Kirk Ferentz has entered a new football season amidst controversy in prior years.
And Football Bowls Subdivision's most-tenured coach has worked through preseason camp through almost every imaginable scenario.
Almost.
Ferentz never has had a preseason camp unfold quite like this, with multiple Hawkeyes's players at the center of an internal audit, as well as an Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations probe into gambling allegations that run the gamut of potentially breaking laws as well as NCAA governance.
"I mentioned the DCI level: That's curious to me only in that I've had a little time to think about it now," Ferentz told reporters at Iowa's annual media day. "There is 49 states by my count that play football, have college universities that play football.
"I think it's interesting that we're the only state I'm aware of, and I think it's interesting more than two colleges in our state [are under DCI investigation]. So it's kind of interesting how that all came about. I'm not excusing anybody that's involved.
"And then also I assume they've maybe had charges against non-athletes, as well. I don't know that. Point there is I don't know a lot of things right now, and we'll deal with what we do know when it's presented to us."
Ferentz, who said he does not gamble, explained that his immediate focus is on the NCAA component as he prepares his team for its 2023 season, which opens at home Sept. 2 against Utah State.
The Hawkeyes travel to Ames, Iowa, to face archrival Iowa State a week later in the battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy.
"As a coach, I'm really more concerned probably about the NCAA rules and where they fit in there in terms of eligibility," said Ferentz, an college head coach for 27 seasons -- the last 24 coming at Iowa. "But, obviously, if their charges are pressed and somebody is convicted, then you deal with that when it comes.
"It's kind of a wait-and-see thing, but we'll just let it unravel as we go."
Ferentz admitted that it was new news to him when additional Hawkeyes players, either from this year's projected roster or the 2022 squad, had faced gambling charges in recent weeks.
As he stressed the importance to maintain the competitive integrity of competition, Ferentz also flatly stated a zero-tolerance policy if any player was proved to have gambled on Iowa games.
"Well, I think the key point there is betting on our games, and to me it's a deal-breaker if that is, in fact, proven to be true," Ferentz told reporters. "We'll deal with that when we get there, but I think as we move forward, I think at least in my opinion, it's been a learning process for me. It's probably time for new policies from the NCAA, and I think they already have addressed that. It's probably time to take another step.
"I think they came out with something early May, late April. I'm not sure that's aggressive enough based on the world we're living in."
As recently as late-June, the NCAA revealed new policies for potential reinstatement of student-athletes as it pertained to gambling violations.
Ferentz, meanwhile, maintained he must balance keeping players involved with the program while also ensuring he is preparing student-athletes with zero availability concerns for the upcoming season.
"The bigger picture I have to consider as a head coach is they may not be here on opening day or whatever," Ferentz said, "and it might be one day, it might be 11, 12 games. None of us know that. You've got to keep that in mind, too.
"Out of fairness to our football team, we have to do what's best for the team, too. So it's kind of a flexible equation, if you will. It's a moving target, and that's where clarity will really help us.
"Right now I don't know that anybody knows facts other than we are dealing with a situation."