2015 Sports Stories of the Year

The sports staff at The Gazette has a lot on its collective minds these days.

There's a little football game in Pasadena in less than a week. There's a special section wrapping today's paper about Iowa's remarkable 12-0 football regular season, West Division title and the Rose Bowl berth. On top of that, there was a scramble last week to get things done so we could enjoy time with our families over Christmas — at least those not already planted in California.

But when we started talking about the top stories of 2015, we took a deep breath, looked back and enjoyed what a great year is wrapping up this week.

It really was quite a year, filled with thrills, tragedy and sadness.

Among the topics of discussions were the aforementioned Iowa football team and its 2015 reawakening. This actually could have been more than one story — Kirk Ferentz's ride from hot seat to 'New Kirk' to coach of the year, C.J. Beathard's rise as the No. 1 quarterback and Desmond King, the nation's best defensive back.

There also was Cedar Rapids' Zach Johnson winning the British Open, a death at Hawkeye Downs Speedway, Iowa State losing a basketball and football coach, the deaths of Iowa greats Tyler Sash and Roy Marble in the same week and the event of the year — Grapple on the Gridiron in Iowa City.

Our staff voted for their favorite stories of the year and here, in a nutshell, are the results:

10. Iowa women's basketball reaches Sweet 16

 

Lisa Bluder has enjoyed a lot of success at Iowa, but last season could go down as one of the best. Led by Samantha Logic and Melissa Dixon, the Hawkeyes won 27 games and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time under Bluder.

9. Regina football reigns again

 

What more can be said about the Regals? Marv Cook has built a dynasty in Iowa City, winning six straight state titles. Regina doesn't rebuild, it reloads — every year.

8. Iowa baseball's resurgence

 

The Hawkeyes, who had struggled for years before Rick Heller was hired, won 41 games, second most in program history, advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1990 and went 2-2 there, their first tournament wins since 1972.

7. Former Hawkeyes Sash, Marble die

 

While Roy Marble had been battling cancer, Tyler Sash's death on Sept. 8 was a shocker. The former Iowa and NFL defensive back was found dead in his Oskaloosa home, a death that was later called an accidental overdose. He was 27. Marble, Iowa's all-time leading scorer whose son Devyn had just wrapped up a stellar career with the Hawkeyes, died Sept. 11 at age 48 at his home in Flint, Mich.

6. UNI men's basketball's 31 wins, upsets

 

The Panthers captured the state's attention once again by winning 31 games, winning the Missouri Valley Conference title and their NCAA opener. The 2015 portion of the schedule has included wins over North Carolina and Iowa State, ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, at the time.

5. Paul Rhoads fired as Iowa State football coach

 

After a season filled with near-misses, yet another losing one in Ames, Jamie Pollard pulled the plug on the Rhoads era before the season finale at West Virginia. Rhoads coached the final game, a loss, and ended his career with a 32-55 record, 8-28 the last three seasons. About the same time Rhoads was coaching his final game, Pollard was finalizing a deal to hire Toledo's Matt Campbell. He was announced the coach the next day and introduced that Monday.

4. Fred Hoiberg leaves Iowa State for Chicago Bulls

 

After leading the Cyclones to another Big 12 tournament title and NCAA tournament berth — where ISU flamed out — the 'Mayor' decided to follow his dream of coaching in the NBA. Hoiberg, a former Iowa State standout, never hid his desire to coach in the NBA and when the Bulls job opened, he jumped at the chance.

3. Grapple on the Gridiron sets NCAA attendance mark

 

A crazy idea became reality when the second-ranked Iowa wrestling team invited then-No. 1 Oklahoma State to battle inside Kinnick Stadium on a November afternoon. The Cowboys jumped at the chance to be part of history and, well, the rest is history. The weather cooperated and an NCAA record crowd of 42,287 watched the Hawkeyes topple OSU, 18-16, hours before the Iowa football team battled Minnesota in a night game. It was a great win in a classic rivalry, but it was a remarkable day for the sport of wrestling.

2. Zach Johnson wins British Open

 

Cedar Rapids' favorite son was having another stellar season on the PGA Tour when something started to click in June and July. He placed sixth in the Traveler's Championship and tied for third at the John Deere Classic before, once again, taking the world by storm by ending Jordan Spieth's major reign and winning a playoff at St. Andrews. 'I'm grateful. I'm humbled. I'm honored,' Johnson said after this second major win. 'This is the birthplace of the game, and that jug means so much in sports.'

1. Iowa football goes 12-0, earns berth in Rose Bowl

 

This unprecedented season was a unanimous pick by our staff. What more can be said? Coming off a lackluster 7-6 campaign, Ferentz made several changes, some personal and some professional. From the season-opening win against a tough FCS opponent to road wins at Wisconsin and Northwestern, the vibe quickly changed around this program. After a perfect regular season, it was off to the Big Ten championship game, where the Hawks lost by three points on the final play. Now it's a trip to Pasadena for the 102nd Rose Bowl and a date with Stanford.

Here's how the readers ranked the top 10:

1. Iowa football goes 12-0, earns Rose Bowl berth

2. Zach Johnson wins British Open

3. Grapple on the Gridiron sets NCAA attendance mark

4. UNI men's basketball's 31 wins, upsets

5. Iowa baseball's resurgence

6. Former Hawkeyes Sash, Marble die

7. Fred Hoiberg leaves Iowa State for Chicago Bulls

8. Iowa women's basketball reaches Sweet 16

9. Paul Rhoads fired as Iowa State coach

10. Regina football reigns again

Several other stories also earned votes from our staff, including Iowa men's basketball winning an NCAA tournament game for the first time since 2001 and the death of driver Joan Feller at Hawkeye Downs.

Other stories receiving votes were: ESPN analyst Dan Dakich calls Iowa center Adam Woodbury 'cowardly' after a pair of accidental eye pokes at Wisconsin; Iowa's offensive tackle Brandon Scherff picked fifth overall in NFL Draft; West Delaware's run to a state volleyball title; Linn-Mar graduate Kiah Stokes wins third NCAA women's basketball title as a senior at Connecticut, gets drafted into the WNBA and finishes runner-up for rookie of the year; IHSAA announces it will reduce the high school football playoff field starting in 2016; Kernels advance to Midwest League championship series, losing in winner-take-all finale; men's professional indoor soccer comes to Cedar Rapids; and Iowa State's Kyven Gadsen wins an NCAA wrestling title.

We asked readers if they'd replace any of our top 10 with other stories, and here's how they responded:

28% Iowa men's basketball wins NCAA tournament game for first time since 2001

18% Iowa offensive tackle Brandon Scherff picked fifth overall in NFL Draft

16% Iowa State wins Big 12 men's basketball tournament but flames out in NCAA first round

11% Iowa State's Kyven Gadsen wins NCAA wrestling title

6% Linn-Mar graduate Kiah Stokes wins third NCAA women's basketball title at Connecticut, finishes runner-up for WNBA rookie of the year

6% ESPN analyst Dan Dakich calls Adam Woodbury cowardly after eye pokes

5% Kernels advance to Midwest League championship series

4% IHSAA reduces playoff field in half

2% Racer Joan Feller dies in Hawkeye Downs crash

2% West Delaware wins state volleyball title in sixth championship appearance

2% Men's indoor professional soccer comes to Cedar Rapids

l Comments: jr.ogden@thegazette.com