Iowa State Cyclones football The Iowa State Cyclones football is the football team at the Iowa State University in Ames , Iowa . The team is currently coached by Paul Rhoads . The Cyclones compete in the Big 12 Conference , and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) member of the NCAA . The Cyclones play their home games at Jack Trice Stadium , with a capacity of 55 , 000 . History . Football first made its way onto the Iowa State campus in 1878 as a recreational sport , but it wasn ' t until 1892 that an organized group of athletes first represented Iowa State in football . In 1894 , college president William M . Beardshear spearheaded the foundation of an athletic association to officially sanction Iowa State football teams . The 1894 team finished with a 6 – 1 mark , including a 16 – 8 victory over what is now the University of Iowa . Iowa State finished the season 8 – 4 . The 1971 teams was picked to finish last in the Big Eight , but overcame odds to get a Sun Bowl bid to give the Cyclones their first bowl bid ever in Majors ' fourth season at Iowa State . The team was led by George Amundson , who Majors called “ the finest athlete I have coached in any job I have had . ” Iowa State had one all - conference pick , LB Keith Schroeder . Offensively they were led by Amundson who rushed for 1 , 260 yards as a running back , including a school record of 15 touchdowns . End Keith Krepfle had 40 receptions for 570 yards and 12 touchdowns . Quarterback Dean Carlson threw for a school record of 1 , 867 yards . Johnny Majors era . Iowa State ' s defense played well , but was unable to control QB Bert Jones who was 12 – 18 – 227 with three touchdowns . Iowa State got to within four points in the fourth quarter , but Bert Jones drove LSU down the field for yet another score . 1972 saw the loss of five starters and the move of George Amundson from running back to quarterback to replace Dean Carlson . The Clones lost LB Matt Blair to a pre season injury which forced him into a medical redshirt . The Cyclones fought Nebraska to a 23 – 23 tie during the ' 72 season which would have been won on a made extra point by Tom Goedjen , who missed the extra point , but wouldn ' t miss another extra point as a Cyclone . Three players went on to be named to the All - Big Eight team , OL Geary Murdoch , DE Merv Krakau and QB George Amundson . George Amundson was named Big Eight player of the year over Heisman Trophy winner , Johnny Rodgers . Iowa State led 14 – 3 after the first quarter and a Willie Jones Liberty Bowl record , 93 - yard kickoff return gave the Cyclones a 21 – 17 halftime edge . Georgia Tech regained the lead , but the Cyclones took advantage of a Tech turnover late in the game . Amundson hit Ike Harris on a 5 - yard TD pass with 1 : 36 left to cut the Tech lead to 31 - 30 , but Amundson ’ s two - point conversion pass fell incomplete to end the Cyclones ’ chances for victory before 50 , 021 emotionally spent fans , as well as an ABC - TV prime - time national audience . All - Americans under Major The team finished the season with an 8 – 3 record and a No . 18 ranking , but was snubbed by the bowls even though their losses were to the # 1 , # 2 and # 3 teams in the country . Bruce was selected as the Big Eight Coach of the year and had four players garner all conference honors , including Luther Blue , a Split End , who was an All - American . Iowa State would have tied for a share of the Big Eight title with a win over Oklahoma State in the season finale , but they lost . They upset power house Nebraska 37 – 28 , their first win over Nebraska since 1960 , but was unable to beat bowl - bound teams Oklahoma State and Colorado . Earle Bruce era . Following another good season , where the Cyclones again beat Nebraska , Iowa State earned a berth in the Peach Bowl . They also tied for second in the conference . The Peach Bowl saw the matchup of two stellar running backs , NC State ' s Ted Brown and Iowa State ' s Dexter Green . The game however was dominated by QB Johnny Evans who put up 264 yards of total offense . The Cyclones returned 14 starters from the 1977 peach bowl team including Heisman Trophy candidate , Dexter Green and Outland Trophy hopeful , Mike Stensrud . Iowa State ' s post season hopes came down to their last game against Colorado which was nationally televised . The game was close throughout , with ISU clinging to a 17 – 10 halftime lead . A 27 - yard first - half TD pass from Grant to Hardee and a 24 - yard field goal from Steve Johnson gave ISU a 10 – 0 lead . After a CU touchdown closed the gap , Grant rumbled into the end zone from five yards out before the Buffs closed the half with a field goal . The second half was a defensive battle , but the ISU defense came up with big plays down the stretch . Mike Stensrud had 16 stops and caused a fumble to help ISU preserve a 20 – 16 win over the Buffs . The win earned ISU a Hall of Fame Bowl bid . Cyclones that made the Big Eight first