Iowa's head football coach and athletic director both expressed disappointment in the NCAA's Tuesday ruling, and it's hard to blame them.
Whenever a team is hampered with some sort of negative publicity, you'll often see a cheesy, PR-trained response from the affected head coach, general manager, owner, or athletic director.
Criticisms usually follow after such a response, but the response from Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz was very blunt and to the point.
“I am disappointed by the NCAA’s decision today. 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. 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. 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.”
Athletic director Beth Goetz and UI President Barbara Wilson co-issued a similar response.
“We are very disappointed in today’s ruling by the Committee on Infractions. 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.”
We don't often see the so-called "#SassyKirk" side of Ferentz very often, but he's has every reason to be frustrated with what is going on here. Getting Cade McNamara obviously turned out to be a huge mistake and still leaves a poor taste in Iowa's mouth to this day, but Ferentz's frustrations about the matter have long been placed in the rearview mirror.
RELATED STORY: The Cade McNamara Debacle Continues to Get Worse
Ferentz is mad at the NCAA for handing over violations to his program even after he, amongst other penalties, suspended himself for one game. Those violations are included in the column linked above, but the focus here is the NCAA's decision to investigate Iowa instead of actually focusing on important business.
Michigan has basically escaped its almost-annual violations with no punishment, and Penn State, which was mired in one of the worst scandals in the history of sports (no reason to mention what happened), had its once-vacated wins and a four-year bowl ban (only lasted two seasons) reinstated by the NCAA. Outside of the team scandals, the NCAA continues to struggle with managing NIL, the transfer portal, and the completely pointless expansion of the NCAA tournament, which no fan, coach, or player is asking for.
What's the point of tacking on additional violations for the Hawkeyes when they've already admitted their mistakes and given themselves a punishment? No point at all.
You do the crime, you do the time. Iowa served its punishment, and its trouble should be in the past.
Kirk Ferentz has every right to be frustrated with the NCAA.
Looking for a FREE Hawkeyes community?
Don't miss out on our Roundtable community and the latest news! It's completely FREE to join.
Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members. Download the FREE Roundtable APP and stay even more connected!
Missed the Caitlin Clark giveaway?
No problem! Become a FREE HawkeyeRoundtable community member today to have a chance to win future Hawkeye prizes! We'll continue the giveaways throughout the year and may or may not have one coming later this month, so stay tuned!