The University of Iowa has agreed to pay $400,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging the university has been violating its obligation under Title IX to provide opportunities for female athletes, the Gazette reported on Wednesday afternoon. As part of the settlement, UI will also hire a sports law expert to monitor the Athletics Department’s compliance […]
University of Iowa Athletics
University of Iowa is adding a women’s wrestling team
The University of Iowa Athletics Department announced on Thursday morning it is adding a women’s wrestling program. The department anticipates the women wrestlers to begin competing in the 2023-24 season, according to a news release. UI Athletics said the addition would make it “the first NCAA Division I, Power Five conference institution to offer the […]
In Kinnick there will be beer, UI Athletics announces
There may be no beer in heaven (more on that in a moment), but there will be in Kinnick Stadium when the Hawkeyes kick off the 2021 football season against the redundantly named Indiana Hoosiers on Sept. 4. There’ll be wine, too. The University of Iowa Athletics Department announced on Thursday morning it is launching […]
Despite pandemic deficit, Kirk Ferentz collected full salary, bowl-game bonus for 2020
As the University of Iowa Athletics Department was facing a massive financial shortfall due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020, a number of the department’s employees accepted, voluntarily or otherwise, reduced salaries and bonuses. Among these employees were head coach of men’s basketball Fran McCaffrey (who volunteered for a $255,000 salary cut), […]
Left to ‘completely rebuild’ their team after COVID cuts, UI women swimmers are taking the university to task over Title IX
There were “mixed emotions” when University of Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta met with the women’s swimming and diving team on Feb. 15 to let them know their program, which the university had cut on Aug. 21, would be fully reinstated. While there was excitement and optimism over the news, there was also frustration over […]
University of Iowa reverses course and reinstates women’s swimming and diving program
The University of Iowa announced on Monday afternoon it is “fully reinstating women’s swimming and diving as an NCAA and Big Ten Conference program.” The decision came almost six months after UI announced the program would be cut after the end of the season, and seven weeks after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction […]
Kirk Ferentz tests positive for COVID-19
Hawkeye football Head Coach Kirk Ferentz has tested positive for COVID-19 and “will remain home until Dec. 27,” the University of Iowa Athletics Department announced in a statement on Friday morning. According to UI Athletics, Ferentz tested positive using a rapid antigen test on Thursday morning, and the results were confirmed by a PCR test. […]
Iowa Republican leaders join President Trump in trying to pressure the Big 10 into resuming fall football season
The Republican leaders of the Iowa Legislature sent a letter to Big 10 Commissioner Kevin Warren, asking him to restore the conference’s fall football system, which was canceled due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. “Just last month, under your leadership, the Big Ten released updated and enhanced testing, quarantine and isolation policies,” Speaker […]
University of Iowa cuts swimming and diving programs, men’s gymnastics and tennis, citing COVID-19 losses
On Friday afternoon, University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld and Director of Athletics Gary Barta released a statement containing “some extremely difficult news.” Harreld and Barta said that due to COVID-19 financial losses in the Athletics Department, four of the university’s 24 intercollegiate varsity sports programs will be cut: men’s and women’s swimming and diving, […]
Big 10 to cancel fall football season, despite Iowa voting to play
The Big 10 Conference has decided to cancel all football games scheduled for the fall as precaution against COVID-19 spread, sources familiar with conference deliberations report. According to the Associated Press, university presidents and chancellors from the Big 10’s 14 schools held a previously unscheduled meeting on Sunday night to vote on whether to move […]
UI says it won’t test students moving into residence halls for COVID-19, announces five more cases in Athletics Department
The University of Iowa announced on Monday it will not test students for COVID-19 before they move into residence halls. “Poorly administered mass testing can result in damaged or inconclusive results and excessive false negative,” the university said. In a statement posted on its COVID-19 information page, UI said that although such testing “may provide […]
UI Athletics suspends men’s basketball workouts after two players test positive for COVID-19
The University of Iowa Athletics Department announced on Tuesday it is suspending workouts for its men’s basketball team after two players tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. This is the first time the department has suspended activities in one of its programs because players have tested positive for the virus. UI Athletics began recalling athletes […]

