100 Games At The Helm

Head football coach Matt Campbell will coach his 100^th game at Iowa State this weekend when the Cyclones face Kansas State on Saturday at 7 p.m. (FOX). While that might not seem all that significant, it is far from the norm in today's world of college football.

Consider the following:
• Campbell is just the second football coach in school history to coach 100 games (Dan McCarney, 141).
• Just two of the other 13 Big 12 coaches have been at their respective schools for more than 100 games (Mike Gundy, OSU, 242; Kalani Sitaki, BYU, 101).

Campbell has been Iowa State's most successful coach, leading the program to six bowl games in his eight seasons in Ames.

Most Bowl Game Appearance Earned At Iowa State
Matt Campbell – 6
Dan McCarney – 5
Paul Rhoads - 3
Johnny Majors – 2
Earle Bruce – 2

Matt Campbell - Fiesta Bowl

He's posted a 52-47 record to this point, ranking second in wins and winning percentage:

Most Wins By An Iowa State Coach
Dan McCarney (1995-2006) – 56-85
Matt Campbell (2016-pres.) – 52-47
Clay Stapleton (1958-67) – 42-53-4

Top ISU Coaches Overall Winning Percentage
Earle Bruce (1973-78) - .529 (36-32)
Matt Campbell (2016-pres.) - .525 (52-47)
Mike Michalske (1942-46) - .500 (18-18-3)

Beyond that, Campbell has done an incredible number of things that have never been accomplished here before:

• 3-time Big 12 Coach of the Year (2017, 2018, 2020)
• Only coach in school history to defeat every league team he's faced…has won at every Big 12 stadium he has coached in.
• His 37 league victories rank first in school history among Cyclone coaches…he owns 45.7 percent of Iowa State's all-time wins vs. Big 12 teams (37 of 81), despite coaching just eight of the Cyclones' 28 seasons in the league.
• ISU's Big 12 win season average from 1996-2015 was 2.2 per season. Since 2016, the average is 4.6 wins per season.
• First coach in school history to defeat OU and Texas in the same season when the Cyclones did so in 2020.
• Led ISU to a first-place finish in the 2020 regular-season Big 12 standings at 8-1. It marked the first time in school history ISU ended the conference regular season in sole possession of first place.
• In Big 12 history (1996-2001), ISU has had only seven winning conference seasons. Campbell has produced six of them (2017-2021, 2023).
• Recorded four victories over teams rated in the nation's Top 10 since 2017.

Most Big 12 Conference Wins Since 2017
Oklahoma – 46
Oklahoma State – 38
Texas – 38
Iowa State – 35
TCU – 34

Players have flourished under Campbell and his staff's guidance.

Notably, we've all had the pleasure of watching Brock Purdy break or share 32 school records. We watched Breece Hall dash all over the field on his way to a rushing touchdown in an NCAA record 24 consecutive games. We saw Hakeem Butler bully defensive backs to the tune of 1,318 receiving yards in 2018. Lifelong Cyclone Allen Lazard broke the ISU single-season school record with 10 touchdown receptions in 2017 and continues to make us proud with his efforts on Sundays in the NFL.

Defensively, was there anything more majestic than a Will McDonald pass rush (even if he was held most of the time)? His Big 12 record 34.0 sacks felt more like 50.

Of the 49 single-season records listed in the most recent version of the Cyclone Football Fact Book, 29 have been set by student-athletes that have played for Campbell.

12 players have earned 16 All-America honors since 2017.

10 players have been selected in the NFL Draft, including McDonald, who ended a 50-year first-round drought for the Cyclones by being picked No. 15 in the 2023 draft.

We are seeing talent and success at a level that we've never seen here before. Here's to the next 100!

Matt Campbell

Iowa State University Athletics

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