UNI looks, plays different - Topeka Capital Journal
All seven of UNI's previous NCAA Tournament games were decided by five points or less. But KU also will be the first No. 1 team the Panthers have ever faced ...
Keeler: UNI's Eglseder to face Kansas' lane clogger - DesMoinesRegister.com
Center stage: Big men Eglseder, Aldrich ready for battle - KUsports
Kansas' Cole Aldrich finally has to pick on someone his own size - USA Today

Recap of Thursday's UNI men's win over UNLV in Oklahoma City ...

Northern Iowa Ekes One Out Against UNLV - New York Times ‎
Northern Iowa extended its lead to 58-51 with 6:31 left. Just when it looked as if the Panthers would build a lead too big for a Rebels' comeback, UNLV ...
Final: Northern Iowa 69, UNLV 66 - ESPN (blog)
Farokhmanesh's long-distance dedication rewarded in UNI upset - SI.com

Battle of former Creighton teammates in Women's NCAA Tournament kicks off. Nebraska coach Connie Yori and UNI coach Tonya Warren were teammates of coach Bruce Rasmussen's Creighton women's teams in 1983 to 1986. The #1 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers will face #16 seed UNI Panthers in the women's tournament this weekend. Both, Iowa and ISU women will play as well.

NCAA women's basketball: Nebraska's Yori shares past with UNI's Warren -Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
In college, they shared a backcourt at Creighton and became the only women's basketball players to have their jersey numbers retired by the school. ...
(Neb.)-#1 Seed Lady Huskers Face #16 UNI In NCAA 1st Round Sunday - KCSR
Notes: Huskers welcome unfamiliarity - Omaha World-Herald

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Final comment: The Todd Lickliter era is over in Iowa City at the University of Iowa. It has not been a pretty three years in the Big Ten for the Hawkeyes. The women played well, but the men's program experienced the poorest overall season in Hawkeye history and finishing #9 in the Big Ten and capturing home-home wins over the Indiana Hoosiers wasn't enough for another year for Coach Lickliter in Iowa City. The coaching search is on.