Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard receives five-year contract extension

AMES — Jamie Pollard’s 20-year vision for enhancing Iowa State’s athletics programs will now extended at least five years into the future.

ISU president Wendy Wintersteen announced Friday in a news release that Pollard — the longest-tenured director of athletics in the university’s history — has received a contract extension through June 20, 2030.

“During Jamie’s 20 years, the university has celebrated all-time program bests academically and athletically, and significant growth in attendance,” Wintersteen said in the release. “He has built a culture of success at Iowa State, while navigating the many changes in collegiate athletics. I also appreciate Jamie’s efforts to create a new vision for the Iowa State Center and athletic facilities through the CyTown entertainment district concept.”

ISU’s football and men’s basketball programs, in particular, have thrived during most of Pollard’s tenure.

The 2024 Cyclone football team recorded its first 11-win season in program history, reached the Big 12 Championship game for the second time in five years and beat No. 15 Miami, 42-41, in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. ISU’s men’s basketball team has been ranked among the nation’s top 10 all season and is poised to play in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season, and the men’s cross-country team took second at the 2024 NCAA Championships, notching its second runner-up finish in the last four years.

“I am humbled to have had the opportunity to lead our athletics program for the past 20 years,” Pollard said. “The administration’s support, led by President Wintersteen and General Counsel Mike Norton, has been instrumental in our success. We have an amazing culture in our athletics (department), led by our talented and dedicated coaches and staff. Although our industry is undergoing transformational change, I am confident our department will successfully embrace these challenges with the same energy and urgency that has proven to be successful in the past.”

The terms of Pollard’s new contract will be available at a later date, the release noted.

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