team were Dexter Green , Mike Stensrud , Tom Boskey and Dick Cuvelier . Chris Boskey was named Big Eight Newcomer of the Year . Iowa State was favored in the Hall of Fame Bowl , but Texas A & M RB Curtis Dickey ran for a Hall of Fame Bowl record of 276 yards . Dickey had 184 yards in the first half , including runs of 54 , 25 , 35 , and 21 yards . Dan McCarney era . In 2000 , McCarney took the Cyclones to their first bowl game since 1978 and their first ever bowl victory . Led by senior QB Sage Rosenfels , the Cyclones won against the University of Pittsburgh Panthers in the 2000 Insight . com Bowl at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix , Arizona . Propelled by newcomer Seneca Wallace , the Cyclones went to a second bowl game in 2001 against the Alabama in the 2001 Independence Bowl in Shreveport , Louisiana . They lost the game on a disputed missed field goal by Cyclone kicker Tony Yelk , which some people thought had sailed directly over the right goal post . Seneca Wallace would lead the Cyclones to a 6 – 1 start in 2002 , including a near - win against the Florida State in the Eddie Robinson Classic in Kansas City , Missouri . Wallace dove towards the goal line at the last second but was ruled out shy of the end zone . At one point the Cyclones were ranked # 9 in the country . They wouldn ' t finish the season as well as they began it . They finished the season 7 - 7 following a loss to Boise State in the Humanitarian Bowl . The following season wasn ' t as successful . The Cyclones finished 2003 with a 2 – 10 record . They were quarterbacked by redshirt freshman Austin Flynn , who went on to switch the wide receiver position in later seasons . During a 2002 home game versus Texas Tech , ISU quarterback Seneca Wallace scored on a 12 - yard touchdown by running an estimated 120 yards backwards , forwards , and sideways on the field . Wallace dodged tackles and received numerous blocks from his offense , including one devastating block made by running back Michael Wagner . The play briefly catapulted Wallace into Heisman Trophy contention and was recognized by ESPN as the " Play of the Week . " It has since been recognized as one of the great plays in college football history . The play is known among Iowa State fans simply as " The Run . " Just as memorable to fans was the play - by - play given by Cyclone Radio broadcaster Pete Taylor . The 2004 season would be much more successful than 2003 for the Cyclones . Redshirt freshman Bret Meyer took over the quarterback spot and paired up with fellow redshirt freshman receiver Todd Blythe to make a lethal combination . The Cyclones had a chance to win the Big 12 North Title but fell short after a Missouri defender intercepted a pass intended for Jon Davis in the end zone . The Cyclones would go on to play the Miami RedHawks in the 2004 Independence Bowl . They won the game 17 – 13 . The Cyclones finished the season 7 – 5 . The Cyclones continued their success under McCarney in the 2005 season with a 7 – 5 record . They missed out yet again on the Big 12 title when they lost in overtime to the Kansas Jayhawks after a missed field goal by Bret Culbertson . They led the game in the 4th quarter but allowed Kansas to come back . They got a berth in the 2005 Houston Bowl , but lost 24 – 27 to the TCU Horned Frogs . McCarney stepped down as head coach after a 4 – 8 season in 2006 . McCarney finished with a 56 – 85 all time record . All - Americans under McCarney Gene Chizik era . Gene Chizik signed as new head football coach , replacing Dan McCarney . Iowa State wore 1977 throwback jerseys for the 2007 game against Iowa and re - introduced gold pants as a standard part of their uniform . It marked the 30th anniversary since the restart of the rivalry as well as the 30th anniversary of the 1977 Iowa State Peach Bowl team . They finished the season 3 - 9 , including a 15 - 13 win over Iowa , and back - to - back wins against Kansas State and Colorado . All three wins were upsets . In 2008 , Iowa State opened with two wins against weaker nonconference foes , before losing their next 10 games to finish the season 2 - 10 . Chizik left the Cyclones after the season to become the head football coach of Auburn . Paul Rhoads era . Paul Rhoads was announced as the 31st head coach in December 2008 . Rhoads had previously spent time at Iowa State as an assistant coach in the late nineties and was raised only 20 miles from the school ' s football facilities . Rhoads led Iowa State to a victory at Kent State in his first year , ending a 17 game road losing streak . In October 2009 the Cyclones defeated Baylor to end an 11 game losing stretch against conference opponents , and then went on to defeat Nebraska in Lincoln for the first time since 1977 . On December 31 , 2009 the Cyclones capped off their season with an Insight . com Bowl victory over Minnesota . In 2010 the Cyclones captured a milestone win over the # 22 Texas Longhorns by a 28 – 21 margin . It