Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541990
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 6 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M T he proposition for Matt Campbell is straightforward. Penn State's new head coach arrives from a decade- long stint at Iowa State with tremendous success under the circumstances. The circumstances? With little investment but consis- tently positive results, the Cyclones became a program built on doing a lot with a little. They finished among the top 15 teams in the Associated Press poll in 2020 and '24, and at the height of the name, image and likeness era in college football, they've gone 19-7 over the past two seasons. Along the way, Campbell and his staff have come to understand the ingredi- ents that lead to winning. Outstanding players, yes, but also a formula built on strong culture, development and finding an edge in the margins. At Iowa State, Campbell was having to battle well-resourced programs like Texas and Oklahoma, which were part of the Big 12 for nine of his 10 seasons in Ames, yet he and his staff held their own. "There was never an opportunity, or never a chance during our time at Iowa State, where we financially had the abil- ity to compete with who we were going against. You had to win on all the other things," Campbell said. "And I'm glad we did, because that's still what wins — all the other things. You just get lost in the sauce of the financial numbers of it, but all the other things still matter the most." Introduced Dec. 8 at Beaver Stadium as the 17th head coach in program his- tory, Campbell will encounter a stag- geringly different reality working hand- in-hand with athletics director Patrick Kraft. One of the biggest differences is that he'll have have vastly more money at his disposal for player acquisition and retention — the equivalent of a payroll in professional sports. Campbell estimated Iowa State's funding was "three-fourths less" than many of its Big 12 counter- parts. Those numbers made his team one of the lowest-paid in the Power Four conferences the past two years. "Our top 20 kids were getting drasti- cally different numbers than what was going on with everybody else," Campbell said. "We just couldn't [match them]." But players stayed, largely because Campbell had worked to develop strong relationships and build a supportive culture. And it didn't hurt that the Cy- clones' football alumni were thriving at the NFL level. As Campbell explained, players had ample reason to believe they could be the next Brock Purdy, now a Pro Bowl quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers, or Breece Hall, who's rushed for more than 3,000 yards in four seasons with the New York Jets. Those high-profile NFL success sto- ries sent a powerful message throughout the Iowa State program. "I think it gave us a chance to under- stand, 'Maybe I can make real money for the rest of my life down the road.' That gave us a shot," Campbell said. "I think it prepares us for this moment." Campbell has reportedly received a commitment from Penn State for at least $30 million annually to be spent on the player payroll, both via revenue share and external money raised for the effort. He will be working alongside his long- time personnel assistant, Derek Hoodjer, to put that money to the best possible use. Hoodjer served as assistant director of recruiting at the start of his tenure at Iowa State and has spent the past three seasons as the assistant AD for football player personnel. Or, more commonly, the general manager. Confident in their shared approach, Campbell and Hoodjer must now adapt to a world in which they'll have the re- sources to assemble a high-level Big Ten roster. But having resources at one's dis- posal is just the start of the process. To be useful, those funds need to be deployed judiciously. "How do you use it?" Campbell asked. "It's great to have the money, but using the money wisely, using the resources correctly, building the right team, know- ing what you're trying to spend those things on, and making sure it's about the right things — those things, to me, are most important. To have somebody that's been side by side with me building great teams, I'm really excited." ■ Campbell (left) and athletics director Patrick Kraft will be looking to spend wisely in recruiting and the transfer portal. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS O P I N I O N NATE BAUER NATE.BAUER@ON3.COM HOT READ At Penn State, Matt Campbell Can Afford To Think Big