Matt Campbell is officially the winningest coach in Iowa State football history picking up his 57th career win with the Cyclones in a 20-0 victory over the Houston Cougars on Saturday night.
His winning percentage is the best in school history as well (.542), while the Cyclones are 4-0 to start a season for the first time since 2000. Campbell breaks the record of 56 wins by Dan McCarney.
Matt Campbell took over Iowa State’s football program in 2016, and after going 3-9 his first season, Campbell went on to go 8-5 in 2017, followed by 8-5 and 7-6 in 2018 and 2019. And then in 2020, the team went 9-3 overall, including a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game, which they lost to Oklahoma, and then a win in the Fiesta Bowl.
Campbell has been tied to several other job openings in college football and the NFL. On February 8, 2021, Iowa State announced a new contract extension for Campbell through the 2028 season. It was reported that Campbell was offered an eight-year, $68.5 million deal by the Detroit Lions for their head coaching position in 2021, but other reports said that the Lions never put an offer on the table.
Campbell is a three-time Big 12 football coach of the year in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
As for this season, Saturday was Iowa State’s fifth-straight road win in the Big 12. The Cyclones are 1-0 in Big 12 play and host the Baylor Bears next week, before traveling to Morgantown to take on West Virginia on Saturday, October 12th.
