Kirk Ferentz has faced four Wisconsin coaches throughout his Iowa career as a part of the Heartland Trophy rivalry. That ledge will receive another name this season with the Badgers officially parting ways with head coach Paul Chryst Sunday.

The move was a sudden one and surprising to many across college football. While the Badgers have struggled in recent seasons – particularly since the COVID shortened season of 2020 – Chryst was fired with a 72% winning rate in Madison.

During his Tuesday press conference, Ferentz was asked about the move. He labeled Wisconsin’s move “not surprising but it’s surprising.”

“It’s not surprising but it’s surprising. You think about the success they’ve had, but again, I’m not privy to all the details. I’m not there, so I can’t comment on any one specific.

“I just brought up USC. That one kind of caught me off guard at that point because it was week one or two. That was surprising to me. But you never know what’s going on behind the scenes, so I don’t want to give commentary on one specific situation.”

Outside of the specific situations, Ferentz did hit on the point that college football and the B1G is “in different times” with expansion driven by TV.

“Broad-based, though, it’s kind of like us picking up two schools from the West Coast into the Big Ten. We’re living in different times now, operating in a different world, and we live in a very reactionary world, too, right now. That’s obvious.

“The fact that most of expansion has been driven by TV I believe, at least with that in mind, and I’m going back 10 years there now.

“We basically are in the entertainment industry, and some things come with that, and that’s kind of what we’re seeing. In some ways we’re becoming a little bit more like the NFL. I wish we had the structure of the NFL. That’s one wish I would make, and maybe in the future we will.”