Iowa State Agricultural College (Iowa State University) played its first organized game of football against State Center (1892) under coach and team captain Ira Brownlie. Football had been played at Iowa State since the 1870s, but only on an intramural level. In 1894, the team became part of an officially organized athletic association and competed with other colleges in the state of Iowa.



Iowa State football began playing on the west side of central campus, first behind Old Main (where Beardshear Hall is located), then north of Marston Hall (known as State Field). In 1914, "New" State Field was completed at the northeast corner of Sheldon and Lincoln Way. This location was later named Clyde Williams Field and served as the home of Cyclone football until 1974. Cyclone Stadium, later renamed Jack Trice Stadium, opened at the Iowa State Center (1975) and is the current home of the program.



The "Cyclone" nickname came from a game Iowa State played at Northwestern in 1895. Iowa State beat what was a well-regarded Wildcats team, 36-0 and the Chicago Tribune had a headline the next day that read "Struck By A Cyclone" in reference to a tornado that had devastated the Iowa town of Grinnell a year earlier. The Cyclone name has been associated with Iowa State ever since.



Early football legend and innovator, Glenn "Pop" Warner, coached Iowa State football, several weeks each year from 1895 through 1899. During his first two years with Iowa State, he simultaneously coached the University of Georgia's football team. Other prominent names from college football coaching history to have passed through Ames include former head coaches Johnny Majors (1968-1972) and Earle Bruce (1973-1978), and assistant coaches Jimmy Johnson (1968-1969), Jackie Sherrill (1968-1972), Pete Carroll (1978), and Mack Brown (1979-1981). Dan McCarney has the most wins of any coach in Iowa State history with 56.



In the Johnny Majors era, Iowa State went to its first bowl game, a 33-15 loss against Louisiana State University in the Sun Bowl (1971). The first Cyclone bowl win came at the Insight.com Bowl against Pittsburgh, 37-29 (2000). Iowa State has appeared in twelve bowl games through the 2015 season, winning three (2000, 2004, 2009).



Iowa State has a history of post-season recognition for players and coaches. There have been four Heisman Trophy finalists: Dwight Nichols, 8th place (1959); George Amundson, 7th place (1972); and Troy Davis, 5th place (1995) and 2nd place (1996). Earle Bruce was selected Big 8 Coach of the Year (1976, 1977) and Dan McCarney was voted Big 12 Coach of the Year (2001, 2004)



Through the 2015 season, Iowa State football has an overall win-loss-tie record of 513-630-46.



Coaches:



Ira C. Brownlie, 1892

W.F. Finney, 1893

Bert German, 1894

Glenn "Pop" Warner, 1895-1899

Joe Meyers, 1899

C.E. Woodruff, 1900

Edgar Clinton, 1901

A.W. Ristine, 1902-1906

Clyde Williams, 1907-1912

Homer C. Hubbard, 1913-1914

Charles Mayser, 1915-1919

Norman C. Paine, 1920

Maury Kent, 1921

Sam. F. Willaman, 1922-1925

Noel Workman, 1926-1930

George Veenker, 1931-1936

Jim Yeager, 1937-1940

Ray Donels, 1941-1942

Mike Michalske, 1942-1946

Abe Stuber, 1947-1953

Vince DiFrancesca, 1954-1956

Jim Myers, 1957

Clay Stapleton, 1958-1967

Johnny Majors, 1968-1972

Earle Bruce, 1973-1978

Donnie Duncan, 1979-1982

Jim Criner, 1983-1986

Chuck Banker, 1986 (interim)

Jim Walden, 1987-1994

Dan McCarney, 1995-2006

Gene Chizik, 2007-2008

Paul Rhoads, 2009-2015

Matt Campbell, 2016-present