Iowa State Names Jimmy Rogers Head Football Coach
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AMES, Iowa – Jimmy Rogers, who guided Washington State to a bowl game in his first season on the Palouse after leading South Dakota State to the 2023 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) national championship, has been selected as the 34th head football coach in Iowa State history, Cyclone Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard announced today.
“Jimmy Rogers is a rising star in college athletics who has very strong ties to the Midwest both as a player and as a coach,” Pollard said. “He has been on my short-list ever since the first time I met him. He immediately impressed me with his interest in Iowa State University and told me during our first visit several years ago that he wanted to be the next head coach at Iowa State.
“Since our initial meeting, I have stayed in close contact with him and have been very impressed with his work ethic and understanding of what it takes to be successful at Iowa State,” he added. “He is a proven winner who has demonstrated throughout his career that he will fit our culture.”
Rogers, who agreed to a six-year contract with Iowa State, joins the Cyclones from Washington State University, where he guided the Cougars to a 6-6 record in his lone season as head coach on the Palouse. Just the fourth of the Cougars’ 35 head football coaches to lead WSU to a bowl game in their first season on the sideline in Pullman, three of the bowl-bound Cougars’ six losses came at the hands of teams ranked in the College Football Playoff Selection Committee’s penultimate rankings—24-21 at No. 6 Ole Miss, 22-20 at No. 17 Virginia and 24-20 at No. 25 James Madison. All-told, Rogers owns a 33-9 (.786) three-year head coaching record, which includes a 27-3 (.900) mark in two seasons at South Dakota State.
The Hamilton, Arizona, native was named Washington State’s head coach on December 28, 2024, after a highly successful 12-year run at perennial Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) powerhouse South Dakota State, where he led the Jackrabbits to the 2023 FCS championship and the 2024 FCS semifinals.
“My family and I are excited to be joining the Iowa State University community and the Cyclone football program,” Rogers said. “Iowa State has been one of the nation’s top programs for the last decade and we look forward to building upon its upward trajectory. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity that Jamie Pollard has given me to lead the Cyclones.
“From the administration, to the alumni and current student-athletes, this University has everything needed to compete at the highest level in college football,” he added. “I am honored to be given this opportunity and responsibility and cannot wait to get started!.”
In 2024, Rogers guided the 12-3 Jackrabbits to the FCS semifinals and a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference title, which marked the first time SDSU captured three-consecutive league titles since 1961-63. Through the end of the regular season, the Jackrabbits led all FCS schools in scoring defense (12.4 ppg), while ranking fourth in total defense (272.9 ypg) and sixth in rushing defense (90.5 ypg). Offensively, SDSU ranked first in sacks allowed (0.5 spg) and tackles for loss allowed (2.58 pg), while being ranked third in rushing offense (243.2 ypg), seventh in scoring offense (36.6 ppg) and ninth in total offense (441.9 ypg). Nine players earned a total of 27 All-American honors, led by senior center Gus Miller who earned first-team honors from four different media outlets.
In his first season as head coach at his alma mater, Rogers led the 2023 Jackrabbits to their second-consecutive Football Championship Subdivision national title, a second-straight Missouri Valley Football Conference crown and a perfect 15-0 record. SDSU held the top spot in both major FCS polls throughout the season and carried a 29-game win streak — third-longest in FCS history — into his second season. He became the second SDSU head coach in as many years to be honored with the Eddie Robinson Award as the nation’s top FCS coach, joining his mentor, John Stiegelmeier, in 2022.
SDSU led the FCS ranks in 10 different statistical categories on both sides of the ball in 2023, most notably scoring defense (9.3 points per game), total defense (257.2 yards per game), team p***ing efficiency (174.26) and third-down conversion percentage (.535). The Jackrabbits raised their level of play during their four-game postseason run, outscoring the opposition by a combined 146-15, including two shutouts. Six members of the 2023 squad were honored on All-America teams, including Walter Payton Award winner Mark Gronowski at quarterback. In addition, a total of eight players were either drafted or signed free agent NFL contracts.
Rogers played a key role in the Jackrabbits winning their first FCS national title in 2022 by directing a defense that led FCS in rushing defense by yielding just 88.1 yards per game on the ground. SDSU tied for the FCS lead with 18 interceptions and ranked second in total defense (274.1 yards per game), third in scoring defense (15.8 points per game) and fourth in turnovers gained (26). The Jackrabbits finished the 2022 season on a 14-game winning streak and held the No. 1 ranking in both the Stats Perform media poll and FCS coaches’ poll over the season’s final two months.
The 2022 FCS Coordinator of the Year by FootballScoop.com, and an AFCA’s 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute participant, Rogers was a standout defensive player for South Dakota State, who returned to his alma mater in June 2013 to coach the Jackrabbit linebackers. The 2022 campaign marked his first, and only, season as the team’s sole defensive coordinator duties after sharing the role for three seasons. He previously was elevated to ***istant head coach after the 2019 campaign.
In his first season, Rogers directed a 2013 linebacking corps whose three regular starters — R.C. Kilgore, T.J. Lally and Charles Elmore — combined for 290 tackles. Kilgore led the team with 134 tackles and led the nation with five fumble recoveries en route to first-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference recognition. SDSU would go on to produce a 100-tackle performer in eight of the 10 seasons he coached the program’s linebackers.
