Iowa Football Coach Kirk Ferentz Tests Positive For COVID-19

Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the University of Iowa Sports Information Department.

The release from Iowa states that the Iowa head coach tested positive after his rapid antigen test Thursday morning. It was a regularly-scheduled test. Ferentz also had a PCR test, which confirmed he is positive for the coronavirus. He is asymptomatic. Ferentz will remain home until Sunday, December 27, and will participate in upcoming practices, which will begin again on Tuesday, via Zoom. Iowa's coaches, staff members, and players are all tested on a daily basis, part of protocols put in place by the Big Ten Conference.

The news of Ferentz's positive COVID-19 diagnosis comes the day before Iowa was supposed to play the Michigan Wolverines at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. The Saturday night game was canceled on Tuesday because of a continuing coronavirus outbreak in the Michigan Wolverines football program. Due to the cancellation, and it being finals week at Iowa, Hawkeye football players were given the week off.

In the Friday morning release, Ferentz stated,

We have been fortunate this season to have played eight games and to have very few positive cases. When the team returns to practice on Tuesday, I will participate via zoom and our collective focus will be on preparing for the bowl game.

What bowl game, the date, and destination will all be revealed this weekend. The Hawkeye football team will learn what bowl game it will be playing in, the program's eighth straight bowl game appearance, Sunday afternoon.