In the wake of allegations that Iowa Hawkeye Band members were verbally, physically and sexually assaulted after the recent Iowa-Iowa State football game in Ames, University of Iowa president Bruce Harreld questioned whether the annual Cy-Hawk game should continue.

“I’m not convinced at all that we should play this game again — here or there or anywhere — unless we can protect our fans, our band and, of course, our athletes,” Harreld told the university newspaper, the Daily Iowan.

Several Hawkeye Marching Band members posted their accounts of that night on social media after UI athletic director Gary Barta told the Press-Citizen that athletic departments at both schools "elected to focus on moving forward" because it was difficult to verify the students' reports.

Iowa State campus police said Friday they have no reports of assault on Hawkeye band members and are not investigating any such reports. Messages to Iowa State president Wendy Wintersteen and ISU athletics director Jamie Pollard were not returned Monday afternoon.

Hawkeye Marching Band:Members report physical, sexual assault and anger at a lack of action

Harreld typically does not grant interviews to media outlets, with the exception of the student-run Daily Iowan, with which he schedules regular interviews.

Harreld went on to spell out what needs to occur before the game is reinstated. He said presidents at Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa would need to sit down with athletic directors, band directors and campus security officials to figure out how best to protect students.

Among the questions on his mind: How large should security forces be? Where should the band bus park? What tunnel should we have a secure group of people walk though? Where should the security staff stand?

UI officials have said the university is "continuing to investigate to ensure all students have the ability to share their experiences with the appropriate authorities." It's not clear which department or office is conducting an investigation or when the university began investigating the incident.

MORE:Gary Barta says University of Iowa no longer looking into band incident

In his interview with the student newspaper, Harreld said the timeline of the investigation is a "blur."

"From my perspective, we didn’t really close," he said. "I think we finished the phase where we had interviewed all the people that were directly impacted negatively by their experience in Ames, and I think at that point we say, 'Well, we had probably talked to everybody, and I guess we put out an announcement, so we’ve closed that.' From my perspective, we never closed anything. It still continues."

Harreld apologized for any communication that suggested his university was washing its hands of the issue. Band members raised that concern on social media last week, saying university officials weren't taking action to ensure they would be safe at football games.

MORE:Rival athletic directors vow to improve safety for marching bands

“'Be careful what you post on social media,' they told us that yesterday. And today I no longer care," band member Corey Knopp posted on Facebook last week. "Thank you Iowa Athletics and the University of Iowa for showing me that when I’m physically assaulted at an away football game as a part of the Hawkeye Marching Band, you don’t have my back and you don’t care."

Online, students said they experienced verbal attacks and physical violence: Beer cans were thrown, a racial slur was used, a band member was forcibly groped, another band member's ribs were reportedly broken and several band members were left with bruises.

In an email last week, Hawkeye Marching Band director Eric Bush described the incident as rude and vulgar behavior that, on several occasions, turned violent.

"To protect the privacy of our students, I cannot elaborate on those specific details," he wrote. "However, I can assure you that we are, and we have always been, a family. We take care of each other, and we are providing the necessary support and resources for our students to move forward."

In the Daily Iowan, Harreld asked that anyone with evidence regarding the assaults reach out to the UI or police.

"And I could really use help — we could all use help — to the extent anybody has video or photos or direct experiences and they haven’t been able to tell those stories, please contact us or the police or anybody else," Harreld told the Daily Iowan.

In his email, Bush confirmed that Harreld and Barta intend to increase protections for the band at the annual rivalry game.

"At all times, I strive to protect these student musicians as I would my own family," Bush said. "To that end, I have spoken personally with UI President Bruce Harreld and Athletics Director Gary Barta, and both have assured me that they will do everything in their power to help protect our band in the future during trips of this nature."

Harreld said schools across the nation are grappling with "fan issues," not just in Iowa. He's hopeful the state's big rival game will continue.

"I'm expecting we can work through this, clearly expecting we can work through," he said. "But if, for some reason, one party or the other doesn't come to the table, then no, why would we?"