Bill Fennelly’s run at Iowa State is entering its final chapter.
The longtime Cyclones women’s basketball coach announced Monday that the 2026-27 season will be his last, closing a career that began in 1995 and has made him the winningest head coach in ISU athletics history. He has compiled a 656-335 record at Iowa State and owns 822 overall career wins, good for 15th all-time among Division I women’s basketball coaches.
“While I still love coaching and am working as hard as ever, I understand that this job has an expiration date,” Fennelly said. “Deb (Fennelly’s wife) and our family can’t thank everyone enough for the support we have received since the day we arrived.
We have given everything we have to this program and our community. We are proud to call Ames home.
I hope that the focus of everyone is on our players as it always is in our program. This is a special group.”
Fennelly, 69, has guided Iowa State to the NCAA Tournament 24 times in 31 seasons and has taken the Cyclones to the Elite Eight twice. Last season, he passed current LSU coach Kim Mulkey for the Big 12 wins record and enters this final stretch with 312 league victories.
His last season will also come with a roster in transition. Fennelly is expected to coach an almost entirely new team rebuilt through the transfer portal and the prep ranks.
“It has been the greatest honor of my professional life to coach at Iowa State for the past 32 years,” Fennelly said. “I have been truly blessed to have had the opportunity to coach so many amazing players while working with loyal and dedicated staff members.
“We have built one of the most respected programs in the nation on and off the court. We have done that with the best fan base in the country that has grown from 310 in our first game to where it is today - top 10 for over 25 straight years.”
ISU athletics director Jamie Pollard, who also is set to retire in the coming weeks after a successor is in place, called Fennelly “a legend in women's college basketball.”
“Coach Fennelly is a legend in women's college basketball," Pollard said. "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 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.”
Pollard added that Fennelly’s influence will last well beyond his final season, both in the record book and in the people he has coached and inspired.
Fennelly still keeps the framed box score from his first game as Iowa State’s head coach in his office. It shows an attendance figure of 310 - a number he has long since left behind, along with many of the records that now define his career.
In Other News...
Iowa States Bowl Hopes Suddenly Hinge On One Tough Raynor Decision
Iowa State left Week 5 with a 24-10 loss to BYU, and the offense again offered more questions than answers. Aiden Flora provided one of the brighter spots with 86 rushing yards on 17 carries, while Jaylen Raynor finished 16 of 29 for 98 yards and did not turn the ball over, but the passing game never found the kind of rhythm the Cyclones need if they want to steady the season.
After six games, Raynors body of work has become part of a larger conversation around where Iowa State goes from here. The Cyclones are still chasing bowl eligibility, and with the offense struggling to generate enough through the air, the staff may have to weigh whether a different quarterback path gives them a better chance to keep those hopes alive down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Jimmy Rogers Sounds Alarm As Iowa State Hits Bye Week
BYUs 24-10 win left Iowa State heading into its bye week with plenty to sort through, and Jimmy Rogers wasted little time pointing to the defensive end of the field. Bear Bachmeier did damage through the air and on the ground, but the bigger concern for the Cyclones was how often the game got away from them in key moments, especially after an offense that produced its fewest yards since 2018 could never fully help steady things.
Jaylen Raynors line told part of the story, but not all of it, because the overall picture was one of a team that never found rhythm and now has extra time to reset. Rogers said the defense needs to be better, and the bye week gives Iowa State a chance to address the issues before the seasons next stretch gets any less forgiving. [Read more 🡒]
Tamin Lipsey Is Already Impacting Iowa State In One Crucial Way
Tamin Lipsey is already giving Iowa State something it values even before the season tips off. Officially added to the roster on Sept. 28, the veteran guard is in the middle of a bid for a fifth year of eligibility under the NCAAs five-in-five rule, but the immediate impact has been less about paperwork and more about presence. As the Cyclones piece together a roster with returning players and new transfers, Lipseys competitiveness and leadership have stood out for head coach T.J. Otzelberger.
For a team trying to build depth and stay in the Big 12 race, those traits matter as much as any box-score number. Iowa State is still waiting on the larger eligibility picture to settle, and that uncertainty leaves one important part of the roster in limbo heading into the season. Even so, Lipseys place in the program is already clear enough to be felt in practice, where the Cyclones are banking on his edge to help set the tone. [Read more 🡒]