
Hawk Central Hour
USA Today
“Hawk Central Hour” airs between 6-7 p.m. on 1460 KXnO-AM on Wednesdays and will feature Des Moines Register Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow and beat writer Tyler Tachman.
Follow their coverage at hawkcentral.com.
Location:
United States
Genres:
Sports & Recreation Podcasts
Networks:
USA Today
Description:
“Hawk Central Hour” airs between 6-7 p.m. on 1460 KXnO-AM on Wednesdays and will feature Des Moines Register Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow and beat writer Tyler Tachman. Follow their coverage at hawkcentral.com.
Language:
English
Episodes
Hawk Central: Previewing Iowa's Kids Day practice with 5 position battles
8/6/2025
Now it's really starting to feel like football season. The pads are popping in Iowa's fall camp, and the Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman get you set for this week's media day and open practice with a breakdown of five key position battles on the Hawkeyes roster.
Duration:00:49:13
Hawk Central: Tim Lester's 1-on-1 interview about Iowa football in 2025
7/30/2025
Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester sits down with the Register's Chad Leistikow for the full hour to discuss the progress of his offense, play-calling and the 2025 Hawkeyes.
Duration:00:48:45
What we learned from Iowa' s appearance at Big Ten football media days
7/25/2025
Live from Las Vegas, the Register's Tyler Tachman joins colleague Chad Leistikow to dissect all we learned from Iowa football's appearance at Big Ten media days. Plus, Dargan Southard joins the show to talk Iowa women's basketball after their summer media sessions.
Duration:00:46:31
Hawk Central: Latest on Hawkeyes hoops; Iowa football's Raimond Braithwaite joins the show
7/16/2025
On this July 16 episode of Hawk Central Hour, the Register's Chad Leistikow dives into the latest on Ben McCollum's busy offseason leading Iowa basketball. Plus, Iowa football strength and conditioning director Raimond Braithwaite joins the show with the 2025 season roughly six weeks away.
Duration:00:49:53
Hawk Central: In-depth on Iowa wide receivers with Jon Budmayr, Trey Thompson's surprise commitment
7/9/2025
In a special edition of the Hawk Central Hour, Iowa wide receivers coach Jon Budmayr sits down with the Register's Chad Leistikow for more than 40 minutes to break down his ascending room ahead fo the 2025 football season. To finish the show, Chad and Tyler Tachman discuss the impact of four-star basketball commitment of Trey Thompson.
Duration:00:49:16
Hawk Central: All eyes on Iowa basketball practices; Koen Entringer's validation
7/2/2025
This week's Hawk Central radio show is basically a game of "What Did Chad Miss?" while on vacation? Now, as the Register's Chad Leistikow returns to the fold from Maine, teammate Tyler Tachman takes his turn with some time off but not before sharing insights on Iowa men's basketball practice plus some news bits in Iowa football and women's basketball observations.
Duration:00:48:45
Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker joins the HawkCentral show ahead of 2025 season
6/18/2025
As he readies for year 27 as Iowa's defensive coordinator, Phil Parker joins the Register's Chad Leistikow to recap the Hawkeyes' 2024 defensive performance and what to expect this coming fall.
Duration:00:48:48
Hawk Central: The House settlement ramifications for Iowa athletics, starting with football
6/11/2025
The big news of the week was approval of the $2.8 billion House vs. NCAA court settlement, which opens the door for the salary-cap era of college athletics. The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman use most of our 48-minute show to discuss the impact on Iowa athletics.
Duration:00:48:36
Hawk Central: 1-on-1 with Iowa football general manager Tyler Barnes
6/5/2025
For about 38 minutes, Barnes and the Register's Chad Leistikow go over the future and drive of Kirk Ferentz, the pay model that Iowa is using when revenue sharing (likely) begins July 1 and what recruiting strategies and needs are looming for the Class of 2026.
Duration:00:48:41
Hawk Central: Ben McCollum's first Iowa basketball roster appears complete; how good is it?
5/28/2025
Ben McCollum seems to have put the finishing touches on his first Iowa men's basketball roster, adding two more pieces in the closing weeks of May. The Register's Chad Leistikow is joined by basketball beat writer Tyler Tachman to size up the 13 players (12 scholarship) now in the fold for the Hawkeyes and what our expectations might be for this rotation and roster. We also dig into football and baseball in our final two segments.
