NCAA Vacates Iowa's Four 2023 Football Wins for Tampering

The NCAA announced on Tuesday that the University of Iowa's football program must vacate four victories from its 2023 season due to impermissible contacts with quarterback Cade McNamara prior to his entry into the transfer portal. The violations occurred in November 2022, when McNamara was still enrolled at Michigan, and involved head coach Kirk Ferentz and assistant coach Jon Budmayr.

According to the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions, Budmayr engaged in 13 phone calls with McNamara or his father and sent two text messages during that period. Budmayr also arranged a call between McNamara and Ferentz, during which the head coach assured the quarterback of a spot on the Iowa team. These communications prompted McNamara to enter the portal days later, leading to his transfer to Iowa. Under NCAA rules, such tampering renders the student-athlete ineligible until reinstated, which affected Iowa's competition records.

McNamara served as Iowa's starting quarterback in the first five games of the 2023 season, helping the Hawkeyes secure a 4-1 record in those contests before suffering a season-ending knee injury. The vacated wins include those against Utah State, Iowa State,...