Big 12 Makes Horrible Decision Following Iowa State Cyclones Opting Out of Bowl Game

The Big 12 recently made a terrible decision following the Iowa State Cyclones opting out of their bowl game.

Dec 6, 2025; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of the Big 12 logo and scoreboard before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the BYU Cougars at AT&T Stadium. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

After losing head coach Matt Campbell, the Iowa State Cyclones recently decided not to play in a bowl game this year. However, the decision has had some negative ramifications for the program. 

It has been a busy couple of days for the Cyclones, who lost their head coach and then quickly replaced him with Jimmy Rogers, a former Washington State Cougars assistant. The loss of Campbell is a massive blow to the program, and he has had immense success with the program over the last 10 years. 

Losing him at this stage is far from ideal, and the quick pivot to Rogers was a good move by the program. Their new head coach might not have a ton of Division I head-coaching experience, but he was impressive with the Cougars in his first year. 

Due to the program losing their longtime coach, changes are obviously going to be coming for Iowa State. Coaches will be leaving to join Campbell at Penn State, along with players, undoubtedly going into the transfer portal. 

The Big 12 fines Kansas State and Iowa State $500,000 each for opting out of a bowl. pic.twitter.com/TLQcgkB6a1

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 7, 2025

Recently, with the players chiming in as well to agree, the Cyclones elected not to play in a bowl game to end the campaign. This is a totally understandable move by the program and the players, but the Big 12 has fined Iowa State $500,000. 

Wrong Move by Big 12

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Due to the decision and the circumstances surrounding Iowa State, this is the wrong decision by the Big 12 to fine the program. The Cyclones have just lost their head coach of 10 years and will undoubtedly be losing more players and coaches as well. 

It would have been unfair and frankly not realistic at this point for someone else to coach and also try to piece together a roster. On top of players likely leaving and some new ones coming in with Rogers, who knows what the program is going to look like in the coming days and weeks.

For the Big 12 to fine them shows that the conference is out of touch with what is going on. If the team had elected to do this and Campbell was still the coach, that would have been one thing. However, the head coach leaving for the Nittany Lions was out of their control, and they are being punished further for it. Overall, this is a bad decision by the conference, and Iowa State should be very displeased with the conference's decision.