Iowa State Football Fans Ready To Show up and Support

There aren’t going to be many familiar faces to Iowa State Cyclones fans when the football team takes the field for the first time later this fall.

With Matt Campbell heading to the Penn State Nittany Lions, most of the coaching staff and a large portion of the roster followed him. That left a lot of work for new head coach Jimmy Rogers, who brought in some highly-regarded coaches and put together as strong a roster as possible given the circumstances.

Despite mixed expectations for the football team, given how many unknowns there are, the fan base is ready to show up and support their squad. According to athletic director Jamie Pollard, the support has not slowed down despite the changes.

"I don't know the exact number, but we're trending right where we had thought and budgeted," Pollard said, via Alec Busse of Cyclone Alert. "So, we feel good about it."

Fan support remains high for Iowa State football team

Iowa State Fans cheer as greeting by Cy during Spring football at Jack Trice Stadium on April 25, 2026, in Ames, Iowa. — Iowa State Fans cheer as greeting by Cy during Spring football at Jack Trice Stadium on April 25, 2026, in Ames, Iowa | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This is an encouraging sign for Rogers, as he heads into his first year at the helm of the program. Despite not having Campbell at the helm for the first time in a decade, the fans are still as excited as ever for what is to come.

During his tenure with the program, support from the fan base steadily grew. During Campbell’s first year, in 2016, there was an average attendance of 52,557 at Jack Trice Stadium. Since 2023, that number has improved to more than 60,000.

Last year, Iowa State had an average of 60,862 fans for home games. That was the second most in the Big 12, behind only the BYU Cougars, who averaged 63,789 fans per game at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

It is something that Rogers is hoping continues and can be built upon during his tenure, looking for more support from the fans.

Jimmy Rogers hoping fans continue to support

Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers speaks during a timeout. — Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers speaks during a timeout in the first half in the Iowa State and Iowa men’s basketball Cy-Hawk series at Hilton coliseum on Dec. 11, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Come out and support," Rogers said. "Just because there was a change on staff doesn't mean that there needs to be a change in belief in Iowa State athletics and Iowa State football."

Receiving support at Jack Trice Stadium will certainly help get Iowa State over the hump in Year 1 of the Rogers Era. Taking over for a coach who accomplished as much as Campbell is not easy, but he certainly looks up to the task.

Cyclones fans are amongst the most passionate in the country, ranking inside the top 30 in attendance every year, not counting the COVID-19-impacted campaign in 2020, every year since 2016.

Campbell’s departure has not negatively impacted the support, which is awesome to see. There are a lot of new faces on the roster, but there are also some really talented players who can help keep the positive momentum going.

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