Iowa football faces significant penalties from the NCAA due to recruiting violations classified as tampering during the 2023 season. The infractions include improper contact with a quarterback before his transfer portal entry, leading to vacated records and prior suspensions for the coaching staff.
Iowa football suffers major setback from NCAA stemming from recruiting violations in 2023 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Iowa Hawkeyes took a dent in their football program Tuesday when the NCAA announced they were being punished for recruiting violations during the 2023 season. Of course, this is better known as tampering.
In simplest terms, CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello may have summed up the infractions the best in a recent tweet.
"Iowa's Kirk Ferentz and assistant Jon Budmayr made impermissible contact with a QB before he entered the transfer portal in Nov. 2022," Marcello tweeted. "The NCAA ruled today: tampering occurred. Records from 2023 will be vacated. Ferentz already served a suspension."
As punishment, the Hawkeyes' recruitment of allegedly tamperedĀ former quarterback Cade McNamara was deemed impermissible
Iowa brass disagreed with the NCAA's decision in a statement released by president Bob Wilson and AD Beth Goetz, according to ESPN.
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"We are very disappointed in today's ruling by the Committee on Infractions," the statement read. "Throughout this nearly two-and-a-half-year process, the University has fully cooperated with the NCAA enforcement staff. More importantly, when the facts revealed that violations had taken place, the institution and the head coach publicly accepted full responsibility and self-imposed several significant sanctions, something few others have done. We believe the decision of adding the penalty of the forfeiture of wins is unwarranted. The matter is now closed, and we have moved forward."
Coach Kirk Ferentz chimed in on the matter, too.
"I am disappointed by the NCAA's decision today," Ferentz said. "Throughout the process, our program has been open and honest about my mistake - contacting a potential player in the hours before it was permissible by NCAA rules."
Ferentz, of course, didn't mention McNamara by name.
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"I felt it was important to make amends for the issue, which is why I voluntarily served a one-game suspension to start the 2023 season," Ferentz added. "I believe today's decision by the NCAA vacating four wins in our 2023 season is overly harsh and inconsistent with the violation.
"As I tell our team and staff, it is how you respond and move forward that defines you. Our focus is on the 2026 season and that is how we are moving forward."
Other penalties include a year on probation, a $25,000 fine, and a two-week recruiting ban, to name a few. The biggest one, though, may just be vacating the four wins McNamara earned while ineligible by the NCAA.
As a recall, the Hawkeyes played for the Big Ten title that year before losing to the eventual national champion Michigan Wolverines, 26-0. Taking those four wins away from Iowa's eventual 10-3 season sees it scrape by with a 6-6 cushion (6-7 with the bowl loss).
While still bowl eligible, it's a major asterisk.
With the matter dealt with, Iowa can move on. But it is not without major question marks.
Iowa football was penalized for making impermissible contact with a quarterback before he entered the transfer portal, which the NCAA classified as tampering.
As a result of the NCAA's ruling, Iowa's recruitment of the tampered quarterback is deemed impermissible, and records from the 2023 season will be vacated.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz and assistant coach Jon Budmayr were involved in the recruiting violations that led to the NCAA's tampering ruling.
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