Mark Farley
Head Coach
Farley enters his 24th season in 2024 as head coach as the winningest coach in UNI and Missouri Valley Football Conference history with 180 wins, including 17 playoff victories, the UNI record for postseason coaching victories (17-13).
Farley has led the Panthers to a mark of 180-103 in his 23 years at the helm of the program, second-most all-time among all active FCS coaches. In Missouri Valley Football Conference play, he has guided the Panthers to a record of 116-59 for an impressive .663 winning percentage. Farley is the MVFC’s all-time coaching wins leader.
Under the helm of Coach Farley, the Panthers have won at least a share of seven MVFC titles. UNI has had 13 playoff appearances, advancing to the quarterfinals (2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019), semifinals (2001, 2008) and the national title game (2005). Farley’s teams have finished in the top-25 final rankings 16 times. The Panthers defeated 92 top-25-ranked foes under Farley.
In 2023, the Panthers recorded their 29th all-time win over a top-10 team with a 27-0 victory over no. 9 North Dakota inside the UNI-Dome. UNI finished the season as one of the top passing offenses in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with the league’s second-best passing offense and a mark of 268.2 passing yards per game. Commanded by the league’s top passer, Theo Day ranked first in the MVFC with 261.5 passing yards per game and a second-best mark of 14.03 yards per completion. On the other side of the pass was the MVFC’s leading receiver Sam Schnee with 1,041 yards, the seventh-best mark in the nation. The 2023 season saw the final year of possibly the best kicker on the FCS stage in Matthew Cook. Cook finished the season as one of the nation’s top field goal kickers with a nation-high 1.73 field goals per game with a 90.5% field goal percentage, the fourth-best in the nation. He finished the season with UNI’s all-time scoring record as well as the record for PATs in a career. Cook and defensive lineman Khristian Boyd were named to multiple All-American lists while three other Panthers, including Cook and Boyd, were named to the All-MVFC First Team.
In 2022, despite a tough start to the season with one of the toughest schedules in the country, the Panthers won six of their final eight games, including a thrilling one-point win at No. 20 Southern Illinois on a critical defensive stop at the one-yard line. UNI commanded the most efficient offensive in the MVFC with a top-15 passing attack of 288.5 passing yards per game, and the fourth-best third down conversion unit in the nation (52%). Kicker Matthew Cook and defensive back Benny Sapp III both earned multiple All-American honors, while quarterback Theo Day was named First Team All-MVFC.
2022 marked a historic first for the UNI program as Trevor Penning became the first Panther to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, picked 19th overall by the New Orleans Saints. Isaiah Weston was picked up by the Cleveland Browns as a free agent. Jared Brinkman was named the MVFC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.
Farley was named the 2007 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year and the 2007 Schutt Sports Coach of the Year. He also was honored as the 2001 AFCA FCS Region 3 Coach of the Year and was twice named the MVFC Coach of the Year.
Farley took the helm of the UNI program in 2001 and immediately made an impact, taking UNI to the playoffs for the first time in five seasons, but it wasn’t a surprise to those who knew “The Walk-on from Waukon.”
In 1982, he walked on to the team, redshirting that first season. He received the Special Team Award his second year then became a starting inside linebacker in year three. He earned honorable mention all-America honors twice, was named MVFC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, was selected a team co-captain, and was named a two-time academic all-American. He led the team in tackles three consecutive years. During Farley’s three years as a starter, UNI compiled a 27-7-1 record and advanced to the 1985 FCS semifinals.
Farley went straight from a player to a graduate assistant for two years under Coach Mudra and then was elevated to a full-time assistant. Between 1987 and 1996, he was the position coach for such former UNI stars as Bryce Paup, James Jones, William Freeney, and Andre Allen. Paup and Jones went on to play in the NFL, of course, while Allen and Freeney played in the Arena League and CFL. Four times Farley’s players were named league Defensive Players of the Year.
In total, he coached five UNI all-Americans and 22 all-conference selections the first time around on staff. That segment had an NCAA average ranking of sixth from 1989-1993, with two second-place statistical rankings. He also served as the team’s Strength and Speed Coordinator. He was a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a Certified Level 1 Coach of the U.S. Weightlifting Federation. He designed and coordinated the reconstruction of UNI’s strength facility and implemented individualized computer weight training programs.
With the success of individual players, the Panther program grew into a national power under Mudra and then, Terry Allen. UNI won seven consecutive MVFC titles, and made seven straight FCS playoff appearances between 1990-1996, eight total, including advancing to two semifinal games.
When Terry Allen left the Panthers in 1997 to become head coach at Kansas, Farley was one of UNI’s assistants to follow. Farley was the Jayhawks’ inside and outside linebacker coach. In Lawrence, he coached two all-Big 12 players, one all-American, and five Players of the Week. He produced the KU all-time sack leader for season and career and recruited the 1999 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. He was rated one of the top recruiters in the Midwest by MoKan Recruiting Service. He also assisted with the punt return and block specialists. His players blocked or returned a punt for a touchdown against 11 of the league teams at least once.
Having worked under, or played for, three of the best football minds in Mudra, Earle Bruce, and Allen, there’s little doubt Farley knows football. However, it is also his passion, not only for the game, but for the University of Northern Iowa, that has helped carry the Panthers to the top of FCS football.