JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
"Q. What was your reaction to the Sports Illustrated article a few weeks ago?
COACH FERENTZ: An honest answer, a coach’s answer: It is what it is. I’d elaborate on that. 18 players were cited. 15 of them were alcohol offenses, which those of us in Iowa City, that’s an issue. I’ll predict it’s going to be an issue from now, 20 years now, just like it was 20 years ago. They were all misdemeanor accounts, which I’m not condoning any of these things. But 15 on alcohol, all being misdemeanors.
I think more importantly, I’ve said this pretty consistently, we typically have more problems with younger players, more issues with younger players, if you will. 11 of those violations took place when players were freshmen, and five more when they were sophomores. That’s 16 out of 18 in those first two years on campus.
I’m not condoning it. I’m just saying college kids and alcohol, it’s been an issue. We know it’s an issue in this town. That’s the impetus behind the 21 rule, which I’m in support of. The other side of the equation, too, of those 25 teams, we were fourth in graduation success rates. We’re proud of that.
Again, I would encourage people to know our players. If you know our players, it’s not like we’ve got in fact, I I’ve got one that lives in our house, one of the 18 that lives in our house. He’s a pretty good kid. I think his mom is a little tough to get along with, but he’s a pretty good kid, so…"
COACH FERENTZ: An honest answer, a coach’s answer: It is what it is. I’d elaborate on that. 18 players were cited. 15 of them were alcohol offenses, which those of us in Iowa City, that’s an issue. I’ll predict it’s going to be an issue from now, 20 years now, just like it was 20 years ago. They were all misdemeanor accounts, which I’m not condoning any of these things. But 15 on alcohol, all being misdemeanors.
I think more importantly, I’ve said this pretty consistently, we typically have more problems with younger players, more issues with younger players, if you will. 11 of those violations took place when players were freshmen, and five more when they were sophomores. That’s 16 out of 18 in those first two years on campus.
I’m not condoning it. I’m just saying college kids and alcohol, it’s been an issue. We know it’s an issue in this town. That’s the impetus behind the 21 rule, which I’m in support of. The other side of the equation, too, of those 25 teams, we were fourth in graduation success rates. We’re proud of that.
Again, I would encourage people to know our players. If you know our players, it’s not like we’ve got in fact, I I’ve got one that lives in our house, one of the 18 that lives in our house. He’s a pretty good kid. I think his mom is a little tough to get along with, but he’s a pretty good kid, so…"
