By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
Big 12 to Play 10 Game Schedule in 9+1 Format:
The Big 12 Conference announced on Monday they will play a nine-game conference slate and one non-conference contest in the 2020 football season.
The start of Conference play will be solidified in the coming weeks, with an anticipated start sometime between mid- to late-September, with the expectation that non-conference games are contested prior to beginning league games.
The model also gives the Conference flexibility to move back the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game to December 12th or 19th.
Iowa State is expected to open their season at home against Ball State — an opponent they added last week.
ISU Board Defers Approval of Hilton Coliseum Improvements:
There will be at least a temporary delay in planning for more upgrades to Hilton Coliseum in Ames, the home floor for Iowa State basketball, volleyball and gymnastics.
The original schedule had called for Board of Regents approval last week, to kick off the process of seeking bids for designs that would expand the arena’s north and south concourses, but amidst the coronavirus pandemic, there has been some trepidation in moving forward with the project.
The board will reconsider the proposal in their September meeting.
The board will review all the athletic budgets for Iowa State, Iowa and UNI at that meeting.
The board cited the “volatility surrounding college sports” as the reason for not conducting that review at its July 29 meeting.
Colorado Prep Transfers to West Des Moines Valley, The Start of New Trend?
In what high school coaches believe is just the first of many, a Colorado prep signal-caller has transferred to West Des Moines Valley to play football this fall.
According to the Denver Post, four-star quarterback recruit and future Kansas State Wildcat Jake Rubley — Colorado’s top prep prospect in this recruiting cycle — has also brought with him tight end Jade Arroyo, who has been offered by Colorado State and guard Tye Chirico, who has been offered by New Mexico State.
Valley now has seven players on their roster with Division I FBS offers.
Rubley sought out a new place to play after uncertainty surrounding whether the Colorado High School governing body would sponsor football this fall.
Illinois and Minnesota have already postponed fall sports until Spring, opening up for more possibilities of players leaving to play their season in Iowa.
Iowa State Basketball Picks Up Top-100 Commit:
Iowa State’s 2021 recruiting class is off to a bang.
Iowa State picked up a commitment from top-100 point guard Tyrese Hunter on Tuesday when he announced his decision via social media.
Hunter is considered the No. 79 player in the country, No. 13 point guard and No. 2 player in Wisconsin by most recruiting outlets.
He chose the Cyclones over 24 other offers from schools such as Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Creighton and Texas Tech.
Hunter is Iowa State’s first commitment for the 2021 recruiting cycle in which they’re expected to have three open scholarships at this point.
He is the Cyclones’ highest-rated point guard commit since Lindell Wigginton in the 2017 class.’
MLB Scoreboard (8/5):
Minnesota 7, Pittsburgh 3
Cleveland 4, Cincinnati 2
Tampa Bay 5, Boston 1
Washington 5, New York Mets 3
Atlanta 10, Toronto 1
Chicago White Sox 3, Milwaukee 2
Chicago Cubs 5, Kansas City 4
Miami 4, Baltimore 0
Colorado 5, San Francisco 2
Oakland 5, Texas 1
Houston 8, Arizona 2
Los Angeles Dodgers 5, San Diego 2
Los Angeles Angels 5, Seattle 3