Campbell

Penn State has its man.

Iowa State’s Matt Campbell will become the Nittany Lions’ 17th head football coach.

Campbell informed his players and coaches at a team meeting Friday night in Ames.

Several national media outlets, including ESPN and Yahoo, started reporting about noon Friday that Campbell was in the “final stages of negotiations” with PSU.

Late Friday afternoon, FootballScoop tweeted a Penn State source as saying, “We have our man!”

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Campbell’s contract calls for eight years at $10 million annually, though the PSU Board of Trustees will need to formally approve the exact amount.

National college football writer Matt Fortuna said Penn State is committing $30 million of NIL money for players and $17 million for a coaching/support staff.

Pete Nakos of On3.com reported Penn State brass flew to Ames on Thursday to sit down with Campbell.

PSU President Neeli Bendapudi was part of the contingent that included athletic director Pat Kraft, who fired James Franklin on Oct. 12.

Campbell, 46, is 72-55 through 10 seasons at Iowa State with two appearances in the Big 12 championship game.

His hiring ends a 54-day search that saw several other candidates receive lucrative contract extensions, including Brigham Young’s

Kalani Sitake, who decided on Tuesday to remain in Provo after reportedly making a handshake agreement with Kraft on Sunday.

Louisville coach Jeff Brohm was then reportedly offered the position and signed a contract extension that was announced Wednesday.

That shifted the search to Campbell, who has been the Big 12 coach of the year three times (2017, 2018 and 2020) and has been the subject of numerous openings, college and NFL, over the past few years.

Campbell’s best season was a school-record 11 wins in 2024. The Cyclones finished 8-4 this season and 4-3 in the Big 12.

Prior to Iowa State, Campbell spent four seasons at Toledo (2012-15), producing four winning seasons and a 35-15 record.

Campbell, a native of Massillon, Ohio, was a defensive lineman at Mount Union.

He was earning $5 million annually at Iowa State, and his contract ran through 2032.

Franklin, now Virginia Tech’s head coach, was making $8.5 million per year at Penn State (through 2031).

PSU interim coach Terry Smith guided the Lions to a 3-3 record after Franklin’s exit and had expressed an interest in becoming the permanent head coach.

Many of the Penn State players, current and past, had voiced their support for Smith.