Iowa State coaching legend Billy Fennelly has announced his retirement after 38 seasons. Building a college basketball program that can compete nationally, while sustaining success for decades and turning it into a tradition, is a big challenge. However, Fennelly has done exactly that, turning the Cyclones into a regular NCAA Tournament contender and making basketball a major part of the community in Ames has been the highlight of an era stretching over three decades. Now, that era is coming to an end.
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On October 12, Fennelly, after 38 seasons of coaching, announced through the Cyclones’ website that the upcoming 2026-27 collegiate season will be his final year at the helm at Iowa State, and that he will formally retire. He did so through a statement posted on the website.
“It has been the greatest honor of my professional life to coach at Iowa State for the past 32 years,” he wrote.
“While I still love coaching and am working as hard as ever, I understand that this job has an expiration date. After talking with my family, I have made the decision that the 2026-27 season will be my last. Announcing my intention now is what is best for everyone in our program and provides the new athletics director clarity on my future and allows them to make plans for the program moving forward.”
Fennelly enters his final season with 822 career wins, including 656 at Iowa State, placing him 15th all-time for most wins from an NCAA Division 1 women’s basketball coach. He has guided Iowa State to 24 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, and 26 total postseason appearances. That success began early.
Fennelly arrived at Iowa State after the program had posted no winning seasons in six consecutive years. Then, in the 1995-96 season, the team won 17 games in their first season under him and reached the NCAA Tournament the next year, beginning a run of six consecutive tournament appearances. They also had several signature moments.
The 1998-99 Cyclones were the first example of Fennelly building a team that could challenge the country’s best. That season, they beat Connecticut, the #1 seed, in the tournament to advance to the first Elite Eight appearance in program history. He did something similar about a decade later.
Down seven and with 1:30 left against the No. 9 seed Michigan, the 2008-09 Cyclones staged an unbelievable comeback, becoming the first team to come back from that hole. That win also sent them to another Elite Eight appearance.
Fennelly has also shown his impact on the growth of the fanbase. Before he came to Ames, attendance at Iowa State games was poor, sitting under 1,000 fans per game on average. Through what the Cyclones describe as a “grassroots effort” led by Fennelly and his wife Deb, attendance quickly rose, and over the last 27 seasons, they have ranked in the top 10 in attendance nationwide, excluding the 2020-21 season. They even peaked at second in viewership four times.
Iowa State Faces a Major Transition as Bill Fennelly and Jamie Pollard Prepare to Exit
What makes the timing of Fennelly’s exit notable is how it affects the Iowa State athletic program. Jamie Pollard, the team’s longest-tenured athletic director, has also announced his retirement. Originally set to step down in June 2027, he accelerated his exit when Iowa State launched a search for his replacement in fall 2026. He called Fennelly “a legend” in the women’s college basketballs sphere in a statement released on the latter’s retirement.
“Bill’s impact on the young women in our program, the staff in our department, the thousands of fans that attended every home game, and the residents in our community, is second to none,” he said.
“He transformed our women’s basketball program into a nationally respected and competitive program, and his imprint on our department will never be forgotten. I look forward to seeing a banner hung in the Hilton Coliseum rafters permanently memorializing his lasting impact on Iowa State University.”
For now, Fennelly has made it clear that he wants the attention and focus to remain on the players and the upcoming season, with the 2026-27 campaign giving him one final chance to lead Iowa State. As the university prepares for its next era under a new coach, it will need to find more than just a replacement as it looks to preserve the sustained success that Fennelly spent decades building.