The Iowa State Cyclones football program is the intercollegiate football team at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The team is coached by Jimmy Rogers. The Cyclones compete in the Big 12 Conference, and are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member of the NCAA. The Cyclones play their home games at Jack Trice Stadium, with a capacity of 61,500. The Iowa State Cyclones football team drew an average home attendance of 60,384 in 2023, the 28th highest in college football.
History
Early history (1892–1967)
Football first made its way onto the Iowa State campus in 1878 as a recreational sport, but it wasn't until 1892 that an organized group of athletes first represented Iowa State in football. In 1894, college president William M. Beardshear spearheaded the foundation of an athletic association to officially sanction Iowa State football teams. The 1894 team finished with a 6–1 mark, including a 16–8 victory over what is now the University of Iowa.
One of the pioneers of football, Pop Warner, spent time at Iowa State early in his career. In 1895 despite already being the coach at Georgia he was offered $25 per week to come to Iowa State, whose season started in mid-August while Georgia's started a month later, as well as to provide weekly advice during the rest of the season. Soon after Warner left for Georgia, Iowa State had its first game of the season. Iowa State came into Evanston as the underdog Iowa State then defeated Northwestern 36–0. A Chicago sportswriter called the team "cornfed giants from Iowa" while the Chicago Tribune'''s headline read, "Struck by a Cyclone". Since then, Iowa State teams have been known as the Cyclones. Overall, the team had three wins and three losses and, like Georgia, Iowa State retained Warner for the next season. In 1896 the team had eight wins and two losses. Despite leaving Cornell in 1898, Warner remained as the head coach of Iowa State for another year. During his last three years at Iowa State the team had a winning season but Warner was unable to match his 1896 triumph. After playing at Iowa and then serving as an assistant coach for two years, Clyde Williams came to Ames as an assistant coach for ISU. Williams served as the Cyclones' head football coach for six seasons from 1907 to 1912. During that time, he had a coaching record of 32–15–2. This ranks him fifth at Iowa State in total wins and fourth at Iowa State in winning percentage. In addition, he led Iowa State to two Missouri Valley Conference football titles in 1911 and 1912, which are the only two conference football championships in school history. In addition to his football contributions Williams was the school's first men's basketball coach from 1908 to 1911, where he compiled a 20–29 record. He also served as Iowa State's baseball coach, and was their athletic director from 1914 to 1919. In 1914 Iowa State completed construction of their new football field and it was named Clyde Williams Field in honor of the former coach. Williams was inducted into the State of Iowa Hall of Fame in 1956. He is also one of the few people inducted into both the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame (inducted 1993) and the Iowa State athletics Hall of Fame (inducted 1997). The success Iowa State found in the inception of their football program was not replicated for most of the mid-20th century. In 1922 after having two different head coaches in as many years, ISU hired up-and-comer Sam Willaman away from East Technical HS in Cleveland, OH. When Willaman came to Iowa state, he brought with him six of his former East Tech players, including Jack Trice. Trice was the first African-American player at Iowa State, and one of the first African-Americans to play football in the Midwest. Trice suffered a severe malicious injury during a game at Minnesota in 1923, and died from complications. In 1997, Iowa State's Cyclone Stadium was renamed Jack Trice Stadium in his honor, becoming the first and as of 2020, the only, major college football stadium to be named for a black man. In his first season, Willaman's team finished with a 2–6 record, but posted a winning record in each of the three years that followed. His career coaching record at Iowa state was 14–15–3. This ranks him 16th in total wins and 13th in winning percentage in Iowa State football history.
In February 1931, George F. Veenker accepted an offer to become the head football coach for Iowa State. Under Veenker, Iowa State experienced a brief period of success. When Veenker joined Iowa State, the team was coming off a winless season in 1930 and had lost 16 consecutive games dating back to October 1929. In his first year, the 1931 team defeated Missouri 20–0, Oklahoma 13–12, and Kansas State 7–6, compiling a 5–3 record and finishing in second place in the Big Six Conference. In November 1931, the Ames Daily Tribune-Times called Veenker "a veritable miracle man of football" for taking a school where "Cyclone football morale couldn't have been lower" and turning the program around in his first season. The highlight of Veenker's career as Iowa State's football coach was a 31–6 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes in 1934. The game was the last meeting between the two schools until 1977. Veenker resigned in 1936, leaving an overall record of 21–22–8. Shortly after Veenker's death in 1959, the university-owned golf course was renamed Veenker Memorial Golf Course in his honor. During the 1938 season, James J. Yeager was in his second year as head coach. Despite going 3–6 in 1937, the Cyclones would go on to a then-best record of 7–1–1. The team was led by outstanding senior guard, Ed Bock. At the conclusion of the season Bock became the first consensus first-team All-American in Iowa State history. Bock was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1970. In 1942, Iowa State hired former Green Bay Packers All-Pro guard and three-time NFL champion Mike Michalske to be the new head coach. Michalske achieved moderate success in his five seasons at Iowa State, finishing with an 18–18 record. Abe Stuber took over as the Cyclones head coach in 1947 and coached the team until 1953, compiling a record of 24–38–3. Vince DiFrancesca was the 21st head coach at Iowa State, leading the team to a record of 6–21–1 from 1954 to 1956. Oregon State assistant coach Clay Stapleton was the head football coach at Iowa State for ten seasons. He is known mainly for his 1959 team the "Dirty Thirty". The Cyclones' struggles continued under his tutelage. Seven-win campaigns in 1959 and 1960 were the only winning seasons of his tenure. Stapleton was relieved of his duties following the 1967 season.
