The Iowa Hawkeyes fell victim to illegal recruiting violations that are going to result in them losing five of their 2023 victories.
The Iowa Hawkeyes will have four wins from their 2023 season vacated after it was uncovered that they violated the NCAA's recruiting rules in 2022.
The investigation was around the recruitment of Cade McNamara, who was a member of the Michigan Wolverines at the time of his recruitment. According to reports, Iowa assistant coach Jon Budmayr sent 13 text messages and one phone call to McNamara outside of the window that they were allowed to recruit in.
The result? a pretty hefty punishment.
- One year probation
- $25,000 fine
- Two week ban of all football recruiting (self imposed)
- 24 day reduction of in person recruiting days
- Vacating four victories from 2023
- One game suspension for both Kirk Ferentz and Budamyr
This is a pretty intense result for what appeared to be a modest infraction. The follow-up question that simply cannot be avoided: What does this signal for the future of college football?
This infraction occurred during this current NIL and transfer portal period, which is overall confusing for everyone involved. No one really knows what is going on, and many people are just riddled with confusion.
If Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes are making mistakes, what happens when mistakes, either accidental or intentional ar uncovered at other programs? This is one heck of a precedent that the NCAA has set with this ruling.
This isn't to say that Ohio State should be concerned about anything because there is no reason at all to believe that they have broken any rules, but this precedent seems aggressive.
It also came down on the same day that Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore's charges were dropped after his affair resulted in him chasing and potentially stalking a person while threatening them with a butter knife. An insane story that resulted in zero punishment, while 13 text messages resulted in five vacated victories.
The NCAA's rulings continue to be puzzling, and you just simply never know what they are going to decide. To say that their decisions are all random would be an understatement. Michigan was proven to be cheating during football games, but had zero wins vacated.
None of it makes sense, and as the Buckeyes continue to learn how to navigate this era of college football, this is a reminder to make sure the rules are followed to the best of their ability so that they don't fall victim to something this silly.
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