Iowa notes from Big Ten media days: Why Bret Bielema has kept his Tigerhawk tattoo

INDIANAPOLIS — Bret Bielema’s Tigerhawk tattoo may be the worst-kept secret in the Big Ten.

It’s visible whenever the Illinois coach is wearing shorts. It has come up in past interviews. He has “some fun with it,” too, including letting a past Illinois player think the “I” stood for Illinois.

But why keep the tattoo when he was the head coach at rival Wisconsin for nine seasons and has been the head coach at Illinois since 2021?

“I never met a successful person who wasn’t proud of where they came from,” Bielema said. “That was part of my playing time and my coaching. A lot of who I am today was developed while I was there.”

Greg Schiano discusses Kirk Ferentz’s longevity

Rutgers Coach Greg Schiano said Kirk Ferentz’s two-plus-decade run at Iowa has been “amazing.”

“I can’t talk enough about the respect I have for him as a football coach and as a man,” said Schiano, who himself has spent 15 years at Rutgers between two different stints.

Ferentz, who will begin his 26th season as head coach at Iowa this fall, is the only current FBS head coach who has been at the same school for more than 20 seasons.

“He’s a great coach, and he’s an even better person,” Schiano said. “It’s not a surprise a guy like that is the one who could coach that many years at one place.”

Iowa’s defensive line has ‘pretty tough guys up front, and they don’t quit’

Approaching his fifth season at Wisconsin (and his fourth as a starter), offensive lineman Jack Nelson has seen plenty of imposing defensive lines in the Big Ten.

The first one that comes to mind? Iowa.

“I still remember my first time playing Iowa,” Nelson said Tuesday in Indianapolis. “It was just an awakening to the physicality that really goes in that game. And I don’t know if it’s because of the rivalry or something. But they always have pretty tough guys up front, and they don’t quit.”

Tony Petitti recognizes Iowa women’s basketball’s historic season

Football was, of course, in the spotlight on Tuesday during the first day of the Big Ten’s football media days. But Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti heavily recognized the success of Iowa women’s basketball and star player Caitlin Clark during the 2023-24 season.

“You really can't tell the story of last year in sports without acknowledging the woman who now plays right here in Indianapolis,” said Petitti, who then listed some of Clark’s many accolades.

Petitti also noted the many records the Hawkeyes set for TV ratings and attendance, including the 55,646 fans at Iowa’s “Crossover at Kinnick” exhibition against DePaul.

Jay Higgins earns preseason honors

Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins is one of 12 athletes to be on the Big Ten’s preseason honors list, which was selected by a media panel and released on Tuesday.

He is the 11th Hawkeye to earn the preseason conference nod in the last 11 seasons. Recent honorees include Cooper DeJean (2023), Jack Campbell (2022), Tyler Linderbaum (2021) and A.J. Epenesa (2019). The last eight Hawkeyes to receive the preseason honor went on to be selected in the NFL Draft.

Higgins is coming off a season in which he tied the Hawkeye record with 171 total tackles in a single season. National college football writer Phil Steele named Higgins his preseason Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and he finished second in voting for the preseason recognition in the Cleveland.com poll of Big Ten beat writers.

Big Ten championship stays in Indianapolis … for now

Iowa has a saying emblazoned above the automatic doors that connect its indoor turf practice field to the rest of the Hansen Football Performance Center.

“The road to Indianapolis goes through these doors.”

The Hawkeyes won’t need to change that signage, or at least not until after 2028.

Petitti announced that the Big Ten will keep its annual football championship game in Indianapolis through 2028.

As the Big Ten competes with other conferences for attention in Los Angeles and other western markets, it is no guarantee that the game stays in Indianapolis after that.

Petitti said himself “over time you’ll see the footprint of how we host championships change and grow.”

“Given the footprint of conference, the cities that are now interested in hosting Big Ten championships has clearly expanded,” Petitti said. “We’re really comfortable with the decision to stay with football here in Indianapolis in the next four seasons. … Having said that, I think you’ll begin to see us expand. I think it’s important to make sure that markets around the country get to experience Big Ten championships.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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