Iowa's Football Parents Head To Chicago

They are meeting with others from around the Big Ten on Friday in an attempt to talk with commissioner Kevin Warren and get some answers.

Within the past 2 1/2 weeks, the Big Ten released a revised football schedule, postponed the season, and sent out an open letter from commissioner Kevin Warren solidifying its stance on no fall sports.

For the most part, Warren has remained silent, aside from those three instances. Teams, coaches, players, and their families have been left in the dark with questions.

And that’s why numerous Iowa football parents are headed to Rosemont, Illinois, Friday morning in an attempt to meet with Warren.

“This isn’t about dragging Kevin Warren’s name through the mud,” Mark Moss, father of Iowa cornerback Riley Moss, said. “It’s really about those goals — answers to our questions, more transparency, and reconsidering the season.”

Moss said he isn’t able to attend Friday’s gathering, but Rodney Nixon (father of Iowa defensive lineman Daviyon Nixon) will be there.

“After I read that letter Mr. Warren sent out, my heart just dropped,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Do I really want to go?'" Nixon said. "I thought for a second. I always tell my kids, ‘Don’t ever take no for an answer.’ You just keep going until you can’t go any further. I decided I am going to go, and I’m going to keep going until I can’t go any further. If we keep pushing back, hopefully something will bend.”

Those desires are seemingly universal across the board with Iowa football families. Parents have no idea on what sort of eligibility their sons will have, what a spring season will look like, or when the new preseason will begin.

Iowa football parents penned this letter to Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren Thursday, rejecting his open letter from Wednesday / Iowa football parents

Parents want to know what sort of testing protocols will be in place, too, as there’s little consistency across the board.

“From what I understand, Iowa’s leading the way in protocol testing for COVID-19. I’m just wondering why can’t we get those schools on board to test the way the University of Iowa tests?” Nixon asked. “If you’re in the Big Ten Conference, you should have the same thing Iowa has.”

Both Nixon and Moss believed their sons were more than safe this fall after a Zoom meeting with athletics director Gary Barta, head coach Kirk Ferentz, and the Iowa training/medical staff days before the Big Ten postponed fall sports.

“I would have never sent my kid there if I didn’t trust Coach Ferentz and his staff,” Nixon said. “I wouldn’t have ever let him go. I trust them 150%.”

Barta, Ferentz, and the football staff spoke to parents, explaining their protocols and opening the floor for any questions.

“Most of us parents got off the call and were really excited,” Moss said. “We were told that all 14 universities are on the same page on this, and that we can make this work.”

It wasn’t necessarily a bubble like professional leagues utilized, but Iowa football was on track to replicate one as close as possible.

Spending most of their time around each other in the same facility, there was a slim chance for the virus to spread inside if the athletes took the proper precautions.

“When the decision was made to postpone the season, our student-athletes, they became just like all the other thousands of kids on campus,” Moss said. “They’ve been put in a less-safe environment than they were in. They were committed to staying away from non-football players.”

Other conferences believe in their preventative measures, as the ACC, Big 12, and SEC are slated to proceed as scheduled, which digs up even more questions.

“If other conferences can do it, why can’t our conference do it?” Nixon asked. “That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Iowa State, which resides in the Big 12 (and is less than 140 miles from Iowa City), is set to kick off its season on Sept. 12, but all Iowa football can do is watch.

“Take that a step further in the state of Ohio,” Moss said. “They approved high school football. They’re going to have two NFL teams in that state playing professional football. But Ohio State isn’t going to play? It’s baffling to us.”

One thing is certain: the parents want answers. That’s their message when they head to the Big Ten office Friday.

They feel as though they (and the rest of the conference, for that matter), have been left in silence since the Big Ten’s postponement on Aug. 11.

“When you make an announcement like that, you get one change to do it,” Moss said. “You better have your ducks in a row and you better give people enough information… if you don’t give people enough information, they fill in the blanks with their own ideas.”

Friday's meeting isn’t a protest, as Gary Koerner (defensive back Jack Koerner’s father) pointed out on Twitter.

It’s not a protest. The goal is a meeting.

— Gary Koerner (@koerner_gary) August 18, 2020

The parents don’t need to agree with Warren, so long as their questions have honest responses.

“The goal for (Friday) is to get some questions answered, to get an understanding of why the season was postponed, and hopefully to plead a case, to see if we could get something to talk about,” Nixon said. “We know it may take a minute to get things reversed, but you never know what may happen. If we get together and put our heads together, maybe we can give them an understanding of where we’re coming from and what our desires are and what our thoughts are through this whole process.”

For additional content, follow Adam Hensley on Twitter @A_Hens83.