Jimmy Rogers - Football Coach - Iowa State Athletics

Jimmy Rogers, a proven winner and a national championship coach, was named the 34^th head football coach in Iowa State history on Dec. 5, 2025.

Rogers joined the Cyclones after one season as head coach of Washington State, where he guided a team with 75 newcomers to a 6-6 record and an appearance in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. He was just the fourth of the Cougars’ 35 head football coaches to lead WSU to a bowl game in their first season on the sideline in Pullman.

Three of the Cougars’ six losses came by a single score at the hands of teams that reached the College Football Playoff or won their regular season conference crown: 24-21 at No. 6 Ole Miss, 22-20 at ACC regular season champion No. 17 Virginia and 24-20 at No. 25 James Madison.

All-told, Rogers enters his first season at Iowa State with a 33-9 (.786) three-year head coaching record, which includes a 27-3 (.900) mark in two seasons at South Dakota State.

The Chandler, Arizona, native was named Washington State’s head coach on December 28, 2024, after a highly successful 12-year run at perennial Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) powerhouse SDSU, his alma mater, where he led the Jackrabbits to the 2023 FCS championship and the 2024 FCS semifinals.

In Rogers’ first season as head coach at SDSU, he led the 2023 Jackrabbits to their second-consecutive FCS national title, a second-straight Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) crown and a perfect 15-0 record. The Jackrabbits held the top spot in both major FCS polls throughout the season and carried a 29-game win streak – third-longest in FCS history – into his second season. He became the second SDSU head coach in as many years to be honored with the Eddie Robinson Award as the nation’s top FCS coach, joining his mentor, John Stiegelmeier, in 2022.

SDSU led the FCS ranks in 10 different statistical categories on both sides of the ball in 2023, most notably scoring defense (9.3 ppg), total defense (257.2 ypg), team passing efficiency (174.26) and third-down conversion percentage (.535). The Jackrabbits raised their level of play during their four-game postseason run, outscoring the opposition by a combined 146-15, including a pair of shutouts. Six members of the 2023 squad were honored on All-America teams, including Walter Payton Award winner Mark Gronowski at quarterback. In addition, a total of eight players were either drafted or signed free agent NFL contracts.

In 2024, Rogers guided the 12-3 Jackrabbits to the FCS semifinals and a share of the MVFC title, which marked the first time SDSU captured three-consecutive league titles since 1961-63. Through the end of the regular season, the Jacks led all FCS schools in scoring defense (12.4 ppg), while ranking fourth in total defense (272.9 ypg) and sixth in rushing defense (90.5 ypg). Offensively, SDSU ranked first in sacks allowed (0.5 spg) and tackles for loss allowed (2.58 per game), while being ranked third in rushing offense (243.2 ypg), seventh in scoring offense (36.6 ppg) and ninth in total offense (441.9 ypg). Nine players earned a total of 27 All-American honors, led by senior center Gus Miller who earned first-team honors from four different media outlets.

Rogers played a key role in the Jackrabbits winning their first FCS national title in 2022 by directing a defense that stifled opponents. The group led the FCS in rushing defense by yielding just 88.1 yards per game on the ground while tying for the lead with 18 interceptions and ranking second in total defense (274.1 ypg). It was also third in scoring defense (15.8 ppg) and fourth in takeaways (26). The Jackrabbits finished the 2022 season on a 14-game winning streak.

He was recognized for his efforts with the Jackrabbit defense by being named 2022 FCS Coordinator of the Year by FootballScoop.com, as well as being an AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute participant.

Rogers, who was a standout defensive player for Stiegelmeier’s SDSU teams, returned to his alma mater in June 2013 to coach the linebackers. He was elevated to assistant head coach in 2019 and shared the defensive coordinator role from 2019-21. He was the sole DC in 2022.

Upon his return to Brookings in 2013, Rogers’ linebacking corps – R.C. Kilgore, T.J. Lally and Charles Elmore – combined for 290 tackles. Kilgore led the team with 134 tackles and led the nation with five fumble recoveries en route to first-team All-MVFC recognition. SDSU would go on to produce a 100-tackle performer in eight of the 10 seasons he coached the program’s linebackers.

Lally took home second-team All-MVFC recognition in 2014 and 2015, while Cyclone defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit was an honorable mention selection.

