Recruiting violations from 2022 are coming back to haunt the Hawkeyes in a big way.
In August 2024, Kirk Ferentz addressed the media and athletic director Beth Goetz to talk about a recruiting misstep he made in 2022. He mentioned that in 26 years, he had never received a violation, but made a mistake that he won't make again.
Iowa self-reported the incident and imposed sanctions on Ferentz and the program, but the final outcome of the case is not what fans or the program wanted to hear.
Iowa will vacate four wins from the 2023 season
The program felt that it went above and beyond what was required to absolve itself following the recruiting violation, and imposed the following sanctions:
- One-game suspension for Kirk Ferentz an Jon Budmayr (completed in 2024)
- $25,000 fine
- a 24-day reduction period for recruiting, including two weeks where Ferentz cannot engage in off-campus recruiting (2025)
- A two-week ban on any recruiting communication (2026)
The case has been ongoing since 2022, but after it recently wrapped up, the NCAA slapped Iowa with an even bigger penalty for tampering violations centered around quarterback Cade McNamara.
Tampering violations occurred in Iowa football program; Football head coach and assistant coach previously resolved their respective violations.https://t.co/O7ETKPVWTY
— NCAA News (@NCAA_PR) April 14, 2026
The NCAA ruled that, since McNamara should have been ineligible in 2023 and reinstated in 2024, the program will vacate the four wins he was involved in during 2023, before he was injured.
Not only will the program vacate four wins, but they will have be placed on probation for one year.
The decision came as a surprise to many within the organization, including Kirk Ferentz himself, who thought they had made amends.
In a statement, Ferentz called the judgment by the NCAA "overly harsh" and "inconsistent with the violation.
He also stressed that how they respond and what they do next will define them, and the program's full attention is on the 2026 season.
For Ferentz, his win total now sits at 209 instead of 213, but the case is now officially closed.
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