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Mark Farley retiring as UNI football coach
The “walk-on from Waukon” is the winningest coach in UNI and MVFC history
J.R. Ogden
Nov. 10, 2024 4:17 pm
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CEDAR FALLS — The “walk-on from Waukon” is calling it a career.
Mark Farley, Northern Iowa’s head football coach since 2001, announced Sunday he will retire at the end of the season. The Panthers are 2-8 and the midst of an eight-game losing skid.
They play at Youngstown State on Saturday and close the season Nov. 23 at home against Indiana State.
“It has been a great honor to be part of the Panther family for over 40 years,” Farley said in a news release. “For me, UNI football has always been about setting a standard that goes beyond the game. It has been about a legacy of resilience, pride, hard work and excellence.
“Watching our players grow into leaders and champions on and off the field and carry that standard with them beyond the football field has been the greatest reward of my career.”
Farley is the winningest football coach in UNI and Missouri Valley Football Conference history with 182 victories. His teams won seven MVFC championships and he was twice named MVFC Coach of the Year, as well as the 2007 FCS National Coach of the Year.
He has compiled a 182-111 overall record in 24 seasons, including a 116-65 mark in MVFC play.
“I’m grateful for every player, coach and supporter who has shared in this journey,” Farley said. “Together we have built a program that strengthens character and challenges players to go beyond what they thought possible.”
A native of Waukon, Farley joined the Panthers as a walk-on linebacker in 1982. He led the team in tackles in his final three seasons and was the 1985 MVFC Co-Defensive Player of the Year before embarking on his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Darrell Mudra in 1987, then working under Earle Bruce in that same capacity in 1988. He was promoted to linebackers coach under Terry Allen in 1989, beginning the program’s rise to national prominence.
After spending four years with Allen at the University of Kansas, Farley returned to Cedar Falls as head coach in 2001.
UNI athletics director Megan Franklin said a national search will begin to fill the position.
“Coach Farley has a heart for the university,” Franklin said in the release.
“Mark Farley's tremendous legacy at UNI has been built on hard work and tenacity, characteristics that define him and his teams,” UNI President Mark Nook said in the release.
Farley, along with Nook, will hold a news conference Monday.
Comments: jr.ogden@thegazette.com