Iowa punished for tampering with ex-QB Cade McNamara

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Iowa punished for tampering with ex-QB Cade McNamara

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Apr 14, 2026 2:48 PM ET

The Iowa Hawkeyes have been forced to vacate multiple wins due to illegally tampering with former quarterback Cade McNamara.

The NCAA announced Tuesday that Iowa would face punishment for “impermissible contacts with a student-athlete who was enrolled at another NCAA school at the time and who had not yet entered the NCAA Transfer Portal.” Coach Kirk Ferentz and assistant coach Jon Budmayr were in contact with the unidentified player over a dozen times before the player entered the transfer portal.

The timing of the violations suggests the player was McNamara, who played for the Michigan Wolverines before transferring to Iowa for the 2023 season.

The most significant punishment for Iowa is having to vacate all records in games McNamara played in. That takes four wins off Ferentz’s and Iowa’s records.

Iowa is forced to vacate 2023 wins in which the player it allegedly tampered with (Cade McNamara) participated in.

By my count, that would be:

Utah State
Iowa State
Western Michigan
Michigan State https://t.co/uGlJIrtl4F
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) April 14, 2026

Ferentz had previously been suspended over his recruitment of McNamara. That was considered part of the NCAA punishment that has already been fulfilled.

McNamara was a big get for Iowa at the time, but it did not work out. He suffered a season-ending injury a little over a month into the campaign. Now, to make matters worse, he was part of the reason the school will have to take a modest punishment from the NCAA.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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