Duration:00:50:40
Hawk Central: Emely Rodriguez's impact on Iowa women's basketball, Big Ten baseball preview
5/21/2025
This week's Hawk Central radio show leads off with some newsy developments in Iowa women's basketball, headlined by the addition of Central Florida transfer Emely Rodriguez. The Register's Chad Leistikow is joined by Dargan Southard, who updates listeners on why he's on the disabled list while providing fun conversation about the 2025-26 Hawkeyes. We also preview the Big Ten Baseball Tournament path for Iowa before making room for Register colleague Tyler Tachman, who talks Iowa football with Chad about what we've learned in recent conversations with Seth Wallace and Tim Lester.
Duration:00:49:27
Hawk Central: Postseason awards show for Iowa athletics
5/14/2025
You've (maybe) heard of the Golden Herkys. Now, it's time for the Hawk Central Herkys. The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman, on this finals week at the University of Iowa, put a bow on the year of Hawkeye athletics with some unique categories and awards.
Duration:00:48:49
Hawk Central: The finishing portal touches on Iowa's 2025 football roster
5/7/2025
Kirk Ferentz suggested some final transfer-portal additions "wouldn't be headline news," but any roster adjustments for Iowa football warrant headlines. So, the Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman take a closer look at the impact of incoming transfers Jeremy Hecklinski, Shahid Barros and Ty Hudkins ... and what that tells us about the Hawkeyes' future plans.
Duration:00:49:22
Hawk Central: Full-hour interview with Iowa women's basketball coach Jan Jensen
4/30/2025
This week's Hawk Central Hour features a one-on-one with the Register's Chad Leistikow and special guest Jan Jensen, who gets set to enter Year 2 as Iowa women's basketball coach. She revisits the key moments of Year 1 while looking ahead to the future of Hawkeye women's hoops.
Duration:00:50:39
PODCAST: Recapping Iowa's spring practice, NFL Draft
4/26/2025
Iowa's open practice Saturday at Kinnick Stadium produced plenty of pass-game connections, which got our attention. The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman revisit their top takeaways and notebooks from the two-plus hours.
Duration:00:38:15
Hawk Central: Iowa's Alvaro Folgueiras addition, spring football's final week
4/23/2025
The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman take you wire-to-wire on an information-packed episode, starting a a strong 22 minutes on the impact of Robert Morris transfer Alvaro Folgeuiras to the Iowa basketball team. Chad teases a coming commitment for the women's team, too, while the attention turns a deep dive on the final days of spring football and top story lines to watch in Saturday's open practice.
Duration:00:49:09
Hawk Central: Iowa basketball's roster build, football's quarterback situation
4/16/2025
The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman break down the Hawkeyes' in-progress roster build − including with recent additions Trevin Jirak and Brendan Hausen. We also look at what other names might be possible to join the fold. There's some big happenings in Iowa's quarterbacks room in football. And then time to panic with the lack of transfer-portal success for Iowa women's basketball?
Duration:01:02:32
Hawk Central: 1-on-1 with new Iowa men's basketball coach Ben McCollum
4/9/2025
A special edition of the Hawk Central Hour features new Iowa men's basketball coach Ben McCollum, who sat down with the Register's Chad Leistikow for two information-packed segments totaling 40 minutes that you won't want to miss. McCollum discusses how he teaches defense, the misconceptions of his offense, the transfer-portal additions so far for the Hawkeyes and what's to come.
Duration:00:49:20
Hawk Central: Ben McCollum's roster starts to take shape, first eyes on Mark Gronowski as Iowa quarterback
4/3/2025
Iowa basketball has a lot of positive momentum right now, and the Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman dig into the early roster-building stages of the Ben McCollum era. Iowa football also is in full swing, and we've got updates on the quarterbacks, the offense and plenty to discuss there, too, after a glimpse into Thursday's practice. And what to make for Aaliyah Guyton's portal entry? Chad is joined by Dargan Southard to discuss the latest there.
Duration:00:49:18
Hawk Central: The Ben McCollum era begins, and so does portal season for Iowa basketball
3/26/2025
What a week. First, Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman of the Des Moines Register break down Ben McCollum's introduction as Iowa's men's basketball coach and look at the potential roster that he might be able to assemble. Later, Chad and Dargan Southard look back on the Iowa women's basketball season and preview portal additions for Jan Jensen and Co.
Duration:01:06:32