[IOWA CITY, Iowa] — The University of Iowa football program has been penalized by the NCAA for making illegal contact with a transfer player before he was allowed to be recruited.
The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions found Iowa committed Level II violations when staff members contacted a student-athlete and his father before the player entered the transfer portal. The player later transferred to Iowa and competed while ineligible.
The NCAA report does not directly name the student-athlete involved in the incident, but previous coverage confirms that it was Cade McNamara, who transferred from the University of Michigan to the University of Iowa prior to the 2023 football season. Then-analyst Jon Budmayr and head coach Kirk Ferentz made the prohibited contact.
The NCAA cited the need for competitive equity and adherence to established rules in upholding the penalties. Iowa disputed the vacation of records penalty, but the NCAA panel upheld it.
Ferentz issued a statement saying he was disappointed by the NCAA’s decision.
“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 said.
“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,” he said. “I believe today’s decision by the NCAA vacating four wins in our 2023 season is overly harsh and inconsistent with the violation.”
Ferentz said the team is focused on moving forward. “As I tell our team and staff, it is how you respond and move forward that defines you,” Ferentz said. “Our focus is on the 2026 season and that is how we are moving forward.”
University of Iowa President Barb Wilson and Athletics Chair Beth Goetz also expressed disappointment in a joint statement.
“Throughout this nearly two-and-a-half-year process, the University has fully cooperated with the NCAA enforcement staff,” they said.
“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,” Wilson and Goetz said. “We believe the decision of adding the penalty of the forfeiture of wins is unwarranted.”
The penalties also include one year of probation, a $25,000 fine, and recruiting restrictions.