Rogers again coached a 100-tackle performer in 2014 as Lally led the squad with 117 tackles en route to earning second-team All-MVFC recognition.
The 2015 Jackrabbit linebacking crew again featured the squad’s top two tacklers as Lally turned in the third 100-tackle season of his career with a team-best 102 stops and Jesse Bobbit added 97 tackles. Lally received second-team All-MVFC recognition for the third time, while Bobbit was an honorable mention selection.
Under Rogers’ direction, Christian Rozeboom burst onto the FCS landscape in 2016 by being named MVFC Freshman of the Year and finishing second in the balloting for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision after tallying a team-best 132 tackles. In addition, fellow linebackers Jesse Bobbit and Dallas Brown capped strong careers in 2016. A second-team all-league selection, Bobbit ranked second on the squad with 110 tackles, while Brown led the team with three interceptions.
Rozeboom anchored the Jackrabbit linebacking corps over the next three seasons as he registered 100-plus tackles each year in becoming the SDSU career tackles leader with 475. He also earned first-team All-MVFC honors four times and was a three-time All-America selection. A multiple-time finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award as FCS’ top defensive player, Rozeboom would later sign a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Rams. Beside Rozeboom’s team-leading 111 tackles, fellow starting linebackers Seven Wilson (83 tackles) and Logan Backhaus (79 tackles) ranked second and third, respectively, on the team in 2019. Backhaus also shared the team lead with four interceptions and three forced fumbles.
In taking on a new and expanded role in 2019, Rogers helped direct a Jackrabbit defense that ranked in the top three of the MVFC in seven different defensive categories, including a second-place ranking in total defense (294.8 yards per game) and third in scoring defense (16.7 points per game).
Rogers’ linebacking corps again earned multiple awards en route to the FCS title game during the 2020-21 season that was moved to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team’s starters ranked as the top three tacklers during the 10-game season as Adam Bock (74 tackles), Logan Backhaus (72 tackles) and Preston Tetzlaff (70 tackles) paced the squad. Backhaus was honored on several All-America teams, while Bock was a freshman All-America honoree and Tetzlaff was awarded the NCAA Elite 90 Award at the national championship.
Jackrabbit linebackers were the team’s top two tacklers during the 2021 season as football returned to the fall. Sophomore Adam Bock registered a team-high 125 tackles and Isaiah Stalbird was second on the squad with 73 total stops. Bock was a late addition to the list of finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award and received All-America honors from several organizations after earning first-team All-MVFC recognition. Rogers coached a 100-tackle linebacker in eight of his 10 seasons leading the position group.
Depth within the linebacking corps was key to the Jackrabbits’ success as the defense overcame injuries to several players at various points of the 2022 season. Eight different players drew starting ***ignments at linebacker, with transfer Jason Freeman leading the team with 84 tackles. Bock, who repeated as a first-team All-MVFC selection despite missing the second half of the conference season due to injury, ranked second on the squad with 76 tackles, with Stalbird ranking third with 55 stops. Tucker Large, who split time between linebacker and safety, joined Freeman on the MVFC All-Newcomer Team.
He began his tenure with the Jackrabbits mentoring special teams units that consistently ranked among the FCS’ best. SDSU ranked in the top five nationally among FCS programs for blocked kicks two seasons in a row (2017, 2018) and also ranked seventh in kickoff returns during the 2017 season with an average of 25.13 yards per return as Cade Johnson set a single-season SDSU record with 839 kickoff return yards and returned a pair of kicks for touchdowns while being named to a pair of freshman All-America squads.
As a student-athlete in Brookings, Rogers lettered for the Jackrabbits from 2006-09 and was a two-time all-conference selection. He led both the team and the Great West Football Conference with 110 tackles in 2007 as South Dakota State claimed the league title and Rogers was a first-team All-GWFC selection. He again led the squad in tackles in 2008 with 93 en route to earning second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors. A captain on the Jackrabbits’ first FCS playoff team in 2009, he recorded 66 tackles his senior season to finish his four-year career with 312 stops in 46 games. He also intercepted three p***es and forced three fumbles in an SDSU uniform.
Rogers spent two seasons as a graduate ***istant coach on the South Dakota State staff, working with the team’s defensive backs in 2010 and linebackers in 2011, while ***isting with special teams both years. He then moved to Florida Atlantic University as a graduate ***istant working with the offensive line in the fall of 2012 before transitioning to the defensive side of the ball in the spring of 2013 to work with the Owl linebackers.
Rogers and his wife, Haley, a native of Michell, S.D., have two children, a daughter, Reese, and son, Trace.
Jimmy Rogers’ Head Coaching Record
Year School Record Conference/Finish Postseason
2023 South Dakota State 15-0 8-0/1st FCS Champions
2024 South Dakota State 12-3 7-1/T-1st FCS Semifinals
2025 Washington State 6-6 0-0 Bowl TBA
TOTALS 3 Seasons 33-9 (.786) 15-1 (.938)
Jimmy Rogers’ Coaching Experience
2025 Head Coach Washington State
2023-24 Head Coach South Dakota State
2022 Defensive Coordinator South Dakota State
2019-21 Co-Defensive Coordinator/Asst. Head Coach/Linebackers South Dakota State
2013-18 Assistant Coach/Linebackers South Dakota State
2011-12 Graduate Assistant Coach Florida Atlantic
2010-11 Graduate Assistant Coach South Dakota State
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