The Iowa Hawkeyes football program has been hit with NCAA sanctions, including a one-year probation, a $25,000 fine, and the vacating of four wins from the 2023 season. The penalties, announced Tuesday, resolve an infractions case centered on the recruitment of quarterback Cade McNamara.

The NCAA found that tampering violations occurred in 2022 when head coach Kirk Ferentz and assistant Jon Budmayr made impermissible contact with McNamara while he was still enrolled at Michigan and had not yet entered the transfer portal. The investigation determined that Budmayr also communicated with McNamara's father prior to the quarterback's portal entry.

As part of the resolution, Coach Ferentz acknowledged violating head coach responsibility rules due to his awareness and personal involvement. Both Ferentz and Budmayr served a one-game suspension for the 2024 season opener against Illinois State. The program also self-imposed a two-week ban on all recruiting communications earlier this year.

The core of the violation involved a series of 13 phone calls and two text messages between Budmayr and McNamara or his father in November 2022. Budmayr arranged for McNamara to speak directly with Ferentz, who assured the quarterback he would have a home at Iowa. McNamara subsequently entered the transfer portal and joined the Hawkeyes.

McNamara started the first five games of the 2023 season before a season-ending injury. As a result of the sanctions, Iowa must vacate its 2023 victories over Utah State, Iowa State, Western Michigan, and Michigan State.

In a statement, Coach Ferentz expressed disappointment with the NCAA's decision, calling the penalty "overly harsh and inconsistent with the violation." He noted that he had voluntarily served a suspension to start the 2023 season to make amends for his mistake in contacting a player before it was permissible under NCAA rules.