The NCAA’s committee ruled that four Hawkeyes victories must be wiped from the 2023 record books.
Four wins that Iowa football had long considered safely tucked into its record books are now gone. The NCAA ruled today that the Hawkeyes must erase those victories from the 2023 season, the final consequence of a tampering case that traces back to a phone with a Michigan quarterback on the other end of the line.
The violations center on impermissible contact made in November 2022, when Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and wide receivers coach Jon Budmayr reached out to then-Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara before he had officially entered the transfer portal. According to the NCAA, Budmayr participated in 13 phone calls with McNamara or his father and sent two text messages. Budmayr also arranged a direct phone call between McNamara and Ferentz, during which the head coach reportedly told the quarterback he would have a home in Iowa City. McNamara entered the portal shortly afterward and transferred to Iowa.
The 4 wins Iowa must erase from the record books
The NCAA determined that McNamara was ineligible for four of the five games he started during the 2023 season, ordering Iowa to vacate the following victories:
- Utah State
- Iowa State
- Western Michigan
- Michigan State
Iowa went 4-1 in McNamara’s five starts and finished the full season with a 10-4 record. McNamara’s time with the Hawkeyes was largely defined by injury. He suffered a season-ending knee injury against Michigan State and dealt with further setbacks in 2024 before eventually transferring to East Tennessee State, where he played in the 2025 season.
What the ruling means for Kirk Ferentz
The penalty carries a significant personal cost for Ferentz, who has served as Iowa’s head coach since 1999. His career win total will be reduced from 213 to 209. Despite the drop, he remains the all-time winningest coach in Big Ten history, a milestone the erased wins do not erase entirely.
Beyond the vacated victories, Iowa was placed on one year of probation. The university had already self-imposed several penalties that the NCAA accepted, including one-game suspensions for both Ferentz and Budmayr served at the start of the 2023 season, a $25,000 fine, a reduction of 24 days in recruiting time in 2025 and a two-week ban on football recruiting communication during the 2026 calendar year.
Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz and university president Barb Wilson expressed clear disagreement with the decision to vacate wins, calling the penalty unwarranted. Both officials emphasized that the university cooperated fully throughout the nearly two-and-a-half-year process and that the institution accepted responsibility before any ruling was handed down.
Iowa’s response and what comes next
Ferentz acknowledged his wrongdoing publicly and consistently throughout the process, accepting that his contact with McNamara before the permissible window opened crossed a line. He characterized the vacating of wins as excessive relative to the nature of the violation and made clear that the program’s full attention has shifted to the 2026 season.
The NCAA’s Committee on Infractions did recognize Iowa’s transparency, noting that the willingness of Ferentz and the university to publicly address the conduct and self-impose meaningful consequences set a worthwhile example across college athletics.
For the Hawkeyes, the case is now formally closed. What remains is the quiet but unmistakable weight of four erased wins and a cautionary reminder that in the transfer portal era, even a phone call made hours too early can carry consequences that last far longer than a season.