Wyoming, deal with it

IOWA CITY -- Iowa has signed the contract and officially will kickoff the 2017 football season with a home game against Wyoming.

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta served as Wyoming's AD for three years before being hired at Iowa in 2006. Iowa now has a full non-conference schedule for '17, with Wyoming, at Iowa State and a home game against North Texas.

You want to a home-and-home with Texas. You want to play Missouri in St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome. You want Iowa State off the schedule.

Never say never, but for now, none of that will happen.

Barta said Thursday that Iowa's scheduling philosophy is "pretty aggressive."

"We've always tried to play two BCS teams," he said. "It didn't work out every year, but we played Iowa State and this year we play Pittsburgh."

When the Big Ten moves to a nine-game schedule in 2016, Barta said the second BCS game then will come from the Big Ten schedule.

"We're trying to find some different types of teams that we haven't played as often," Barta said. "The Mountain West is a conference we're interested in. We'll still play some MAC [Mid-American Conference] teams. But if someone wants us to play a BCS team every week, that's not realistic. Nobody in the country is doing that, so we have a balance.

"I know there are some people who think we're fine and some people who complain, but with the addition of the ninth Big Ten game, our continued commitment to play Iowa State, if we run the table with that schedule, I'm very confident we'll be considered for the national championship [playoff].

"At the end of the day, we want to win a Big Ten championship and we want to compete for a national championship. With the way we schedule, we'll be in position to do that."

The nine-game Big Ten schedule will wipe out the College Football Playoff non-conference game. Next season's game at Pittsburgh is the last non-conference road game that isn't Iowa State for the foreseeable future. Iowa will play host to Pitt in 2015 and then the nine-game conference schedule kicks in for '16.

"We added another BCS game [CFP game starting this year] by adding another Big Ten game," Barta said. "If someone doesn't like that concept, they might not like what we're doing. I think most of our fans are excited about the combination of two things, 1) we're playing another Big Ten team and 2) with the reshuffling of divisions, we're playing Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Northwestern and Illinois every year. What a great thing that is for fans as far as driveability."

Not all of you are going to agree. Barta knows this.

"Our job is to win a Big Ten championship and a national championship," Barta said. "With the way we're scheduling, with the addition of the ninth game in the Big Ten, we have to win games, but our schedule puts us in that position."

Another factor in Iowa scheduling is the fact that it needs seven home games for the revenue. Any game against a CFP opponent would likely require a home-and-home series. A nine-game league schedule pinches that.

"Well, if we want to pay all the bills," Barta said of needing seven home games. "It's not just at Iowa. When we went to nine games in the Big Ten, every athletic director chimed in, 'If we're going to go to nine Big Ten games, all of us have scheduled our situation so we have seven home games.'"

Barta also referenced the economic impact an Iowa home football game has for the Iowa City/Coralville area. A 2010 study compiled by the UI and the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau showed a $14 million influx for each game weekend.

"If you took one of those out, not only would it affect the athletics department budget, it would take millions of dollars out of the community," Barta said. "Seven home games is critical. We could go to eight if that worked out, but seven is minimum."

2014

August

30

Northern Iowa (FF)

September

6

Ball State

13

Iowa State (Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series)

20

at Pittsburgh

27

at Purdue

October

4

Bye

11

Indiana (Homecoming)

18

at Maryland

25

Bye

November

1

Northwestern (FW)

8

at Minnesota

15

at Illinois

22

Wisconsin

28

Nebraska (Hy-Vee Heroes Game) (S)

2015

September

5

Illinois State (FF)

12

at Iowa State (Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series)

19

Pittsburgh

26

North Texas

October

3

at Wisconsin

10

Illinois (Homecoming)

17

at Northwestern

24

Bye

31

Maryland (FW)

November

7

at Indiana

14

Minnesota

21

Purdue (S)

27

at Nebraska (Hy-Vee Heroes Game)

2016

September

3

Miami (Ohio) (FF)

10

Iowa State (Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series)

17

North Dakota State

24

Open

October

1

Northwestern (Homecoming)

8

at Minnesota

15

at Purdue

22

Wisconsin

29

at Rutgers

November

5

at Penn State

12

Michigan (FW)

19

at Illinois

25

Nebraska (Hy-Vee Heroes Game) (S)

2017

September

2

Open (FF)

9

at Iowa State (Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series)

16

North Texas

23

Open

30

at Michigan State

October

7

Illinois (Homecoming)

14

Penn State

21

at Northwestern

28

Minnesota (FW)

November

4

Ohio State

11

at Wisconsin

18

Purdue (S)

24

at Nebraska (Hy-Vee Heroes Game)

2018

September

22

Wisconsin

October

6

at Minnesota

13

at Indiana

20

Maryland (Homecoming)

27

at Penn State

November

3

at Purdue

10

Northwestern (FW)

17

at Illinois

23

Nebraska (Hy-Vee Heroes Game)

2019

September

7

Rutgers

October

5

at Michigan

12

Penn State

19

Purdue (Homecoming)

26

at Northwestern

November

9

at Wisconsin

16

Minnesota (FW)

23

Illinois

29

at Nebraska (Hy-Vee Heroes Game)

Schedules from Hawkeyesports.com