Kirk Ferentz Surprises Longtime Hawkeye Columnist with Tribute

The Iowa Hawkeyes beat Michigan State by the skin of their teeth on Saturday in what was a classic, gritty, Big Ten nail-biter. Despite trailing most of the game, the Hawkeyes secured the 20-17 victory after scoring 13 fourth quarter points. For a team favored to win by 17.5 points, the Hawkeyes were precariously close to the most inexcusable loss of the season.

Iowa Hawkeyes football coach Kirk Ferentz no less had tough questions to answer when faced with the media after the game. However, in a move that shows once again he is a man of integrity and pure class, Ferentz carved out some time to mention a longtime newspaper columnist who will soon be out of a job.

The Gazette Will Soon Be Under New Ownership:

Last week, I wrote about the Minneapolis-based Adams MultiMedia will be acquiring a dozen Iowa newspapers, including The Cedar Rapid Gazette. That means a swath of layoffs have and will continue to take place. One of them is longtime Gazette sports columnist Michael Hlas, who has covered the Hawkeyes for nearly 30 years.

Ferentz took time to acknowledge Michael for being a consummate professional and doing his job exceptionally well:

Michael will totally be embarrassed, and that’s good because you get me all the time. Just wanted to do that. I’ll share a quick story with you. First of all, I’ve had great respect for Mike as a journalist for 27 years now. Just think he does really quality work. Quite frankly, I don’t read a lot of stuff — no disrespect there — but I read a lot of his stuff. And I’ve always had great respect for the way he goes about his business, the way he does things - Kirk Ferentz in his post-game press conference, per Awful Announcing

**Michael Hlas' History with The Gazette:**

Michael Hlas' final column with The Gazette is scheduled for November 30th. Saturday's game was his final one at Kinnick Stadium while a writer for the newspaper, ending a run that spans the entire length of Ferentz's tenure as head coach, which started back in 1999.

Hlas has covered Iowa sports for The Gazette for decades, witnessing Big Ten titles, underwhelming seasons, improbable victories, and the gambit of a perennially doubted team that always finds ways to surprise even the most cynical Hawkeye fan. He won a Society of Professional Journalists national award for sports writing in 2009, and a quintessential member of the Iowa sports beat.

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During his tribute to the writer, Ferentz recalled how Hlas traveled to Baltimore (when Kirk was coaching the Ravens) and the two sat down for a conversation. Hlas turned it into what Ferentz called "a really nice piece." Ferentz closed by saying that while he doesn't go out of his way to read coverage of the Hawkeyes, he always appreciated Hlas' work from a professional and personal standpoint.

Little things like this always make me smile. A sports beat writer's job can be a difficult one. If you do it for a long-time, it's almost impossible not to form connections with the coaches and players you cover. And yet, your job must be somewhat objective when covering lopsided losses or what you might perceive as wrongdoings by the very souls with whom you've grown close. Hlas has clearly found a way to navigate the treacherous territory. And for that, he earns Ferentz's respect.

Read more about Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz showing love to Michael Hlas of The Gazette on Awful Announcing's website.