Penn State named Iowa State‘s Matt Campbell as its head football coach, the school announced Friday.
The deal, which will go before the compensation committee of the school’s board of trustees for final approval Monday, is for eight years, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
“Coach Campbell is, without a doubt, the right leader at the right time for Penn State Football,” athletic director Patrick Kraft said in a statement. “He is a stellar coach with a proven track record of success and his values, character and approach to leading student-athletes to success on and off the field align perfectly with the traditions and values of Penn State.”
Campbell, the winningest coach in Iowa State history, met with Penn State officials Thursday night before negotiating a deal Friday. Iowa State quickly moved to hire Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers to replace Campbell.
In its search to replace longtime coach James Franklin, who was fired Oct. 12, Penn State shifted its focus to Campbell after BYU coach Kalani Sitake agreed to a long-term extension Tuesday to remain with the Cougars.
Campbell, a three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year, led the Cyclones for 10 seasons and achieved eight winning seasons, two Big 12 championship game appearances and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Oregon in 2020 for the school’s first top-10 finish.
