Mark Farley’s extensive reign at Northern Iowa will end after the 2024 season. Farley announced his retirement after 24 seasons as the Panthers’ head coach.
Farley was a member of UNI’s football team from 1982 through 1985 where he garnered all-conference honors in 1983, 1984, and 1985, honorable All-American mentions in 1984 and 1985, and was named the co-Defensive Player of the Year for the then-Gateway Football Conference in 1985. He became an assistant coach the following year and was promoted to linebackers coach in 1989. He remained with the Panthers until 1996 and then went to Kansas from 1997 through 2000.
Farley returned to Cedar Falls in 2001 as the head coach and brought immediate success in the first decade. The Panthers won the conference title 7 times and made the I-AA/FCS Playoffs 7 times between 2001 and 2011 with 6 quarterfinal appearances, 3 semifinal appearances, and a runner-up finish to Appalachian State in the 2005 I-AA National Championship. All 6 seasons that resulted in an I-AA/FCS quarterfinal appearance saw the Panthers win at least 10 games each season. The playoff appearances didn’t stop after the 2011 season for UNI as Farley led them to six more between 2014 and 2021 including two more quarterfinal trips in 2015 and 2019.
Through November 9, 2024, Farley tallied an overall record of 182-111 and 116-65 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 13 FCS playoff appearances, a 17-13 playoff record, and 7 conference championships. Farley also led the Panthers to four I-AA/FCS wins against FBS opponents Ball State (2001) and Iowa State (2008, 2013, 2016). The final two games in Farley’s storied coaching career will be at Youngstown State on November 16 and the season finale will be at home against Indiana State on November 23.
Photo Credit to University of Northern Iowa Athletics