Johnny Majors era (1968–1972) In 1968, in an attempt to turn the team around, Iowa State hired former standout Tennessee running back and up-and-coming Arkansas assistant Johnny Majors as the 24th head coach in program history. The rebuilding process got off to a slow start as the Cyclones finished 3–7 in his first two seasons. In 1970 the process started moving forward, and the team finished tied for 6th in the Big Eight with a record of 5–6. The 1971 team was picked to finish last in the Big Eight, but overcame odds to finish 4–3 in the conference and 8–3 in the regular season. The only teams they lost to in the conference, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Colorado, ended up first, second, and third in the final rankings. The team was led by junior running back George Amundson, who Majors called "the finest athlete I have coached in any job I have had." Iowa State had one defensive all-conference pick, LB Keith Schroeder. Amundson rushed for 1,260 yards, including a school-record 15 touchdowns. End Keith Krepfle had 40 receptions for 570 yards and 12 touchdowns. Quarterback Dean Carlson threw for a school-record 1,867 yards. These efforts were enough to earn a bid to the 1971 Sun Bowl, the first bowl game in program history. Iowa State was slated to play against LSU on December 18, 1971. Iowa State was outmatched by LSU and future NFL quarterback Bert Jones, falling to the Tigers, 33–15. LSU was ranked 11 after the bowls, but Iowa State was left out of the top 20.
In 1972, Iowa State saw the loss of five starters and the move of George Amundson from running back to quarterback to replace Dean Carlson. The Cyclones lost linebacker Matt Blair to a pre-season injury, which forced him into a medical redshirt. The Cyclones tied Nebraska 23–23 on a missed extra point by Iowa State's Tom Goedjen. Three players went on to be named to the first team All-Big Eight team as well be honored as All-Americans, offensive lineman Geary Murdoch, defensive end Merv Krakau and quarterback George Amundson. Amundson was named Big Eight player of the year over Heisman Trophy winner, Johnny Rodgers. It was in this year that Iowa State became known as D-Tackle U, similar to Penn State's moniker "Linebacker U". Iowa State's 5–5–1 regular season record was enough to earn them an invitation to the 1972 Liberty Bowl against Georgia Tech. Despite outstanding play, Iowa State lost 31–30 on a failed late-game two-point conversion attempt by George Amundson. At the conclusion of the 1972 season, Majors announced his departure from Iowa State to take the head coaching job at Pittsburgh.
Earle Bruce era (1973–1978) In order to continue the success experienced under Johnny Majors Iowa State hired Earle Bruce out of Tampa. With newfound excitement around ISU football, the university broke ground on a new $7.6 million stadium that would eventually become Jack Trice Stadium. Despite future Minnesota Vikings star linebacker Matt Blair being a first team All-American, the Cyclones struggled to a 4–7 finish in Bruce's inaugural 1973 season. Over the next two seasons the Cyclones experienced moderate success but both seasons ended again with 4–7 records. However, Bruce's fourth team blossomed as one of the best teams in school history. En route to their 8–3 final record, the Cyclones scored wins against No. 7 Missouri and No. 9 Nebraska. In spite of the Cyclones' finishing the 1976 season ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll, Iowa State was ultimately snubbed by the bowls. Even so, Bruce was selected as Big Eight Coach of the Year. Iowa State followed up their strong 1976 campaign with another eight-win season in 1977. The Cyclones beat No. 9 Nebraska for the second time in a row and were ranked as high as No. 16 in the AP Poll at one point. Their 5–2 conference record and 8–4 overall record were good enough for a bid to the 1977 Peach Bowl against North Carolina State. Ultimately Iowa State lost the game 14–24. The Cyclones returned 14 starters from the 1977 Peach Bowl team including Heisman Trophy candidate, Dexter Green and Outland Trophy hopeful, Mike Stensrud. Iowa State's post season hopes came down to their last game against Colorado which was nationally televised. The game was close throughout, with ISU clinging to a 17–10 halftime lead. The second half was a defensive battle, but the ISU defense came up with big plays down the stretch. Mike Stensrud had 16 stops and caused a fumble to help ISU preserve a 20–16 win over the Buffaloes. The win earned ISU a bid to the 1978 Hall of Fame Classic against Texas A&M. Iowa State opened the game with two touchdowns, but was unable to convert the extra point on either attempt. The Cyclones were not able to contain future first round NFL draft pick Curtis Dickey, who rushed for 278 yards and a touchdown, and Iowa State lost 28–12. At the conclusion of the 1978 season, Bruce announced he would leave Iowa State to take the head coaching job at Ohio State.
Donnie Duncan era (1979–1982)