IOWA CITY, Iowa – Brad Heinrichs, CEO of the Iowa Swarm Collective, made a guest appearance on Wednesday’s Hawk Fanatic radio show and podcast.

He updated the progress being made in raising money for name, image and likeness, and he also talked about the obstacles that Iowa still faces.

Heinrichs said more fans are requesting that their money be used for the Iowa women’s basketball team, which has finished as the NCAA runner-up in each of the past two seasons.

He also addressed the circumstances with football and men’s basketball, saying that NIL played a role in convincing multiple players on the Iowa football team’s defense to return next season.

Linebackers Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson, defensive backs Sebastian Castro, Quinn Schulte and Jermari Harris, and defensive lineman Yahya Black all have decided to return for another season as graduate students.

Heinrichs declined to say how much money was given to each student-athlete, but he did acknowledge that NIL played a role in each of their decisions, some more than others.

He also said without being specific that some of the defensive players were offered more NIL money from other schools, but they chose to stay at Iowa, partly due to the culture under head coach Kirk Ferentz and defensive coordinator, Phil Parker.

Heinrichs also said that he expects both the Iowa men’s basketball program and the Iowa women’s basketball program to be active in the portal this spring.

There are reports that Villanova guard Lucy Olsen is considering transferring to Iowa, which has to replace three starters from this past season, including the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, Caitlin Clark.

The 5-foot-9 Olsen averaged nearly 24 points per game this past season.