On Dec. 5, 2025, Iowa State football would have a historic day, with the program’s symbol of success departing for Penn State and a new era beginning in Ames.

In under an hour, Iowa State lost Matt Campbell to Penn State and had its next leader under contract in Jimmy Rogers.

Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard explained the coaching change in detail, providing timestamps of the complete operation.

Penn State politely declined to address questions that may have verified the statements provided by Pollard, including details surrounding the timing and sequence of events during the coaching transition.

Penn State however, encouraged the use of Rogers’ introductory press conference on Dec. 8, 2025. Statements made at this press conference confirmed Pollard’s details. 

Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025

Campbell made initial communication with the athletics administration via phone call during the Iowa State and Alcorn State basketball game. 

During the phone call with Pollard, Campbell expressed that Penn State had reached out to him earlier in the evening and had an interest in visiting him in Ames.

Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025

Campbell had some form of contact with Penn State. It is unclear whether a contract was signed that evening, but a statement by Campbell during his introductory press conference inferred that something happened Thursday night. 

“These last five days have been a whirlwind,” Campbell said Dec. 8.

This implied that something major happened on Dec. 4. While nothing is confirmed, Campbell may have made his decision that night. 

“It was one conversation with [Penn State Athletic Director Patrick Kraft] and one conversation with [Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi],” Campbell said on Dec. 8. “I knew what their demand is and they want to be the best for the right reasons.”

Friday, Dec. 5, 2025

Pollard said that he felt confident that Campbell would leave the program in the morning. Sometime after the first contact was made with the then-Washington State head coach, Rogers. 

Pollard was also asked if Rogers was the only candidate in this brief search.

“We have never made it a practice to discuss the details of other coaches we may, or may not have spoken with, regarding any of our coaching searches,” Pollard said. 

Campbell made contact around 6 p.m. with Iowa State athletics administrators about his final intentions.

It was announced to the public at 6:34 p.m. after a full afternoon of speculation that Campbell would be Penn State’s next football coach.

An Iowa State football team meeting at 7 p.m. was originally reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel and later confirmed by the Des Moines Register’s Travis Hines.

At 7:12 p.m., Thamel reported that Iowa State had found its next coach in Rogers.

At 7:34 p.m., it was officially announced by Iowa State University that Rogers will be the next head coach for Cyclone football.

“We were making a decision for the long term, not the short term,” Pollard said.