On Iowa Daily Briefing 6.28.12

It's a slow news day. OK, a slow sports news day in Iowa. So far.

First, this from the University of Iowa sports information department:

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa women's rowing team will add 10 student-athletes this fall, the largest recruiting class in school history. Iowa's incoming recruits include successful high school rowers and multi-sport athletes from the United States, Canada and the Netherlands.

“This class is very diverse,” Iowa recruiting coordinator Beth Redfearn said.  “Some bring international racing experience and others are serious athletes who know how to train and are just getting involved in the sport of rowing.  One thing about this group is that their energy is infectious. Each of them has expressed to me how much they love the thrill of competition and being part of a team. They have already set big goals for themselves and what they want to accomplish next year.  This is exactly what we're looking for here at Iowa.”

Let's break it down. Four recruits from Ohio. Two from Wisconsin. One each from Illinois, New York, Canada and the Netherlands.

Iowa's field hockey program announced six recruits in February. Two were from New Jersey, two from Pennsylvania, and one each from Maryland and Virginia. There isn't an Iowan on the entire Hawkeyes roster, let alone anyone from the Central time zone.

Not that it's a bad thing. Universities are supposed to be diverse.

Iowa's men's tennis team has just one Iowan on its roster, while two players are from Bolivia and one is from Belgium. Just two of the 15 Hawkeye men gymnasts on the 2011 roster were from Iowa. We're a small state. We're good in many sports. Some, not as much.

HLINKS

-- Lostlettermen.com says not even Jennifer Lopez could make Iowa's throwback uniforms for this year's Iowa State game look good.

-- Rockridge (Ill.) junior-to-be Ethan Happ has verbally committed to play basketball at Wisconsin.

Happ is 6-foot-7. He visited Iowa last week. You can't get them all. And who knows? Maybe one day, Happ will rethink his decision and ... aw, let's not go there.

-- David Whitley of aol.sportingnews.com says transparency is a must for the college football playoff selection committee.

He's right. And I will be transparent when I'm on that committee. And I'll rat out anyone else on the committee who isn't.

-- This isn't a link, but rather, a question. Six months ago, would you have believed Illinois' Meyers Leonard could get taken higher in the NBA draft than Ohio State's Jared Sullinger?

-- If you haven't taken the tour of Iowa's work-in-progress indoor football facility, here you go: