The NCAA’s Iowa Tamper Tantrum
The NCAA threw an Iowa tamper tantrum this week. They released the outcome of the Iowa tampering case and it caught my attention. Partly as it involved a Big Ten team but also as it highlights a penalty that doesn’t quite fit anymore.
What Happened?
In November 2022, Iowa assistant coach Jon Budmayr made 13 phone calls and sent two text messages to quarterback Cade McNamara. Cade was in the process of leaving Michigan but had not yet entered the Transfer Portal. Budmayr also arranged for Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz to speak with McNamara directly, reportedly assuring him that he would have a home in Iowa City. A few days later, McNamara entered the Portal and committed to Iowa.
The big issue here is that under NCAA rules, contacting a player before they enter the Portal is a violation called “tampering”.
Why was it a problem?
Iowa had jumped the gun and contacted Cade earlier than they should have, potentially putting other teams who wished to sign him at a disadvantage. As a reminder these are not professional athletes, so they are not under an employment contract as such. Therefore, rules like this are in place to protect both the player, the current school and any prospective schools. If we did not have any such rules, then players could be potentially open for poaching at any time.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhat did the NCAA do?
McNamara went 4-1 as Iowa’s starter in 2023, with wins over Utah State, Iowa State, Western Michigan, and Michigan State. Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in game five.
Iowa self-reported the issue and self-imposed one-game suspensions for both Ferentz and Budmayr at the start of the 2024 season. They also accepted a two-week recruiting communication ban in 2026, a 24-day reduction in recruiting person days, and paid a $25,000 fine.
The NCAA accepted this self punishment but had one more penalty to add, ruling that those four wins earned in 2023 were ineligible and should be vacated. Iowa had finished that season 10-4 overall, so this doesn’t reshape the year entirely, but it does matter. It technically reduces what had been Ferentz’s eighth 10-plus-win season at Iowa to seven.
The Iowa Push Back
Iowa felt that they had played a straight bat in reporting the issue and implementing the self-imposed punishments. As such they took issue with the vacation of records penalty.
University president Barbara Wilson and athletic director Beth Goetz made their frustration plain in a joint statement, saying they believed “the decision of adding the penalty of the forfeiture of wins is unwarranted,” pointing out that full cooperation and public accountability, key factors for the NCAA, had already been demonstrated. Ferentz himself called the outcome “overly harsh and inconsistent with the violation.”
Embed from Getty ImagesWhy does this matter?
The NCAA panel didn’t entirely dismiss the Iowa argument. They acknowledged that vacating wins is an awkward fit for the Portal era as it doesn’t compensate the school that lost the player and punishes players who did nothing wrong.
But they made clear it isn’t their job to change the rule unilaterally, or even as part of an individual hearing. The power to do that sits with the governance committees and member schools through other legislative processes.
The transfer portal is a key part of the modern College Football. It would naïve (at best) of me to say that a little bit of tampering doesn’t happen here and there.
One could argue that reporting of such infractions is low as many are at it. So if others do it, why be cleaner than clean when to do so would put yourself at a disadvantage?
The fact remains that unless you are in the portal, you cannot make contact and a rule was violated. But should wins be vacated for such a crime? Surely it would be better to provide compensation to those impacted?
Adequate Compensation?
There are really two potential victims of this infraction. Firstly, the school whose player was tampered and secondly the schools that may have potentially wanted to sign him.
For the former, you do wonder whether financial compensation is appropriate. Especially if a player is prised away from a school (in this case it sounds like Cade was leaving Michigan anyway).
I don’t know how you solve the impact on potential recruiters. It appears an opportunity cost that cannot be quantified.
In 2026, where money talks as loud as it does in college football, financial compensation seem most appropriate.
What comes next?
It seems to me that whilst the transfer portal system is setup the way it is, tampering will exist in one form or another. The answer therefore is not just to amend the penalties and tamper rules but to look more holistically at the portal.
Iowa is unlikely to be the last program caught up in an NCAA tampering tantrum. The vacated wins did not alter anything material but for the next team it might. Then the lawsuits will start again.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe NCAA did signal an appetite to review this area, through the correct channels. Let’s hope it is not lost on the list of things that need reviewing in the sport.
For Iowa, they will hold their heads high. They made a mistake (or got caught) but stood up publicly to accept responsibility. Coach Kirk Ferentz, who has been Head Coach of Iowa for 26 years, took full accountability, and they will move forward into this season fully focussed on replacing the 10 plus win season.
