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Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz will be suspended for the Hawkeyes‘ 2024 season opener against Illinois State in Week 1, as originally reported by The Athletic and confirmed by The Des Moines Register’s Chad Leistikow.
Ferentz’s suspension reportedly stems from a recruiting violation involving quarterback Cade McNamara. The sixth-year quarterback is entering his second season for the Hawkeyes after transferring near the end of the 2022 season from Michigan. He previously had played three seasons for the Wolverines, named a captain and leading them to the 2021 Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff.
Also suspended for Week 1 is receivers coach Jon Budmayr, who at the time of McNamara’s recruitment in November 2022 was a “senior special assistant to the head coach” and offensive analyst, according to his Iowa football bio.
Ferentz will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, where he is expected to provide more details regarding his suspension.
Here’s what to know of Ferentz and Budmayr’s suspension for Week 1:
Why is Kirk Ferentz suspended?
Per reports, Ferentz’s suspension relates to an NCAA investigation into Iowa football recruiting violations regarding McNamara via the transfer portal. Budmayr — who previously recruited McNamara while quarterbacks coach at Wisconsin — was involved with recruiting him out of the transfer portal to Iowa.
At the time Ferentz’s suspension was reported, it wasn’t immediately clear whether it was handed down by Iowa or from the NCAA.
REQUIRED READING: Why did Cade McNamara transfer from Michigan to Iowa? Hawkeye QB’s decision, explained
McNamara entered the NCAA transfer portal Nov. 28, 2022. The next day, both he and Iowa had expressed a mutual interest in each other. On Dec. 1, 2022, he announced his decision via X (formerly known as Twitter), captioning his announcement post with “New Beginning.”
This article originally appeared on Hawk Central: Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz suspended for early recruitment of Cade McNamara