was only the fourth ever road win over a ranked team in Iowa State history , and the first occurrence since a 33 – 31 victory over Oklahoma in 1990 . It was also the first ever win by an Iowa State football team over Texas . In 2011 Iowa State started off the season 3 - 0 including a triple overtime win over Iowa in Ames , and a win over Connecticut in East Hartford . The Cyclones would drop the next four games , starting out 0 - 4 in conference play but quickly bounce back . The Cyclones rebounded with a 41 - 7 win on October 29 at number 19 Texas Tech . In the process , Iowa State managed to rack up 512 total yards , the most since the Nov 22 , 2008 game at Kansas State ( 626 yards at KSU ) . Several other school records were broken , including first - ever win in Lubbock , Texas ( 1 - 5 all - time ) , largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent ( previous : 22 - point margin of victory against No . 20 Nebraska , 2002 ) , largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent as an unranked team ( previous : 21 - point margin of victory against No . 8 Missouri , 1981 ) , largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent on the road ( previous : 7 - point margin of victory at No . 22 Texas , 2010 ) , and most points scored against a ranked opponent since Nov . 9 , 1996 ( 42 at No . 7 Colorado ) . On November 18 , Iowa State faced off against undefeated No . 2 Oklahoma State and Heisman frontrunner Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon in Ames . Down 24 - 7 early in the second half , Iowa State came back with 17 unanswered points to force overtime . In overtime , Iowa State scored on its first play from scrimmage , but Oklahoma State answered back with one . In the second overtime , Iowa State forced an interception and ran three run plays to beat Oklahoma State 37 - 31 , smashing Oklahoma State ' s chances of playing for a national championship and Brandon Weeden ' s Heisman shot . Iowa State became bowl eligible with the win and improved to 6 - 4 . The win over Oklahoma State marks Iowa State ' s first ever win against an opponent in the top 6 ( AP polls ) . On September 8 , 2012 Iowa State defeated Iowa 9 - 6 for its first win in Iowa City in 10 years . Championships and Rankings . Conference championships . Iowa State has won 2 conference championships in school history . Both Iowa State conference championships were during their membership in the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association ( MVIAA ) , which would later be known as the Big Eight Conference . Iowa State was a Big 12 Conference North Division co - champion during the 2004 season . Appearances in the final Associated Press Poll . Iowa State has made 40 appearances in the Associated Press poll over 10 seasons , including 1 week in the Top 10 . Iowa State has finished the year ranked in the final Associated Press poll of the season 2 times : All - time Records . Season records . The Cyclones began playing football against other colleges in 1892 . Bowl games . Iowa State has appeared in 12 bowl games . Their overall bowl record is 3 - 9 : Facilities . Jack Trice Stadium . Jack Trice Stadium ( formerly Cyclone Stadium ) is a stadium in Ames , Iowa . It is primarily used for college football , and is the home field of the Iowa State University Cyclones . It opened on September 20 , 1975 ( with a win against Air Force ) , and with hillside tickets it officially has 55 , 000 seats . The current record for single - game attendance , 56 , 800 , was set on October 13 , 2012 when the # 24 Cyclones played # 5 Kansas State . In 1997 , the stadium was named in honor of Jack Trice , ISU ' s first African American athlete and the school ' s first athletics - related fatality . The stadium is the only stadium in Division I - A named for an African American individual . Bergstrom Indoor Facility . The Steve and Debbie Bergstrom Indoor Training Facility opened in March 2004 . It is a multi - purpose , indoor practice facility . Inside the facility is a full sized astroturf football field . Though typically associated with football , it is also used for practice by the softball and soccer teams , as well as community events . The building sits just northwest of Jack Trice Stadium and is part of the Johnny Majors Practice Complex . The facility cost $ 9 . 6 million to build and was funded by private gifts to the athletic department and ISU Foundation . Football Training Facility . Currently a 20 . 