Get to Know Matt Campbell: The 17th Head Coach in Program History
From Bowling Green To Happy Valley, The Program Has A New Leader
Former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell will officially be named to the same position at Penn State on Monday. Known for being a coach that has elevated programs, his experience and credentials speak for itself.
No Stranger To Winning As A Player
Campbell was born in Massillon, Ohio in 1979 and played football for Perry High School, a rival of Jackson High School where his father coached.
Fans would be excited to hear about Campbell’s physicality credentials as the defensive lineman helped lead Perry to three conference championships.
Campbell is no stranger to the Keystone State, having played for Pittsburgh in 1998 on an athletic scholarship. In 1999, he transferred to Division III powerhouse Mount Union, which was his football home until 2002.
During his time there, the Purple Raiders won three national championships under the tutelage of College Football Hall of Fame head coach Larry Kehres. As for individual accolades, Campbell racked up College Football All-America Team and OAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2001 and 2002.
Ground Game Success Opened Many Doors
Campbell did not waste any time after college, taking a graduate assistant role at Bowling Green from 2003–2004.
He returned to his alma mater as an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2005 and 2006. Campbell helped the Purple Raiders to a 29-1 record and two national championships. In 2005, the Purple Raider offense averaged 41.3 points per game, rushed for 238.2 yards per game and allowed only 19 sacks in 15 games.
Bowling Green saw Campbell’s talents and had him return with an elevated role on the coaching staff with the offensive line in 2007. A year later, he became the run game coordinator and helped the Falcons go from 123.6 to 134 rushing yards per game and 16 to 19 touchdowns.
The real boost came when Campbell was hired away at Toledo in 2009, a team that averaged 146.3 rushing yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry in 2008, to be their run game coordinator and offensive line coach. Under Campbell, running back Dajaune Collins went from 700 to 991 rushing yards and 5 to 14 touchdowns, setting career highs for both.
For the next two seasons, Campbell stayed with the Rockets as an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, playing a major role in the team’s first back-to-back winning seasons since 2004 and 2005.
Toledo surged from 27.9 points per game in 2010 to the eighth-best scoring offense in the FBS with 42.9 points per game in 2011, and when head coach Tim Beckman left for Illinois, it was Campbell’s time to shine.
The Toledo Years: At The Top
Campbell did not skip a beat when he began leading the Rockets as a first-time collegiate head coach in 2012 as the team went 9-4 and was ranked for the first time since 2001. Toledo finished the season at No. 23, tied for the fifth-highest rank in school history.
As a program, Toledo has not had a losing season since before Campbell was the head coach back in 2008.
In 50 seasons before Campbell, the Rockets finished with a win percentage of .500 or better 32 times. In just four seasons with Campbell, the team finished .500 or better each time with a 35-15 overall record.
In Campbell’s final year at Toledo in 2015, the Rockets were ranked as high as No. 19 in the AP Poll, had its first 10-win season since 2001 and fielded two 900-yard rushers, including Kareem Hunt who had 973 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Campbell also won the MAC Coach of the Year award that season.
His Legacy At Iowa State
After a storied coaching career at Toledo, Campbell moved to his first power conference job at Iowa State in 2016. He was in for a large undertaking at that school but did not waver.
Before Campbell was hired, the Cyclones had 42 winning seasons in 118 years. Just like with Toledo, he elevated the program as Iowa State with eight winning seasons in 10 years.
In 2020, Iowa State finished in the top 10 for the first time in program history. Campbell led the team to its first New Year’s Six bowl since 1977, defeating No. 25 Oregon 34 to 17 in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Cyclones had their longest run of consecutive bowl game appearances with five from 2017 to 2021.
In Iowa State’s first winning season since 2009, Campbell led the team to two wins over top 5 programs for the first time in program history in 2017.
Campbell’s teams went 11-16 against AP Top 25 teams, the best record by any coach in program history. Overall, he went 72-55 and became the winningest coach ever at Iowa State.
As for quarterback development, Cyclones alum Brock Purdy made a Super Bowl appearance in 2023 and has been the 49ers leading signal-caller ever since.
The accolades speak for themself as Campbell racked up the Big 12 Coach of the Year award in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
It’s clear now that Campbell doesn’t need to transform Penn State. His job now is to take the Nittany Lions back to a source of pride and competition that has been long-awaited.