IOWA CITY -- Late last night, reports surfaced that Kirk Ferentz would face a one-game suspension to start the 2024 season.
In a press conference this afternoon, Ferentz and Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz shared what little details they could about the situation at hand, following a recruiting violation that took place via the transfer portal in December of 2022. He and receivers coach Jon Budmayr will face a one game, self-imposed suspension for the first game of the season against Illinois State, according to the University of Iowa.
"I frequently tell our players to abide by the rules, and in this instance, I did not." Ferentz said in a pre-presser statement. "In 26 years as a head coach at lowa -- and more than four decades as a coach - this is my first potential Level II NCAA infraction. I made a mistake and would like to apologize to our players, University leadership, and our Hawkeye football fans. I know Coach Budmayr echoes those sentiments."
Goetz added a statement to the pre-presser release.
"I appreciate the accountability demonstrated and we will continue to fully cooperate with the NCAA through this process," she said. "I have confidence in Coach Ferentz and his leadership, and we look forward to turning our focus to the opening game and exciting season that lies ahead."
Given the fact that the investigation by the NCAA into the matter is ongoing, there was only so much the duo of leaders could say on the matter -- but Ferentz repeatedly emphasized his desire to take full responsibility for the infraction. He didn't mince words, even in consideration of the current state of college football.
"The world we all live in a lot of things are cloudy and things have changed," he said. "It's a changed environment, and it is continually changing. But there's still a line, and it's no different than football. The goal line is a goal line. First-down line is a first-down line. All the other stuff aside, it's really about a decision I made, and I regret that decision, so there are really no excuses, and that's my job. I'm the head coach."
Ferentz and Goetz declined to discuss much of the timeline, even 20 months later, as they both acknowledged the NCAA's investigation remains open -- and the two both said Thursday that the administration wants to do what it can to move on, even if that means the self-imposed suspension.
"There's a process that's involved," he said. "There's a procedure, and it's not a fast-paced procedure. I'm not being judgmental -- it just takes time. And our goal really is to control the timeline right now. The last thing I want this is to be something to hang over our heads over for the next couple months. We just want to be proactive. I want to move forward."
Without their head coach, receivers coach and bringing along a defensive coordinator who's effectively missing an arm as Phil Parker recovers from recent shoulder surgery, the Iowa coaching staff will be missing a few pieces to start the 2024 season.
Ferentz expressed optimism that the absences won't affect his team's performance against Illinois State in the season opener.
"Everybody's responded really well," Ferentz said of his staff and players. The bottom line is, we've got a really strong program. We've got a great coaching staff, excellent team leadership there, and it's like I told the players -- players win games, not coaches. So we have a job to do. Staff will do a great job. It'll be seamless next Saturday with me not being there. And I've got total confidence in our team. They're going to respond and do a great job."
Though Ferentz will work with the team up through the night of August 30, he won't be allowed on campus for the entirety of Saturday. Assistant head coach Seth Wallace will serve as head coach in his absence.
"I'm confident [Wallace] and the entire staff will do a great job on that," Ferentz said.
