The Iowa State football team lost its most successful coach on Friday, as Matt Campbell departed to take the Penn State job. Campbell's departure from Ames drew an emotional reaction from fans, as well as school officials. Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard reacted to the news with sadness.
“I get it, I have done this long enough, that these jobs are hard,” Pollard said, per KCCI News. “We make sacrifices that fans will never understand. We do.”
"Matt Campbell owes Iowa State nothing."
AD Jamie Pollard tears up talking Campbell's 10-year run…powerful stuff @KCCINews pic.twitter.com/fOc44U3LCq
— Shannon Ehrhardt (@SEhrhardtKCCI) December 6, 2025
Pollard holds no ill will toward Campbell, who led the Cyclones to the Big 12 championship game twice in his tenure.
“Matt Campbell owes Iowa State nothing,” Pollard added.
Iowa State football finished the 2025 regular season with an 8-4 record. He is replaced at Iowa State by Jimmie Rogers, who was the Washington State head coach.
Campbell takes over a Penn State program that went 6-6 in 2025. The Nittany Lions fired head coach James Franklin in the middle of the season. Franklin is now head coach at Virginia Tech.
Iowa State is moving on with Jimmy Rogers
Rogers is now head coach in Ames, after one season at Washington State. He went 6-6 this year, after a very successful tenure coaching at South Dakota State.
“My family and I are excited to be joining the Iowa State University community and the Cyclone football program,” Rogers said in a statement released by the school. “Iowa State has been one of the nation's top programs for the last decade and we look forward to building upon its upward trajectory. I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity that Jamie Pollard has given me to lead the Cyclones.
“From the administration, to the alumni and current student-athletes, this University has everything needed to compete at the highest level in college football,” he added. “I am honored to be given this opportunity and responsibility and cannot wait to get started!.”
Rogers won a national championship at South Dakota State. He won 27 games with that school in just two seasons. Before becoming head coach, he had been an assistant at South Dakota State.
