Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard opens up on Matt Campbell, Jimmy Rogers

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At the start of the week, it seemed like the biggest questions surrounding Iowa State football would be regarding the Cyclones' bowl game destination or what their early signing day class would look like.

Then Penn State's coaching search party found its way to Ames. The rumors ramped up and quickly accelerated.

Now Iowa State has bid farewell to its winningest coach in program history, three-time Big 12 coach of the year Matt Campbell is headed to Penn State, and the Jimmy Rogers era has begun.

It all became official on Dec. 5.

"I will always feel indebted to Matt Campbell for what he did for all of us, and he showed us what this place has for potential, where in the past we maybe thought about that, but he actually demonstrated that it can be done," said Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard, who mentioned the university needs "to put a statue up of Matt Campbell at some point."

Campbell leaves Ames after a successful 10-year run as the Cyclones' head coach. He went 72-55 at Iowa State.

According to Pollard, Campbell's decision wasn't about financials.

"Matt from the get-go made it abundantly clear to both the president and to me that this wasn't about that at all, this was entirely a personal decision that he was wrestling with," Pollard said when asked if there was a part of the process that included trying to retain Campbell. "Is this the time to go home? He's got a mother that's got cancer. Erica's mother has been sick … Their oldest daughter, Katie, is going to school in college out in D.C., so the opportunity for all of them to be there, so he was just abundantly clear from the get-go with us that he didn't want us spending any time on that, because that didn't matter to him. This was a personal decision for him."

Before Campbell's arrival in 2016, Iowa State had 12 bowl game appearances, with the first coming in 1971.

Since the Ohio native took over, the Cyclones were bowl-eligible in eight of his 10 years. They enjoyed a program-best 11 wins in 2024, the first Iowa State season to feature double-digit wins.

"Matt Campbell owes Iowa State nothing," Pollard said. "Because he did more than we could have ever dreamed he would do as a head coach, so yeah, a page turns, but none of us are here forever. Life goes on and that's how I just viewed it. I've been here 21 years, it's not the first time we've gone through something like this."

As for Campbell's successor, Rogers might not be on the national radar just yet, but he and Pollard have ties that have lasted for several years.

They met one weekend in Austin, Texas, Pollard said. At that time, Rogers had already won a FCS national title at South Dakota State and asked Pollard what it would take to be the head coach at Iowa State one day. The Cyclones athletic director recommended that he move up to the FBS level, and they remained in close contact.

The 38-year old Rogers went 27-3 through his two years as South Dakota State's head coach, after spending more than a decade rising up the ranks with the Jackrabbits. His two-year stint included an undefeated run to the FCS national title in his debut, then a FCS final four appearance in 2024.

This year, he made the jump for the FBS and went 6-6 at Washington State. Four of those losses were by four or fewer points, including a 24-21 loss to No. 5 Ole Miss on Oct. 11 and a 22-20 loss the following week at No. 16 Virginia on Oct. 18.

"I didn't anticipate this was going to happen this year, so it maybe happened a little sooner," Pollard said. "But what I was really impressed with was his love for Iowa State, his knowledge of what it takes to be good in the Midwest, his work ethic."

Cyclones men's basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger overlapped with Rogers at South Dakota State from 2016-19, when Otzelberger coached the Jackrabbits' basketball team.

Otzelberger told Pollard that Rogers is like "Matt Campbell 2.0."

"At the core, you have somebody that's no-nonsense, driven, that just loves recruiting, coaching football, loves being around young men that he's helping become great citizens," Pollard said. "He's proven he can do that and win a lot of games."

Rogers signed a six-year contract. He is expected to arrive in Ames on Saturday, Dec. 6. There will be a formal introductory press conference on Monday, Dec. 8.

Iowa State's bowl game future, interim head coach

Despite the coaching change and potential player exodus that may come with it, Iowa State intends to participate in its bowl game later in December, Pollard said.

The Cyclones will learn their bowl game designation on Sunday, Dec. 7.

Iowa State did not immediately name an interim head coach to handle the bowl game and wrap the 2025 season. It's also unclear how many staffers and assistant coaches will remain in Ames in the wake of Campbell's departure.

Pollard did meet with offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser on Friday, Dec. 5 to discuss the head coaching vacancy and later informed him that he would not be hired.

"We met this morning, first thing, and talked through what it would be like if he was the head coach, and we met later (Friday) and I simply shared with him this reminds me of when I had to tell (Otzelberger) we weren't hiring him (in 2015)," Pollard said of his meeting with Mouser. "… That was really, really hard for me to do back then.

"In the end, that’s what I told Taylor, 'You’re gonna be a head coach someday, and you’re gonna be a really good head coach, but to thrust you into that spot right now is going to be a disservice to both you and Iowa State, because you don’t even know what you don’t know until you’re actually the head coach or you’re the athletics director. There's some places you can learn that on the fly, but you can’t take a (Power 4) job, following Matt Campbell and learn on the fly.”

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard opens up on Matt Campbell, Jimmy Rogers

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