Just prior to Big Ten Media Days, The Iowa athletic department shared a release briefly detailed the fact that senior defensive tackle Noah Shannon has been involved in the school’s sports gambling investigation.
Within the announcement, Shannon shared that he would not be attending Big Ten Media Days.
“I didn’t anticipate it being a big deal, but [Noah] just didn’t feel comfortable,” Ferentz said at Tuesday’s event. “We as coaches were pretty much out of all this, other than some information we got. It’s really about the law firm that’s working with the players and the NCAA, so information has been pretty sporadic.”
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As Ferentz revealed during the day, Shannon is not the lone Hawkeye football player involved in the investigation.
“Long story short, he just didn’t feel comfortable because he is under investigation, as are several other guys,” he said of Shannon and other players later in the day. Earlier in the day, Ferentz indicated that “it’s not a large number of players” involved in the gambling investigation.
No information about the other players involved in the investigation was provided by Ferentz.
Of note, Shannon was included on the cover of Iowa’s newly released media guide, and his name is listed first on the depth chart released earlier today.
“Long story short, we don’t really know what the outcome is gonna be,” Ferentz added. “I don’t know [if our players are going to have to miss games]. I don’t even want to project. We’ll see what they come up with. It could be a range of things. It could be education for the players, it could be suspensions. We don’t know. We’ll just deal with whatever it is when it comes forward.”
Despite the unknown, Iowa’s head man remains optimistic.
“I’m very hopeful that the NCAA is going to take his opportunity to re-examine their approach going forward much like they’ve done with drug testing,” Ferentz continued. “Marijuana is legal in how many states. You know what I mean? I’m not supporting marijuana usage either, but I think we’ve got to be reasonable about how we do this. Whether it’s drug usage, betting, or a lot of things, I think the best thing to do is be proactive educationally. That’s how I feel about it.”
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“There’s 49 states — I don’t think there’s college football in Alaska — but there’s 49 states where there are. I promise you the guys in our investigation and at the other school (Iowa State) aren’t the only ones who could be in that investigation. So, let’s acknowledge it, let’s admit what is, and let’s figure out how to approach it intelligently moving forward.”
Ultimately that hope has Ferentz looking to August as a potential end date to the investigation so the program can indeed move forward.
“I’d be throwing darts [by naming a date it ends], but obviously we’re hopeful it’s earlier in August than later,” he said. “But, I have no idea what the process is upfront. It’s pretty much out of our hands at this point.”
The Rosemount High School Marching Band is celebrating a big victory from a competition earlier this fall. In late September they took home the Class AAA Championship trophy at the Bands of America regional competition in Waukee, Iowa. Members of the band joined the FOX 9 Morning News to talk about the win and share how they are getting ready for another big competition this weekend at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are coming off of a 35-7 thumping at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and while a loss to Ohio State was expected, it was how Iowa lost that has Hawkeyes fans livid.
Iowa’s offense was absolutely lifeless, Cade McNamara looked lost and head coach Kirk Ferentz did not seem to have any answers.
Not only that, but Ferentz doubled down on McNamara remaining the starter after the game, saying that the quarterback actually showed improvement.
That’s why Ferentz’s reputation may actually be on the line when the Hawkeyes face the Washington Huskies this Saturday.
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Iowa is just 3-2 on the season, as it also lost to the Iowa State Cyclones back in Week 2. A loss to Washington would drop the Hawkeyes to .500, and it would add more fuel to the “fire Ferentz” discussion that has been smoldering.
The Huskies are a new addition to the Big Ten and just beat the Michigan Wolverines, and while Michigan has not been as good as expected, Washington is no joke.
However, make no mistake: Iowa needs to beat these guys.
Here is the thing: barring a catastrophic remainder of the 2024 campaign at Iowa City, the Hawkeyes aren’t canning Ferentz. The man is under contract through 2029 on a hefty salary. It isn’t happening.
But Ferentz’s reputation is a different story.
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The 69-year-old has been at the helm for Iowa since 1999 and is highly respected by the fans, but patience is running thin.
Last year, the Hawkeyes played three ranked opponents and lost by a total score of 92-0. They also just got destroyed by Ohio State. The Iowa fan base is tired with being second-best, and at this point, that is all Ferentz has offered them.
Sure, Iowa does not have the cachet or prestige of schools like Ohio State, Michigan or Alabama. It typically won’t land the very best recruits as a result. But the Hawkeyes’ inability to even put together respectable offenses over the years does reflect poorly on Ferentz, who is the longest-tenured coach in the country.
And Iowa fans are sick of it.
The Hawkeyes absolutely need to beat the Huskies this Saturday. Iowa should be better than Washington, and at some point, the Hawkeyes are going to have to display that they can consistently beat good teams.
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Is all of the Ferentz criticism deserved? No, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that all of it is completely unfounded.
Ferentz can provide some nice pushback to all of the naysayers with a Week 7 win over Washington. Or, he can give fans more reason to complain with a loss.
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