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Nebraska Football Rival Coach Reportedly Suspended for Recruiting Violations

The Iowa Hawkeyes will be without their head coach for their season opener due to an NCAA violation regarding the recruitment of their quarterback, Cade McNamara.
Austin Jacobsen|
Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz calls his players over late in the game against Nebraska on Friday, Nov. 29, 2019, at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb
Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz calls his players over late in the game against Nebraska on Friday, Nov. 29, 2019, at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb | Bryon Houlgrave/The Register, Des Moines Register via Imagn Content Services, LLC

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Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Iowa Hawkeyes will start their season without their coach leading them onto the field.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has reportedly been suspended for NCAA recruitment violations regarding its starting quarterback Cade McNamara. The suspension will only cover the Hawkeyes' season opener against Illinois State on Aug. 31.

According to 247Sports, the program is under investigation, but it is unclear whether the punishment levied against Ferentz was handed down by the NCAA or self-imposed by the school.

Wide receivers coach Jon Budamyr has also been suspended for the contest.

McNamara joined the Hawkeye program in December of 2022 out of the transfer portal after a stint with Michigan. The former Wolverine had been beat out by eventual national championship winning quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He started the opening five games for Iowa last season before he was sidelined with a knee injury, ending his 2023 campaign.

Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Cade McNamara (12)
Sep 30, 2023; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Cade McNamara (12) sits on the ground after suffering an injury during the first quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Kinnick Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Ferentz enters his 26th season leading Iowa as the current longest-tenured coach in college football. The Iowa coach will meet with the media this afternoon.

Nebraska and Iowa will face off at the end of the regular season in Iowa City for a Black Friday night game at Kinnick Stadium.

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Austin Jacobsen
AUSTIN JACOBSEN

Austin Jacobsen is a radio broadcaster and former Sports Director in Central Nebraska. He has seen the Cornhusker state from all corners; growing up in the Panhandle, completing his college degree in Kearney, working in the rural Sandhills, and now residing in Omaha. Austin is a statewide, regional, and national radio award winner and can usually be found at a high school football field on Friday nights and tuning in to the Huskers wherever they travel. If he is not on the road, Austin enjoys movie dates with his girlfriend and their dog, Ava.

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