Jimmy Rogers is already showing a side of himself that Iowa State fans probably didn’t know they’d get this soon.
At Big 12 Football Media Days, the first-year Cyclones coach looked more relaxed in front of local reporters than he did when he first took the job. He joked about drinking too many energy drinks in the past, called himself a “Busch Latte” aficionado and even gave this reporter a hard time for stumbling over words in a question. Rogers had already said in his introductory press conference that he has “RBF,” but now the rest of his personality is starting to come through, too.
That matters because so many college football coaches can come off like they were built in a lab for press conferences. Rogers doesn’t seem to fit that mold.
He answers questions directly, and he does it with enough humor and edge to make the interaction feel a little more human. He’s still clearly all football, all the time, but he’s also showing that he can laugh, joke and jab a little.
Eight months in, that’s been interesting to watch.
Soon enough, the football part will take over.
Another note from the college hoops side: Michigan may have at least kicked the tires on T.J. Otzelberger before settling on Mike Boynton.
The Wolverines announced a two-year contract agreement with Boynton on July 10, after Dusty May left for the Dallas Mavericks head coaching job earlier this summer. Before removing the interim tag from Boynton, Michigan apparently checked on other names, including Otzelberger and Billy Donovan, according to the Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman.
“I think they went looking at a T.J. Otzelberger, a Billy Donovan,” Goodman said in a video with Rob Dauster.
“Guys like that. And, at least, [Michigan athletic director] Warde Manuel did his due diligence, and I don't blame him.”
Goodman also said, “I love Mike Boynton, would hire him, absolutely,” before adding, “Think he'd do a hell of a job. But if you can get a T.J.
Otzelberger, sh--, yeah, you take that in a heartbeat. T.J.'s been super successful at, you could say, a similar spot that Boynton wasn't as successful at Oklahoma State.”
I hadn’t heard Michigan tied to Otzelberger in recent weeks, and I don’t think Otzelberger is leaving the preseason top 25 roster he built around returning contributors Jamarion Batemon, Killyan Toure, Blake Buchanan and Dominykas Pleta. But Goodman has better sources than I do, so that reporting is worth noting.
My read on Otzelberger hasn’t changed: he wants to be Iowa State’s coach for a long time. The 10-year extension he signed following the 2026 season points that way.
At the same time, he wants - and deserves - continued support from Iowa State if he’s going to stay on the Hilton Coliseum sideline. Right now, he has that assurance, and if that continues, I’d expect him to remain in the Sukup Basketball Complex.
The Big 12 also made one of the loudest business moves of media days by striking a title sponsorship deal with Monster Energy for the conference’s regular-season football and basketball properties.
“Last year, we entered a partnership with Monster Energy to be the official energy drink of the Big 12 and today, we build on that with Monster Energy becoming the entitlement partner of Big 12 football and Big 12 basketball regular seasons,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said at Big 12 Football Media Days. “Our multi-year partnership is the first of its kind.”
The deal is worth about $20 million to the conference and should mean roughly $1 million per school each year. It also comes with a co-branded Monster Energy-Big 12 logo patch on league members’ jerseys, fields and basketball courts, plus the new labels of “Monster Energy Big 12 Football” and “Monster Energy Big 12 Basketball.”
The reaction has been mixed, with support, backlash and plenty of skepticism from fans. On paper, $20 million sounds solid. But $1 million per school also doesn’t exactly jump off the page.
Still, there’s a simple reality here: a league is worth what someone will pay for it. Yormark knows the business side of this better than most, and he wouldn’t sign off on a bad deal if a better one was available.
The schools also had to approve it. So whether people like it or not, this is probably the best the Big 12 could do.
Rich Rodriguez supplied the best line of the week when he said, “Did anybody else say that? Probably not.
They might be afraid. Hell, I don't care.”
Rodriguez was pushing his own idea for how Power Conference schools could be grouped into regional collections, and he clearly wasn’t worried about whether the concept was original or whether anybody would push back. Even so, the odds of college football going back to regionalized conferences feel extremely slim.
And with MLB All-Star week here, the Home Run Derby has my attention tonight in Philadelphia.
Eight sluggers will take part at Citizens Bank Park, and this year’s format adds a twist. The bracket is still in place, but hitters get only 20 swings in the first round and 15 in the semifinals and finals. There’s also a wrinkle where, if a home run comes on the final swing, the hitter keeps going until an out is recorded.
That setup could make for a really fun Derby. The only concern is that hitters might end up waiting too long for the perfect pitch instead of letting it fly.
As a Cardinals fan, I’m pulling for Jordan Walker, but Kyle Schwarber looks like the favorite to me. And Munetaka Murakami should put on a serious power show.
In Other News...
Iowa State May Have Just Found The Receiver Fans Were Waiting For
Iowa State added a major piece to its future offense with a commitment from a highly regarded wide receiver prospect who brings both national attention and the kind of pedigree the program has been trying to stack on the perimeter. The addition gives the Cyclones another promising target in a recruiting class that already needed to show it could keep pace with the Big 12s best, and it comes with the sort of profile that tends to get fans looking ahead to what the passing game could become.
What makes this one especially intriguing is the ripple effect it could have beyond a single roster spot. A receiver ranked among the top names at his position and in his home state can do more than catch passes down the road, since commitments like this often help shape how other recruits view a programs ceiling and offensive direction. For Iowa State, the hope is that this is the kind of addition that can become a cornerstone, not just a headline. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa States Loaded 2027 Class Is Already Turning Heads On EYBL
Iowa States 2027 recruiting work is already drawing attention well beyond Ames, and the reason is easy to see on the Nike EYBL circuit. Three Cyclone commits have been producing steady all-summer numbers against elite competition, giving the staff an early look at a class that has quickly built a national reputation.
The bigger picture is what comes next, because the EYBL calendar is down to its final major stop and the stage only gets brighter from here. For Iowa State, the appeal is not just that the class is rated at the top of the country, but that these players still have one more chance to reinforce why so many people around the circuit are talking about them. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Suddenly Faces A Massive Question After Jamie Pollard News
Jamie Pollards retirement announcement landed at a delicate moment for Iowa State, because it comes after a long run in which the athletic director helped turn the department into a much bigger operation. Since taking over in 2004, Pollard oversaw major growth in revenue, budget, ticket sales and staff size, and his influence stretched across the entire athletics enterprise as the Cyclones built more stability and visibility.
The timing also matters because Iowa State is already adjusting to change elsewhere in the program, with Matt Campbell having just left for Penn State. Pollards exit does not happen overnight, but the search for his replacement is set to begin this fall, which leaves the Cyclones facing a leadership transition that could shape how the next phase of the department takes form. [Read more 🡒]