6 million dollar structure is being added to the Bergstrom Indoor Facility . This new building will house all offices , training rooms , meeting rooms , lockers ( for the Cyclones ) and more . Construction is scheduled to be completed Fall 2012 . Jacobson Athletic Building . Located off the north end zone of Jack Trice Stadium , The Jacobson Athletic Building currently houses all football offices , locker rooms , meeting rooms , strength and conditioning room , and sports medicine room . In addition to football , it also houses administrative and coaches offices ( except men ' s and women ' s basketball ) . All football space ( except visitors lockers ) will be moved to a new Football Training facility to the west of the Jacobson Building . Space vacated will be reassigned to other sports . Other facilities . Former Stadiums Pageantry and Traditions . Team name . Originally , the Iowa Agricultural College ( Iowa State University ) teams were known as the " Cardinals " . The name was changed after Sept . 29 , 1895 , when under legendary coach Glenn " Pop " Warner the Cardinals routed the Northwestern Wildcats , 36 - 0 . Inspired by an extremely active tornado ( then called " cyclone " ) season , the next day , the Chicago Tribune headline read : " Struck by a Cyclone . " The article went on to say , " Northwestern might as well have tried to play football with an Iowa cyclone as with the team it met yesterday . " Since then the Iowa State teams have been known as the " Cyclones " . Jack Trice . Jack Trice was Iowa State ' s first African - American athlete ; he was also the first and only Iowa State athlete to die from injuries sustained during athletic competition . He died three days after his first game playing for Iowa State against the University of Minnesota on October 6 , 1923 . He suffered a broken collarbone early on , but continued to play until he was trampled by a group of Minnesota players . It is disputed whether he was trampled on purpose or if it was an accident . A statue commemorates him outside of the stadium that is named for him , Jack Trice Stadium . His legacy was forgotten until the 70 ' s when students discovered a plaque commemorating him in State Gym . They decided to put up a petition to name the stadium , at the time known as Cyclones Stadium , after him . Originally they got the field named after him in 1984 . The stadium was named Jack Trice Stadium in 1997 . It is the only NCAA Division I stadium named after an African - American . Cannon . The members of the Iowa State Chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi man and maintain a cannon that is discharged at home football games when the Iowa State team takes the field , following the first kickoff , the kickoff following half - time , all Iowa State kickoffs , and immediately following an Iowa State touchdown . Mascot . Iowa State uses a cardinal , Cy , as its mascot instead of an actual tornado or Cyclone . Prior to the football matchup against the University of Colorado on November 12 , 2005 a tornado touched down in Ames , Iowa and forced fans to either stand out in the parking lot and watch the storm or flee to shelter in Hilton Coliseum . It created such an atmosphere that Iowa State was able to win over the favored Buffaloes 30 – 16 . When asked about the event , Colorado coach Gary Barnett said , " I thought we had a pretty good mascot . But when we showed up at Iowa State and they had a real tornado , that ' s the real deal . " Tailgating . Iowa State is well regarded for Tailgating . The layout of Jack Trice Stadium on a flood - plain accommodates ample parking space immediately surrounding the stadium . Cyclone fans typically arrive hours before kick - off in large SUV s and Recreational Vehicle s to grill popular Midwestern foods such as pork loin , bratwurst , hamburgers and hot dogs and drink copious amounts of beer . Victory bell . Located immediately outside and north of Jack Trice Stadium , the victory bell is rung following a Cyclone victory . Forged in 1890 the victory bell served on campus to signal dismissal from classes before being moved to Clyde Williams Field and Jack Trice Stadium . Tornado Siren . To go along with the installation of the new video board and sound system prior to the 2011 football season , a tornado siren is sounded after touchdowns , defensive stands , and other big plays . While the tornado siren is a new tradition , it is one that numerous Cyclones fans have asked the Iowa State athletic director to implement for many years , especially since the Colorado - Iowa State game of November 12 , 2005 , when a tornado touched down in Ames and sirens were heard throughout town during what normally would have been pregame activities . Since its implementation has become an extremely popular aspect of the Jack Trice Stadium experience . Coaches . Coaching staff . Paul Rhoads was hired on December 20 , 2008 to be Iowa State ' s new head coach . His original contract was reported to be a 5 - year deal worth $ 5 . 75 million . On December 16 , 2011 , Iowa State University announced that Coach Rhoads signed an extension with the university . The exact details are not yet known , but it is a 10 year deal worth a total of 20 million . Individual accomplishments . Heisman Trophy . The Heisman Trophy is awarded annually to the nation ' s most outstanding college football player . Two Iowa State players have received votes the Heisman Trophy , with one finishing runner - up .