Hawk Central: Ben McCollum contract explainers, grading Iowa's Big Ten schedule

About this episode

This episode discusses Ben McCollum's new contract and the implications for Iowa's basketball program, along with insights on the Big Ten schedule and other related topics.

A heavy men's basketball episode of Hawk Central this week, as head coach Ben McCollum's new contract opens up a lot of discussion about the future of the program. The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman, who is at the NBA Combine, talk through the particulars plus look ahead to the recently-revealed Big Ten schedule breakdown. Chad also offers insight into a change for the Iowa women, and we react to the Washington football game being on a Friday night in Seattle.

People in this episode

Host: Chad Leistikow

Guest: Tyler Tachman

Topics covered

• men's basketball
• Ben McCollum contract
• Big Ten schedule
• Iowa women
• Washington football game

Keywords

• Ben McCollum
• Iowa basketball
• Big Ten schedule
• NBA Combine
• Chad Leistikow
• Tyler Tachman
• Washington football

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Iowa, Washington

Places: Seattle

More episodes of Hawk Central Hour

• Talking all things Iowa men's basketball with Sean Bock · June 10, 2026 · 54 min
• Hawk Central: Summer preview for Iowa's football, basketball programs · June 3, 2026 · 49 min
• Hawk Central: "Ask Us Anything" tackles big-picture Hawkeye topics, how we do our jobs · May 27, 2026 · 50 min
• Hawk Central: Sitdown with Iowa women's basketball assistant coaches LaSondra Barrett, Sean Sullivan · May 20, 2026 · 50 min
• Hawk Central: Our year-ending Hawkeye awards show, top 1-on-1 takes with Ben McCollum · May 6, 2026 · 49 min
• Hawk Central: Iowa football position groups ranked, from best to worst · April 29, 2026 · 50 min