Iowa State HC Matt Campbell inks extension through 2028

Matt Campbell and Iowa State inked an eight-year extension for the HC, the school announced on Monday. The contract will extend the excellent HC through the 2028 season, including a pledge of $3 million for Campbell’s staff on top of what the school already pays over the next three years.

Campbell has been historically good since taking the program over back in 2016. After a rough 3-9 campaign to kick off his tenure in 2016, the Cyclones went on a tear; making four consecutive bowl game appearances (2-2) and their best season coming in 2020, with a Big 12 Title game appearance vs No. 10 Oklahoma and their first-ever NY6 bowl game win against Oregon in a 34-17 Fiesta Bowl blowout over No. 25 Oregon.

With rumors circulating over the past couple of seasons for Campbell to move up in the college ranks to a better coaching spot, or even to the NFL, ISU knew they had to keep Campbell under lock and key, and this extension all but ensures that.

“I am extremely thankful to our President, Dr. [Wendy] Wintersteen, and our Athletic Director, Jamie Pollard, for supporting our staff and program," Campbell said in a statement. "The University has made a terrific commitment to Cyclone football and I'm thrilled to continue to move this program forward."

Let’s just put in perspective how successful Cambel’s tenure has been up in Ames. He has won at least eight games in three of the last four seasons (each a winning record going 7-5 in 2019). Prior to Cambell, Iowa’s only ever had three eight-win seasons in school history, with the last one coming way back in 1977.

The 41-year-old coach just wrapped up his third Big 12 Coach of the Year award in the last four seasons, with sophomore running back Breece Hall & junior linebacker Mike Rose (both players Campbell recruited, by the way) sweeping this year’s Big 12 Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Rising senior QB Brock Purdy announced after the Fiesta Bowl that he would return for the 2021 season, and is rightfully thrilled that his coach will be here for the foreseeable future. 

“You know, we don’t have like these flashy players who come in with all these stars and that kind of stuff, but the way (Campbell) coaches us up about life and about football as a whole, where it’s all about your character and playing together as a team, like a true team, then you can see you know why he’s so special,” Purdy said about Iowa’s program culture. “With Coach Campbell, he could take any group of guys who believe in one another and believe in him. Then you can move forward and really beat anybody.”

Iowa State should be in really good shape with Purdy, Hall, and Rose all set to return next year, making the Cyclones a serious challenge to Oklahoma for the conference crown.

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-By: TJ Mathewson