Under Rogers’ direction, Christian Rozeboom burst onto the FCS landscape in 2016 by being named MVFC Freshman of the Year and finishing second in the balloting for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision. In addition, Bobbit and Dallas Brown capped strong careers in 2016. Bobbit was a second-team all-league selection.

Rozeboom, now a linebacker for the Carolina Panthers, anchored the Jackrabbit linebacking group the next three seasons as he registered 100-plus tackles each year to become the SDSU career tackles leader with 475. He was a three-time All-America selection, earned first-team All-MVFC honors four times and was a multiple-time finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award as FCS’ top defensive player.

In taking on an expanded role in 2019, Rogers directed a Jackrabbit defense that ranked in the top three of the MVFC in seven different defensive categories.

Rogers’ linebackers again earned multiple awards en route to the FCS title game during the 2020-21 season that was moved to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team’s starters ranked as the top three tacklers on the squad during the 10-game season. Logan Backhaus was honored on several All-America teams, while Adam Bock was a freshman All-American and Preston Tetzlaff was awarded the NCAA Elite 90 Award at the national championship.

In 2021, Bock was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award and received All-America honors.

The 2022 season forced the Jackrabbits to use their depth in the linebacking room as the team overcame injuries to several players to win the national championship. Eight different players drew starting assignments at linebacker, with transfer Jason Freeman leading the team with 84 tackles. Bock repeated as a first-team All-MVFC selection despite missing the second half of the conference season due to injury.

Rogers also had a significant hand in special teams at the beginning of his tenure with the Jackrabbits. SDSU ranked in the top five nationally among FCS programs for blocked kicks two seasons in a row (2017, 2018) and also ranked seventh in kickoff return yards in 2017. Cade Johnson returned a pair of kicks for touchdowns while being named to a pair of freshman All-America squads.

Rogers’ coaching career started as a graduate assistant coach on the South Dakota State staff, working with the team’s defensive backs in 2010 and linebackers in 2011, while assisting with special teams both years. He then moved on to FAU as a graduate assistant working with the offensive line in the fall of 2012 before transitioning to the defensive side of the ball in the spring of 2013 to work with the Owl linebackers.

As a student-athlete in Brookings, Rogers lettered for the Jackrabbits from 2006-09 and was a two-time all-conference selection. He led both the team and the Great West Football Conference with 110 tackles in 2007 as SDSU claimed the league title and Rogers was a first-team All-GWFC selection. He again led the squad in tackles in 2008 with 93 stops en route to earning second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors as the Jacks transitioned to the FCS level. A captain on South Dakota State’s first FCS playoff team in 2009, he recorded 66 tackles his senior season to finish his four-year career with 312 stops in 46 games. He also intercepted three passes and forced three fumbles in an SDSU uniform.

Rogers earned his bachelor’s degree in history from South Dakota State in 2010. He also earned his master’s degree from SDSU in sports pedagogy in 2012.

He and his wife, Haley, a native of Mitchell, South Dakota, have two children, a daughter, Reese, and son, Trace.

Rogers agreed to a six-year contract when accepting the position at Iowa State.

Rogers Year-By-Year

Year	School	Overall Record	Conference Record	Postseason/Bowl
2023	South Dakota State	15-0 (1.000)	8-0 (1.000) MVFC	FCS National Champions
2024	South Dakota State	12-3 (.800)	7-1 (.875) MVFC	FCS Semifinals
Totals at South Dakota State	Two Seasons	27-3 (.900)	15-1 (.938)	Two FCS Playoff Appearances
2025	Washington State	6-6 (.500)	0-0 (.000) Pac 12	Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Did Not Coach Bowl Game)
Totals at Washington State	One Season	6-6 (.500)	0-0 (.000)	One Bowl Game Appearance
2026	Iowa State	0-0 (.000)	0-0 (.000) Big 12
Totals at Iowa State	One Season	0-0 (.000)	0-0 (.000)
Career Totals	Four Seasons	33-9 (.786)	15-1 (.938)	Two FCS Playoff Appearances/ One Bowl Game Appearance

National Championships (FCS)
South Dakota State (assistant coach), 2022
South Dakota State (head coach), 2023

Conference Championships
South Dakota State (player), 2007
South Dakota State (assistant coach), 2016, 2020, 2022
South Dakota State (head coach), 2023, 2024

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