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Iowa State University Athletics
Iowa State To Honor 2000 Insight.com Bowl Champion Team This Fall
04.30.2025 | Football
AMES, Iowa – One of Iowa State Football's most revered teams, the 2000 Insight.com Bowl champion squad, will be honored Aug. 30 vs. South Dakota in a 25th anniversary reunion.
What made this team so revered? The answer is simple. Behind the vision and determination of head coach Dan McCarney, the 2000 Cyclones won the school's first-ever bowl game in a 37-29 triumph over Pittsburgh at the Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix.
Other notable accomplishments from the 2000 group included Iowa State's second nine-win season (9-3) and second five-win league mark (5-3).
Perhaps the legacy of this team will be remembered more than their historic season. As most Iowa State fans will agree, it gave a jolt of energy to a struggling program.
Iowa State has won multiple bowl games, been ranked in the nation's top-25 across many seasons, achieved an 11-win season, competed in two Big 12 Championship games and won a New Year's Six bowl since that memorable 2000 season.
But the drive and determination of the 2000 team to bust through all the barriers to make Cyclone football relevant again was paramount. Twenty-five years later we can look back and pay tribute to the members of this historic team and, of course, McCarney, who was the ringleader of the amazing turnaround that generated a rapid pulse into Cyclone football.
"To reach the pinnacle for those guys, a bowl trophy and championship back to Iowa State, and to have all those fans there, was special," McCarney remembered. "They bought into what we wanted the DNA of Iowa State football to look like. The players knew how hard the climb was going to be. But the players knew the virtue of loyalty. The virtue of hard work. The virtue of never giving up. If you really believe in something, you can get it done."
Much of the team's success is credited to the more than 20 seniors, who, for many of them, suffered through 2-9 and 1-10 seasons at the beginning of their careers.
They never stop believing and never wavered in their faith in McCarney.
"Coach McCarney sold everyone a dream and gave us hope," said Sage Rosenfels, ISU's starting quarterback, team co-captain in 2000 and future NFL signal-caller. "He was the one who every single day brought energy, hope and enthusiasm that we could indeed turn it around. As you get older, that is so impressive about him. That energy and his chip-away, chip-away mentality has served all of us former players in one way or another in our current lives. Most of us are still influenced by Coach Mac's infectious energy."
The ISU Letterwinners Club will host a Friday night social and pre-game tailgate for the team members with special on-field recognition during the game.
Cyclone Express South Dakota at ISU 2025
Friday, September 05
Jontez Williams 9_2_25 interview
Tuesday, September 02
Gabe Burkle 9_2_25 interview
Tuesday, September 02
Rocco Becht 9_2_25 interview
Tuesday, September 02
