Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard got emotional on Friday as he spoke about Matt Campbell’s departure from the program.
The longtime Cyclones head coach agreed to take the same job at Penn State after a brief courtship. The move concluded Penn State’s tumultuous coaching search and also marked the end of Campbell’s productive tenure at Iowa State.
Pollard fought back tears as he spoke to reporters on Friday, asserting that Campbell “owes Iowa State nothing” after he went above and beyond for the program.
“You’re sad. But, you know what, I get it,” said Pollard,. “I’ve done this long enough. These jobs are hard, and we make sacrifices that fans will never understand. We do. And he’s had an amazing run as our football coach, and didn’t get to do it in front of his family and friends. He had other times he could have left, and he chose not to.
“Matt Campbell, though, owes Iowa State nothing because he did more than we could’ve ever, ever dreamed he would do as our head coach. So yeah, a page turns. But none of us are here forever. Life goes on, and so that’s how I just viewed it. … The Sun will come up in the east, like it does every morning, and we’ll go on.”
Pollard has always been a passionate guy. Some may remember Pollard as the Iowa State AD who got kicked out of his son’s high school basketball game for disagreeing with a call during. The loss of Campbell clearly affected him more than most athletic directors would show.
Campbell, 46, just wrapped up his 10th season as the head coach at Iowa State. The Cyclones went 8-4 this year, which marked the eighth time that they finished above .500 during Campbell’s tenure. Iowa State went 72-55 with Campbell at the helm.