Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz facing one-game suspension for recruiting violation

IOWA CITY, Iowa − Longtime Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz had some big news to share Thursday afternoon. And he wanted to do it in person, not in a press release.

No, the third-winningest coach in Big Ten Conference history who turned 69 earlier this month wasn’t announcing his retirement. But there was another bombshell involving the most well-known person on the university’s campus. And the story didn’t make it until the scheduled 1:30 p.m. press conference.

Ferentz is facing a one-game suspension for an NCAA recruiting violation stemming from the recruitment of the quarterback Cade McNamara, The Athletic reported late Wednesday night. Also suspended for the opener against Illinois State is wide receivers coach Jon Budmayr, who was an analyst for Iowa at the time, according to The Athletic. The Des Moines Register has independently confirmed both suspensions, via multiple people close to the situation, though Ferentz is expected to provide more details later Thursday.

Whether the suspension is coming from the University of Iowa or the NCAA was not clear.

McNamara entered the transfer portal on Nov. 28, 2022, according to reports, as a graduate student. He indicated in a podcast interview last year that he already knew where he was going at that time. He committed to Iowa on Dec. 1. McNamara has said his previous relationship with Budmayr, who is a former quarterbacks coach at Wisconsin, helped bring him to Iowa.

McNamara started Iowa's first five games in 2023 before tearing an ACL Sept. 30, 2023, against Michigan State. He has been engaged in a battle with Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan to start in Iowa's 2024 opener as a sixth-year senior.

So, for the first time since he was hired as Iowa’s head coach in December 1998, Ferentz won’t be patrolling the Hawkeyes’ sideline on a gameday. Ferentz has coached 315 games for Iowa, winning 196 of them – trailing only Woody Hayes (205 wins) and Amos Alonzo Stagg (199) as members of the Big Ten Conference. He passed Bo Schembechler (194) with last year’s 10-win season.

Ferentz had some foresight on this suspension, having announced Seth Wallace, 45, as his first-ever assistant head coach in January while hiking Wallace’s annual pay to $1 million. Wallace, who coaches Iowa’s linebackers and is assistant defensive coordinator, will presumably assume head-coach responsibilities against Illinois State.

Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 29 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter .

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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz facing one-game suspension for recruiting violation