Jared Benko Makes First Hire as Iowa State Athletic Director

The Iowa State Cyclones are entering a new era with Jared Benko taking over as athletic director at the school.

He is replacing Jamie Pollard, who announced his retirement this past summer after more than two decades on the job. It is a massive change for the university, which is making the most of the resources it has available.

It will be up to Jenko to help elevate the athletic program to another level. Renowned for his fundraising work, the future is bright in Ames. And now, he is filling out the staff under him that will help achieve those goals.

Benko has announced the first addition to the athletic department since he took over. Iowa State is hiring Josh Turner as the new Senior Deputy Athletics Director.

Iowa State hires Josh Turner to join athletic department

Iowa State’s new athletics director, Jared Benko, receives an Iowa State jersey from university president David Cook. — Iowa State’s new athletics director, Jared Benko, receives an Iowa State jersey from university president David Cook after being introduced during a press conference at the Sukup End Zone Club at Jack Trice Stadium on Oct. 19, 2026, in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune/USA TODAY Network) | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

"We are excited to welcome Josh Turner to Iowa State Athletics," Benko said, via the school's official website. "Josh brings a great deal of experience and knowledge, particularly in building out front office operations and managing revenue sharing. I have been impressed with his leadership, strategic thinking and understanding of where college athletics is headed. We look forward to welcoming Josh, Bailey, Olivia and their baby boy on the way to the Cyclone family!"

Turner is another person who has an incredible amount of experience in the NIL space, which is something that the Cyclones needed more of. Revolutionizing the athletic department to match the modern-day landscape of collegiate sports was something Iowa State needed, and Benko was the first step toward that.

Now, Turner will help push that to another level. He has spent the last two years with the Florida State Seminoles as Deputy Athletics Director and Chief Financial Officer. His responsibilities in that role included “enterprise financial strategy, revenue sharing, NIL, multimedia rights, contracts, analytics and special projects,” per the Iowa State website.

He was responsible for creating the NIL model at Florida State while developing a long-term plan to adapt to the ever-changing landscape. Turner worked with boosters and department leadership to collaborate on efforts to elevate the programs.

Please join us in welcoming Josh Turner our Senior Deputy Athletics Director! https://t.co/fu1y0xvugc pic.twitter.com/uMdvIXlUHk
— Iowa State Athletics (@CycloneATH) October 23, 2026

"I'm honored to join Iowa State as Senior Deputy Athletics Director and grateful to Jared Benko and university leadership for their confidence," Turner said. "As the economics of college athletics evolve, the institutions best positioned to thrive will be those that pair strong traditions with disciplined, forward-looking strategy. Iowa State has both, and with CyTown and the talented team already in place, I look forward to helping translate that strength into sustained competitive advantage for Cyclone student-athletes."

Turner was a no-brainer hire for Benko because the two have experience working together already. From 2020-2022, Turner was a budget analyst for Georgia Southern University, where Benko was the athletic director. In his second stint with Georgia Southern, Turner was the Senior Associate Athletics Director for business operations from 2024-25.

He also has experience from his time with the University of Miami, where he was Assistant Athletics Director for business operations from 2022-24.

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