Football Strength And Conditioning Staff Announced

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers has announced that Chris Campbell has been named director of football strength and conditioning for the Cyclones. All hires are pending completion of background checks.

Joining Campbell's staff will be former Cyclone offensive lineman Tom Farniok, as well as Nathan Peoples and Abe Spencer.

"Chris is a well-respected strength and conditioning coach and I'm excited about the staff that he has built to join him in transforming and preparing our student-athletes to compete at this level," Rogers said. "I think that group will have a great impact on our program in many different ways."

Chris Campbell – Director of Football Strength & Conditioning – Full Bio
Campbell, an Iowa State alum and native of Cherokee, Iowa, was a member of the Cyclone football team in 2008 before working as a student assistant in the weight room from 2011-13 under Yancy McKnight.

Since graduating from Iowa State, Campbell has been on staff at Louisiana (2013-15), Houston (2015-19), Austin Peay (2019-23) and most recently, UTEP (2024-25).

During his time at Houston, Campbell worked with 11 NFL Draft selections and five All-Americans. From 2015-17, he was assistant director of sports performance before serving as director from 2017-18.

At Austin Peay, Campbell worked for three conference championship teams and helped the Governors have 21 All-Americans and 58 all-conference selections in five seasons.

Tom Farniok – Deputy Director of Football Strength & Conditioning – Full Bio
Farniok, a former Iowa State center from 2010-14 who started 47 games and was a two-time All-Big 12 selection, returns to his alma mater after recent stints at Florida State (2020-25) and Stanford (2019).

The Sioux Falls, South Dakota native has also held positions at Louisiana Tech (2019), Buffalo (2016) and Houston (2016, 2017-19), where he reunited with Campbell, who was a student assistant during Farniok's time as a player for the Cyclones.

Nathan Peoples – Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach – Full Bio
Peoples, a Tampa, Florida native, has an extensive history of successful coaching at the FBS level. His stops at his alma mater Mississippi State (1999, 2015-16), UCF (2000-02), Stanford (2002-05), Western Michigan (2005-12), Syracuse (2013), Illinois (2014), Texas (2017-20) and Oklahoma State (2021-25) have resulted in 15 bowl game appearances.

Peoples, a former walk-on who earned a scholarship at Mississippi State, has coached NFL and MLB draft picks, NCAA wrestling champions and Olympians.

Abe Spencer – Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach – Full Bio
Spencer, a Stillwater, Oklahoma native, comes to Iowa State after spending two years at Middle Tennessee State. In addition to MTSU, Peoples worked alongside Campbell at Austin Peay (2022-23) and Peoples at Oklahoma State (2020-21). Spencer was also an intern at his alma mater, Oklahoma Christian (2019).

While at Oklahoma State, Spencer was a part of a staff that won the 2022 Fiesta Bowl. In 2023 at Austin Peay, the Governors qualified for the FCS Playoffs.

Iowa State University Athletics

Football Strength And Conditioning Staff Announced

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