By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Big Ten football media day will be held Tuesday and Wednesday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and this will mark the 31^st time in a row that I have covered the annual event.

But trust me, I’m not bragging.

I sometimes have left Big Ten media day wondering why I even covered it because it’s usually way more style than substance, and way more promotion than information.

If you don’t believe me, just ask Kirk Ferentz.

One of my funniest exchanges with Kirk Ferentz was when I asked him if he had a favorite moment as the Iowa head coach.

It was at Big Ten media day about 10 years ago, and he gave one of his famous snorts before saying, “yeah, the moment I pull out of the parking ramp and start heading home from this thing.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Kirk’s honesty and humor.

One of my other favorite Big Ten media day moments came at my expense, but it was worth being teased by Hayden Fry like only he could do.

It was in the mid-1990s when the media didn’t have much contact with Fry, or with his players during the summer.

We happened to cross paths in the media hotel in Chicago where the event used to be held each year, and we hadn’t seen each other since the end of spring practice.

Fry looked at me and said, “Pattie, I don’t know what you did this summer, but it obviously wasn’t sit ups.”

Once I finished laughing at myself, I remember thinking, “well, he brings up a good point. Maybe it’s time to shed a few.”

Hayden had way of inspiring you.

Some head coaches thrive in this kind of look-at-me environment, whereas Kirk Ferentz just does what is required from an obligation standpoint and then heads home.

Every coach, even Kirk Ferentz, expresses excitement and optimism at Big Ten media day, but is also quick to say that there is so much work to do and room for improvement.

Of course, there is because it’s late July and practice hasn’t even started.

I don’t want to sound like a party pooper because Big Ten media day has an upside, and the Big Ten is no different than the other Power Five conferences that hold a similar event once a year in July to usher in the season.

It’s all about promoting the conference brand and getting fans, and the media, fired up for another lucrative season of fun and football.

This year’s event certainly won’t be short on topics with USC and UCLA both in the process of joining the Big Ten Conference by 2024, and with name, image and likeness, and the transfer portal, impacting the college sports landscape.

I’ll go out on a limb and predict that each of the 14 head coaches will say how excited they are about USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten, and that adding two fine institutions and two top-notch football programs from Los Angeles will make the conference even stronger on and off the field.

The coaches will also say that NIL is good for the players, but that it needs to be supervised and regulated to prevent some donors from making offers that most schools couldn’t match, or would even want to match.

And as for the transfer portal, my guess is that most of the head coaches will try to do a balancing act by recognizing a player’s right to transfer, while also voicing concern about the situation turning into the Wild, Wild West as so many head coaches like to describe it.

Iowa will be represented on Tuesday by senior tight end Sam LaPorta, senior linebacker Jack Campbell and senior strong safety Kaevon Merriweather.

All three are deserving, and will bring three different personalities and three different stories to tell.

Merriweather is the most outgoing and talkative of the three, at least from my experiences, and he should thrive in this kind of environment.

LaPorta also has a gift for gab, while Campbell chooses his words carefully and seems uncomfortable sometimes talking about himself.

LaPorta and Campbell are ranked among the top players in the country at their position, and with a strong senior season, they both would also have a chance to be ranked among the top 10 players at their position in program history.

A case could certainly be made for senior cornerback Riley Moss to represent Iowa at Big Ten media as the reigning Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year.

But something tells me that Moss has no problem with staying home because it’s hard to think of a current Iowa player who is more positive and friendly than Moss.

The Ankeny native will also have a season full of interviews to talk about himself, and about his team.

The impact from the global pandemic was apparent at last year’s Big Ten media day event as each of the players were seated at a table by themsleves in order to keep some distance from the media.

And though, it was harder to conduct one-on-one interviews under that setpup, to have complained about safety measures being taken would’ve been selfish and short-sighted.

I feel no different a year later as the conference has to do what it feels is in its best interest from a safety standpoint.

Wisconsin and Iowa will likely be picked by the media as the top two teams in the Big Ten West Division, although, Purdue might sneak into the No. 2 spot, while Ohio State and Michigan will almost certainly be picked first and second in the East Division.

Notre Dame will also be part of the discussion on Tuesday and Wednesday with conference expansion a hot topic again.

There is speculation that Notre Dame might be closer to joining a conference full-time in football due to the enormous amount of television revenue that would come from that decision.

And while that might be the case, Notre Dame also seems to be saying that it would prefer to stay as an independent, but that everyone has a price.

Random tribute: Before I wrap up this column, I want to assure Iowa fans that my tweet on Saturday in which I paid tribute to former Iowa trainer and travel coordinator John Streif was just a random tweet.

I posted the tweet after having seen an old photo from 1978 in which I’m standing next to my older brother in the parking lot of Hillcrest dormitory.

My brother was about to start preseason practice as a freshman with the Iowa football team, and the fact that it happened 44 years ago this month, and that Streif had sort of been like a guardian angel for my brother as he battled what would prove to be a career-ending staph infection just one year into his Hawkeye career, caused me to post the tweet.

So, I apologize if my tweet scared anyone because I know how precious John Streif is to fans and to former student-athletes.