Welcome to HawkFanatic.com
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Welcome to the next chapter in what has become a 30-year adventure in covering University of Iowa athletics.
I am proud to introduce HawkFanatic.com, a privately owned website that will provide daily coverage of Iowa athletics with an emphasis on football and men’s basketball, and will do so at no cost to the reader.
This website is one of very few that still provides free Hawkeye content in this age of paid subscriptions, and we take great pride in that, and we appreciate the local advertisers that help to make it possible.
Readers will have the option of making a yearly donation with part of the proceeds going to charity. But that will be the reader’s decision.
We spent the past month interviewing some top-notch web design companies before choosing Vortex Business Solutions, which is located in Iowa City.
Location was one of many factors in why we ultimately chose Vortex, along with its strong technical support staff, vision and flexibility.
And while it isn’t ideal to launch a new website during a global pandemic, the current shutdown in sports allowed us to be patient and meticulous while choosing a designer.
The goal of HawkFanatic is to provide fair and accurate coverage from both a beat and commentary standpoint. That has been my objective and motivation since I started covering Iowa athletics in the early 1990s for the Iowa City Press-Citizen.
I have worked as both a beat writer and as a columnist and will continue in that dual role.
We obviously hope that Iowa wins from a personal, and from a business standpoint, but that doesn’t mean we’re homers or apologists.
There will also be a heavy emphasis on football and men’s basketball recruiting, and we’re excited to announce that Tyler Devine will handle that role.
Tyler and I have worked together for the past four years and he understands the recruiting landscape and how important recruiting is to fans.
Tyler is the great, great nephew of Hawkeye football legend Aubrey Devine and a life-long resident of Iowa City. He grew up cheering for the Hawkeyes and now excels at covering the Hawkeyes.
This is a trying time for Iowa athletics, not just because of the pandemic, but also because of the evolving controversy surrounding the Iowa football program.
More than 40 former players have made allegations of racial disparities in the program, and described an environment in which players are mistreated and ridiculed.
Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle has been the focus of most the allegations and he is currently on paid administrate leave while an independent review is conducted.
Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz also has been accused of mistreatment by several former players.
HawkFantic will cover this story thoroughly and fairly, while also providing commentary as the story unfolds.
We also have a podcast that is posted on Monday, Wednesday and Friday as part of our association with KCJJ radio in Iowa City. The show airs live on the radio and then is converted to a podcast on the same day.
The show focuses mostly on Hawkeye athletics and features numerous guests with ties to the school.
Former Iowa running back Ronnie Harmon was our most recent guest in a rare Thursday edition of the show. It was one of the few times that Harmon has spoken with a member of the Iowa media since leaving college in 1985.
Over the past two months our guests also have included former Iowa basketball greats Ronnie Lester, Fred Brown and Chad Calabria, current Hawkeye All-America center Luka Garza, and former Iowa star linebacker Chad Greenway.
Former Iowa men’s basketball coach Tom Davis was also a recent guest, along with current Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, who coached under Davis at Iowa.
Our goal is to become your source for Hawkeye athletics by providing quality content at no cost.
So welcome aboard and let’s get started.