What Iowa football’s game day was like for Kirk Ferentz during his suspension

IOWA CITY — Kirk Ferentz’s start to last Saturday morning would not be all that unusual for many active 69-year-olds.

“Actually I had a grandson in the house, so got up, had two scrambled eggs, nothing too dramatic,” Ferentz said.

But for this 69-year-old in Iowa City, his Saturday morning was anything but typical. It was the first time since 1998 that Iowa football had a game and he wasn’t there. (He was out with a one-game self-imposed suspension for NCAA recruiting violations.)

“It’s different watching it on TV,” the 26th-year Iowa football head coach said. “It’s really different. You can see better. That’s one thing. I had a nice surface to write on, which was the second thing. So I guess those are two upgrades.”

Ferentz did not hide his reservations about what made for a “really strange” experience.

“But outside of that, there wasn’t much good about it,” Ferentz said. “It’s sterile, and you’re pretty much helpless. Not that I do a lot during games anyway — I’m not playing — but you have a total feeling of disconnection.”

Ferentz and his wife Mary “talked civilly” as he had to watch his team from his house instead of the stadium.

“She gave me a little distance at halftime,” Ferentz said. “I walked around at halftime, came back, and then I gave a ‘yeah’ or whatever when we made a play. She was sitting about 20 yards away from me.”

Despite Ferentz’s absence, “it all worked out” as the Hawkeyes cruised to a 40-0 win over Illinois State. Assistant head coach Seth Wallace — and, for 24 hours on Saturday, Iowa’s acting head coach — was the one getting water dumped on him in the locker room instead of Ferentz.

“Then it's even stranger after the game because either it's a really good time emotionally or a bad time,” Ferentz said. “And those highs and lows make it really special, so you miss out on all those things.”

Ferentz had not missed any games in his first 25 seasons as Iowa’s head coach. He is the longest-tenured FBS coach and third-oldest FBS coach behind North Carolina’s Mack Brown (73) and UMass’ Don Brown (also 69, but one day older).

“If I were retired, the difference is you’re not invested the way you are if you work here every day or are with the guys every day,” Ferentz said. “The closest thing would be like one of our kids’ games. You’re kind of invested, you’re a parent, but it’s still not the same as when you coach and work with people on a daily basis in a really intimate environment. And that’s what we get to enjoy.”

Ferentz’s suspension was effective at 12:01 a.m. Saturday until 12:01 a.m. Sunday. He went to the team hotel on Friday before leaving that night and sleeping in his Iowa City home.

“It’s over and hopefully something I’ll never experience again,” Ferentz said.

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