Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz will return in 2026 for his 28th season

Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, the winningest coach in Big Ten history, said Wednesday that he will be back on the sideline for a 28th season in 2026.

Ferentz, 70, guided Iowa to an 8-4 regular-season record with the Hawkeyes’ bowl destination to be learned Sunday. It will be Iowa’s 12th bowl game in the last 13 years and 22nd of Ferentz’s tenure.

“I feel good physically,” Ferentz said Wednesday at a recruiting day press conference. “I’ve got permission from my wife to keep doing this. And it’s what I like doing. I really enjoy doing it. … I don’t envision stopping any time in the near future. It’s what I do. I don’t golf, and when I did, I stunk. So I don’t see going back to that.”

Ferentz, who is the longest-tenured coach in major college football, said his age does come up during the recruitin