Matt Campbell Drops Big Update on $5M Iowa State Future After Major Rocco Becht Admission

Climbing the rough side of the mountains in Ames, sitting atop Iowa State football’s all-time win list, Matt Campbell is enjoying a great view. Last year concluded with an 11-3 campaign, marking the first time the program achieved double-digit wins in its history. Skeptics doubted whether it was a mere one-time pull-off. However, the Week 0 Ireland matchup saw the momentum shift strongly. The 3x Big 12 Coach of the Year’s latest honor? He is the winningest coach in Cyclones’ history, and one question has remained elusive…

“Why have you [Campbell] been so loyal to Ames and the Cyclones?” Mark Ingram II asked Coach Campbell on the Triple Option podcast. Over ten years, Campbell’s reputation became a hit. The 45-year-old head coach has steered the Cyclones through some of the challenging games and emerged victorious. Offers poured in. A reported eight-year, $68.5 million contract to coach the Detroit Lions. Another one, to take up the vacated seat at the Trojans. All turned down to stay back in Ames? The reason? It’s all about the culture and the values.

He didn’t dodge the question. “I think for me, you know, really young still, I’m only 45 years old;  you know, when COVID hit, I think there was some reality; you’re at home, we’ve got four kids, and you’re like, ‘Holy smokes, man.'” That’s when he realized something important: “You always want to surround yourself with great people. And one of the things we’ve had the same athletic director, the same president here during my time, which they’ve been tremendous supporters of myself and our program,” he added.

According to his latest details, his contract with the Cyclones has been extended till 2032, following an impressive 2024 campaign. He will earn $5 million per year in total compensation. Not just that, to keep the Cyclones’ culture developing, he took a discount on the deal, ensuring that his staff’s salary pool increases. Also, to aid the state in helping allocate an additional $1 million to revenue-share with the football roster.

Moving on, the next significant element for him was his family. “It’s been a great place for me to raise my kids here; We haven’t moved all over. It’s been a great place to raise our children.” And the last and the most important? “The world continues to be unique around us; you get to stand for something,” he said. “And I do think when you come and you watch our football team play, we haven’t flinched of who we want to be and what we want to stand for,” he added.

But is that easy? “It’s not. Is there ..is a lot easier other places. Maybe it is, maybe it’s not,” he admitted. What matters to him is the rooted faith in the Cyclones’ identity. “We know who we are. We know what we’re about. We know what we stand for. And for that part of it, I’m really proud of it.” And in all his scheme of things, star quarterback Rocco Becht is a significant element.

Matt Campbell makes a major Rocco Becht admission

“Rocco [Becht], just is, such an unbelievable student of the game,” that’s how Matt Campbell describes his star quarterback, who has been named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. The season-opener against Kansas State saw him throw for 278 yards and three touchdowns. A curious player, who wants to know what it takes, and that’s the most appealing of Rocco’s qualities, Campbell is in awe of. He has had back-to-back explosive seasons. He clinched the 2023 Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year honor and a second-Team Freshman All-American by The Athletic.

“He’s the first guy here shooting beats, half the staff at times, to the facility,” Campbell said of Becht. Last season, he started all 14 games and led the Cyclones to double-digit wins, an 11-3 record, towards the Big 12 championship game. “I’ve always felt like if the quarterback and the head coach have a very similar mentality and relationship, then it can really dictate the flow of the locker room,” he added. That collaboration bears fruit in the trenches, making sure there’s poise and precision maintained throughout those sixty minutes.

The coaching staff approves of the way Rocco steers the offense. Surely, that means he has a lot on his plate, but that drilled discipline and the ability to make decisions under high-stress situations that you have to deal with on the turf. That’s been a huge part of the Cyclones’ success as a team. “And if you look at our success a year ago and this year, boy, the last two minutes of the half, the first…the last two minutes of games, the amount of plays that guy’s made in critical moments to win us football games.” Let’s see what Rocco and Matt Campbell have in store against the Iowa Hawkeyes next matchup.