Field hockey is U. of Iowa sport for non-Iowans

The news that the University of Iowa terminated the contract of head field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum Monday was interesting because the Iowa field hockey team plays its first regular-season game of the season before this month is over.

Griesbaum had been the Hawkeyes' head coach since 2000. She's getting a one-time payment of $200,000 because it's a not-for-cause termination. But that's just contract language. Scott Dochterman's Gazette says accusations of mental and verbal abuse and a negative environment led Iowa officials to fire Griesbaum.

Iowa has long been a supporter of field hockey, having had a program since 1977. The Hawkeyes have won 12 conference titles, and the 1986 NCAA championship.

It's always fascinated me that a sport with virtually no roots in the state has such deep roots at one of its state universities. That, as much as anything, is because Iowa was among schools that were at the forefront of opportunities for women in college athletics.

But the state of Iowa is to field hockey what the state of Hawaii is to ice hockey. That's no knock. Diversity is great. If Iowa added water polo, lacrosse and cross country skiing, hey, awesome.

None of Iowa's 21 field hockey players are from the state and just two are from the Central time zone. That's not atypical. No one on Indiana's 2013 roster was from Indiana. Northwestern has two players from Illinois. It also has two from England and two from Ireland.

If I were able to participate in collegiate athletics on scholarship, I'd like to play collegiately in Ireland. Or Hawaii. Probably Hawaii more. But Ireland's very nice, too.