Jamie Pollard’s decision to retire marks the end of a run that reshaped Iowa State athletics from top to bottom. He arrived in Ames in 2005, when the Cyclones were still battling for standing in the Big 12. By the time he steps away, he will have spent 22 years building a department that carries real national weight.
Pollard will remain in the role through June 30, 2027.
In a statement released Friday, Pollard said, “My wife, Ellen, and I look forward to the next chapter in our life’s journey and it is important to us that we transition now, while we are both healthy and young, so we can fully enjoy our retirement years. I am grateful to President Cook for allowing me to share this news now and hopefully it will allow the university plenty of time to properly transition new leadership to our department during a transformational time in college athletics.”
The results under Pollard tell the story. Iowa State won 24 Big 12 team championships across eight sports, reached 11 bowl games, won the 2021 Fiesta Bowl, made 12 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament appearances and 17 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament appearances, and produced 24 NCAA individual champions. The school also piled up academic success, regularly setting records for graduation and academic performance rates.
His impact went well beyond trophies. Pollard backed Matt Campbell, who went on to become the winningest football coach in school history and turned the Cyclones into a steady Big 12 threat.
He hired T.J. Otzelberger, who brought men’s basketball back to life and restored Hilton Magic.
On the women’s side, Pollard kept Bill Fennelly in place, and Iowa State wrestling stayed among the nation’s premier programs throughout his tenure.
The physical footprint of the department changed just as dramatically. More than $400 million in facility upgrades went in during Pollard’s time, touching Jack Trice Stadium, Hilton Coliseum, the Sukup Basketball Complex, wrestling spaces, and a long list of Olympic sports venues. He also pushed the CyTown project, an ambitious plan to turn the area around Jack Trice Stadium into a year-round destination.
Money followed the success. Fundraising rose from just over $9 million a year before Pollard arrived to more than $53 million in 2025-26. His work also earned national recognition, including two Athletics Director of the Year honors and leadership roles with several major collegiate athletics organizations.
Pollard’s departure closes a defining chapter for Iowa State. The next athletic director will inherit a department that is stronger, wealthier, and far more competitive than the one Pollard found in 2005.
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After nearly two decades steering Iowa State athletics, Jamie Pollard is preparing to step away from the athletic director job he has held since 2005. His announcement comes with the kind of long view that usually follows a transformational run: fundraising climbed, facilities were upgraded and the Cyclones became more competitive across the board, giving fans a version of the department that looked very different from the one Pollard inherited.
What comes next may end up shaping the next era just as much as Pollards own work did. New university president David Cook is expected to have a major hand in choosing the replacement, and the timing of Pollards exit is still not fully pinned down before June 2025. There is also the unfinished CyTown project hovering in the background, a reminder that the athletic departments next chapter is already under construction in more ways than one. [Read more 🡒]