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Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard fought back tears when talking about Matt Campbell leaving the school to take the head coaching job at Penn State.
Pollard, 60, said he was upset but that Campbell doesn’t owe Iowa State anything.
“You’re upset. But you know what, I get it,” Pollard told reporters Friday. “I’ve done this long enough. These jobs are hard and we make sacrifices that fans will never understand. We do. And he’s had a great run as our football coach and didn’t get to do it in front of his family and friends. He had other times he could have gone and he chose not to.”
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Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell reacts in the fourth quarter against BYU at Jack Trice Stadium. The game took place in Ames, Iowa on October 25, 2025. (IMAGIN)
“However, Matt Campbell owes Iowa State nothing because he did more than we could have ever dreamed he would do as our head coach. So yes, a page is turning. But none of us are here forever. Life goes on, and so that’s the way I just saw it. … the sun will rise in the east like it does every morning, and we’ll go on.”
Penn State announced Campbell as its new head coach Friday, pending board approval on Monday.
PENN STATE HIRES IOWA STATE’S MATT CAMPBELL AS NEXT HEAD COACH: REPORTS
Iowa State University athletic director Jamie Pollard speaks at a press conference in Ames, Iowa, on Sept. 24, 2019. (IMAGIN)
The 46-year-old is the winningest coach in Iowa State history. The three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year went 72-55 in 10 seasons with the Cyclones, with eight winning seasons, including this one at 8-4.
Campbell helped lead Iowa State to two Big 12 championship games.
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Prior to coaching at Iowa State, Campbell was the head coach at Toledo for five seasons, going 35-15.
Penn State hired Campbell nearly two months after the program fired James Franklin.
