Chapter on Rhoads era closing against West Virginia

AMES — Not many moments during Paul Rhoads' tenure stand out to him more than his first team meeting nearly seven years ago.

Roughly a month into his new job at Iowa State, Rhoads gathered his new team in the Hunziker Auditorium inside the Jacobson Athletic Building and addressed them for the first time as a unit. Getting to look his players in the face for the first time in that setting, he said, was unforgettable.

'One of the absolute greatest professional nights of my life,' Rhoads said. 'I aspired to be a head football coach for a long time and to hold that very first team meeting was just sensational.'

Rhoads tucked those team-meeting notes into a manila folder and has kept them in his office for seven years. When he was fired as Iowa State's football coach Sunday and addressed the team to break the news, Rhoads tucked those meeting notes into the exact same manila folder.

'Not as fun, but just as emotional,' Rhoads said. 'This is another kind of setting that closes a chapter on this seven years of our life.'

Saturday's 11 a.m. kickoff at West Virginia will be the final time Rhoads leads the Cyclones (3-8, 2-6) onto the field after Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard gave him the option to coach in the game.

Just as Rhoads recalled his first team meeting at Iowa State, Pollard remembers the first meeting he had with Rhoads. After former coach Gene Chizik left suddenly for Auburn, Pollard met the media and emotionally talked about qualities he wanted in his new coach.

'I remember meeting Paul and him saying, 'I watched that video and I want to work for you,'' Pollard said. 'He said it in that voice we all know. It was like you had me at hello.'

The match with Rhoads was just what Iowa State needed at the time, but the wins in the last three years were too few and far between. Pollard talked about passion and how from day one, Rhoads was never short in that category.

'I'd say he's probably 95 percent of the reason I came here,' receiver Allen Lazard said. 'I came to Iowa State because I wanted to play for Coach Rhoads and could see the passion he has for Iowa State, how much he cares about his players and everyone else. He's just a genuine guy.

'It's going to suck not playing for him.'

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