Matt Campbell spent a decade at Iowa State making something out of very little. Now the numbers make that job look even tougher in hindsight.
A new roster budget report from The Athletic shows Iowa State sitting with the fourth-cheapest roster in the FBS this season, while Campbell’s new program at Penn State ranks No. 22 overall and is spending around $30 million in 2026. Iowa State, by comparison, is operating in the $13 million to $17 million range. The gap is real, and it puts Campbell in the same familiar place he was in Ames: still trying to squeeze every last bit of value out of a roster that isn’t built to outspend the heavyweights.
The report also places Penn State at No. 7 in Big Ten roster spending. That matters because the Nittany Lions are not just trying to stay relevant in the league - they’re trying to catch Ohio State and Oregon, who are spending nearly $50 million, or more, this season. That’s the mountain Penn State has to climb if it wants to be in the Big Ten title conversation.
Campbell’s reputation was built on exactly this kind of challenge. Iowa State was near the bottom of the FBS for most of his run, which is part of why he became such an appealing candidate for a power-conference move and why the NFL reportedly showed interest at different points along the way. He made a habit of developing underrecruited players into real contributors, and that skill is even more valuable now that college football is built around roster spending and resource allocation.
That shift is also why general managers have become a normal part of the sport, and why it mattered that Derek Hoodjer came with Campbell from Ames. In this era, the job is as much about building the right roster economically as it is about coaching it on Saturdays.
Penn State’s spending picture is likely to keep moving, too. The program brought in Campbell after James Franklin’s buyout was handled without much pain because of the offset clause, costing less than $10 million.
But staff changes aren’t free, and neither are major renovations at Beaver Stadium. On top of that, a large chunk of the roster came from Iowa State, which means several players could be in line for meaningful raises and still count as good value compared with Big Ten competition.
That’s the bet Penn State made: give the coach who thrived with less a bigger budget and see what happens. The problem is that “more” at Penn State still doesn’t mean close to the top of the sport.
If Pat Kraft wants the Nittany Lions to compete for Big Ten championships, the gap has to shrink between Penn State and the programs at the top of the spending ladder. Until that happens, Campbell may be working in a middle-class reality while trying to meet elite expectations.
And that’s where the tension sits. The program is spending more than Iowa State ever did under Campbell, but relative to the Big Ten’s biggest hitters, Penn State still has a long way to go. Wisconsin and Nebraska are the closest conference neighbors in 2026 roster spend, and if the gap doesn’t close, they could start looking less like teams Penn State is supposed to beat and more like the programs it’s living alongside.
Campbell has already shown he can operate in that kind of environment. The question now is whether Penn State can give him enough to turn a good resourceful coach into a true contender.
In Other News...
Beaver Stadium Is Finally Addressing A Penn State Fan Frustration
Beaver Stadium is getting a long-awaited fix to one of the most familiar headaches for Penn State fans, with the schools Board of Trustees Finance and Investment Committee approving a 10-year deal with AT&T to upgrade cellular service at the venue. The new system is expected to be in place for the 2027 football season, and interim improvements are already being made this fall as part of the broader push to make the stadium experience less frustrating on game day.
The upgrade will bring a new distributed antenna system designed to improve coverage and increase bandwidth capacity across the stadium, a notable addition as Beaver Stadium nears completion of its $700 million renovation. For a fan base that has dealt with spotty service for years, the timing matters almost as much as the technology, even if the full payoff is still a couple of seasons away. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Fans Have One Gameday Concern Before Buffalo Kickoff
A comfortable start is on tap for Penn States noon kickoff against Buffalo at Beaver Stadium, with meteorologist Joe Murgo calling for temperatures in the upper 60s and a steady south-southeast wind. It should feel like a pretty good early-season football afternoon for much of the game, but there is enough movement in the forecast to keep fans paying attention as the hours wear on.
Murgo also flagged the possibility of showers or thunderstorms by the end of the game, which means a dry tailgate might not stay that way for long. For the Penn State crowd, the practical advice is simple: bring layers, pack rain gear, and give yourself extra time to get through the traffic headed into State College. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Players Feel Extra Pressure With Program Legends Returning
Penn State is set to welcome back one of the most celebrated groups in program history, with the 1986 national championship team being honored at halftime during an upcoming game. Running back D.J. Dozier, an All-American from that squad, will serve as honorary captain and handle the coin toss, giving the current roster a chance to share the field, in a sense, with the standard-bearers of a championship era.
For players like Caleb Bacon and Gabe Burkle, the return of those lettermen brings an added layer to a game week that already carries its own weight. The current Nittany Lions know the legacy they are trying to uphold, and the presence of program legends has only sharpened that motivation, turning a celebration of the past into a reminder of the expectations that still follow Penn State football. [Read more 🡒]