FRISCO, Texas — Iowa State had a truly historic season in 2024, setting a program record with 11 wins. The Cyclones played in the Big 12 Championship Game for the first time and went on to defeat Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Around the program, though, it still feels a little unfulfilling.
“There’s a lot of guys coming back to a team that feels like they underaccomplished,” offensive lineman Tyler Miller told CBS Sports. “Yeah, it’s a great season in Iowa State history, but at the end of the day, our goal is to win the game in December at the Big 12 championship and we didn’t do that.”
A “great season” is selling quite short. The program is undergoing an unprecedented period of success under coach Matt Campbell. The 11-2 campaign was the seventh winning season in eight years, matching the previous 35 years of pre-Campbell Iowa State football.
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But still, for the 113th year in a row, it didn’t end with a conference championship. The Cyclones have not won a conference crown since 1912.
To get another chance, Iowa State’s roster did something unusual. According to Campbell, more than 20 players on the roster took less money to return for additional years of eligibility. Despite building a conference title-caliber roster, Iowa State is not funding the full $20.5 million revenue share in their first season (most programs will put around $13 million of that into football).
“We’re not fully there yet,” Campbell told CBS Sports. “I think we’re working towards that and hopefully we can be there as we continue in this process. But, in terms of the full allotted money for this year, we won’t be there.”
So, once again, Iowa State is at a financial disadvantage. Sharks circled around some of the best players on the roster, including quarterback Rocco Becht, tight end Gabe Burkle and defensive back Jeremiah Cooper. All of them ultimately decided to return to try and improve and build towards a conference championship run.
Ultimately, 14 starters return for Iowa State heading into a pivotal 2025 season. The Cyclones were able to be buyers in the transfer portal, adding receivers Chase Sowell and Xavier Townsend. Most of the roster, though, is filled with internal development.
“I think this group came back with a lot of purpose, understanding what we were able to accomplish last year and also where we had some shortfalls,” Campbell said. “They were able to go to work and humbly be able to say, here’s the areas we have to be better.”
When Campbell first became a head coach at Toledo at just 31 years old, he wrote three words on a piece of paper: Recruit, retain, develop.
Fourteen years later, he still has those words written on his desk in Ames, Iowa. College football has changed, but Campbell’s values have not. And, at Iowa State, he sees yet another opportunity to win on the sport’s biggest stages.
“We would literally be the first team to ever do it, the only team in Iowa State history to win a Big 12 championship,” Becht said. “That’s on our mind and we want that because we want those expectations. We want to be at that level.”