With the Cy-Hawk game now likely set to continue through 2031, the debate around whether Iowa State and Iowa should keep playing has only gotten louder. The easy arguments are familiar: strength of schedule, early-season national attention, and the built-in fun of an in-state rivalry. But the bigger point, at least in this telling, is that the game matters for a reason beyond football aesthetics.
The case for keeping it annual starts with money. Both schools, the argument goes, would stand to gain from athletics funding from the state, and other states are already backing their programs.
The source also points to Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss receiving help from the state court system in his push to the NCAA for another year of eligibility. If Iowa State and Iowa want to keep pace with dynasty-level programs, the state will have to get involved.
There’s also a political downside to walking away from the game. If the rivalry were ever canceled, the first question from the state would likely be why the schools gave up a major stream of revenue that could have helped recover some of those funds. In that light, burning a bridge with the state before ever needing to cross it would be a bad move.
Still, the simplest reason to keep the matchup is the one fans already know: it’s fun. The games have gone down to the wire recently, they draw national attention, and they bring out the best and worst in both fanbases. That, more than anything, is what college football is supposed to be.
The piece also draws a line to basketball scheduling, noting that if a team loads up on weak non-conference opponents, the first months of the season can feel meaningless and fan interest can fade. By contrast, the Cy-Hawk game gives both teams an early test and sets the tone for the conference grind that follows.
That same logic is used to push back on complaints about losing protected rivalries. When Farmeggeddon was not kept as a protected rivalry, the backlash came without much talk about schedule optimization. The reason was obvious: that game is fun, and fans know it.
The second half of the conversation shifts to Matt Campbell and Rocco Becht, whose comments have stirred things up again after months of relative calm. Both have now said they believed Taylor Mouser would be Iowa State’s next head coach after Campbell. Becht also said it would have been much harder for him to transfer if Mouser had taken over.
The reporting on Becht’s decision, shared by Adam Breneman, says Becht did not plan on leaving Iowa State, but when the Cyclones hired from outside the program instead of promoting from within after Campbell left, everything changed. With Campbell landing at Penn State, Becht explored other options.
The frustration here is not with Campbell leaving for what was best for him. It is with the idea that former pieces of the program still get to dictate how the program should operate.
The source argues that Campbell was important to building Iowa State, but not the only reason the program matters. Fan support, creative work in the NIL space, and the contributions of hundreds of players and staff have all helped make the Cyclones relevant.
There is also pushback against the idea that Mouser should have been hired simply to avoid roster turnover. If someone believes Mouser is the better coach, that is one thing. But making such a major decision just to keep a few solid players for a year or two is called bad logic here, and it is not given much patience.
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