Randy Peterson
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April 10, 2025
I remember when football fans looked forward to Iowa State and Iowa spring football games. The 90 minutes of mostly nothingness, was broadcast on radio networks. Some were even televised. Live.
Back then, just getting a peek inside locked spring practice gates was something people looked forward to. Iowa State even paired it with annual Veishea activities – before hooligans (many from outside the Iowa State and Ames community) ruined what was a wonderful, family-friendly campus celebration, for everyone.
Gradually, spring games nationally have either been scaled dramatically back – to a workout, then an opportunity where athletes sign autographs (for free). Or scaled back to nothing.
And now, as major football programs wind down spring workouts, you’ll see some schools that open stadiums for a final spring fling glimpse -- and many more that won’t.
Matt Campbell fits into that category. The long-time Iowa State coach (did I really just write that?) has said he’s still unsure if the Cyclones will have a spring game. Iowa State fans should be perfectly fine if they don’t. Football fans everywhere should be just fine with that.
Football’s spring transfer portal window opens again on April 16. Stars of the 2025 spring, could be performing elsewhere when the season opens in August. Talk about an epic waste of time, coaching time and energy, and locker room space.
Groom someone to the point of significance. Word spreads. Agent reaches out to head coach at another school. Player enters portal. And the rest is an unfortunate part of football that’s not changing.
It happens throughout the country. It realty does.
Furthermore, and especially pertinent at Iowa State – the official 2025 football season starts a week earlier than at most places. The Cyclones open against Kansas State in Dublin, Ireland on Aug. 23 – a weekend before college football’s official Week One.
It’s one thing if the season’s first game was against a traditional Toy Poodle League (Kelvin Sampson’s words) opponent, but it’s not. It’s a Big 12 Conference game between teams good enough to rank among the Top 25’s preseason’s Top 15.
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Cyclones Year No. 10?
From Day One after stepping foot on Iowa State’s beautiful campus, Campbell has proven he’s not flash -- and then dash somewhere else for more money.
Among active coaches for 2025, just 13 have been at their present school as long as Campbell:
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa since 1999
Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State since 2005
Kyle Whittingham, Utah since 2004
Troy Calhoun, Air Force since 2007
Dave Doeren, North Carolina State since 2013
Jeff Monken, Army since 2014
Kalani Sitake, BYU since 2016
James Franklin, Penn State since 2014
Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan since 2014
Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio) since 2014
Mark Stoops, Kentucky since 2013
Matt Campbell, Iowa State since 2016
Kirby Smart, Georgia since 2016
Jason Candle, Toledo since 2016
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And while on the subject of mostly meaningless spring football games, let’s give credit, where credit is due.
While this most recent generation of college football fan thinks Colorado’s Deion Sanders was the first to suggest replacing dying, formal spring football games with an NFL-like exhibition against someone like Syracuse, I first heard the concept almost exactly 10 years ago, during a scrum interview within Iowa State’s Jacobson Building.
That’s right. Paul Rhoads was the first coach I heard throw out the idea of an exhibition. Unlike Sanders’ plan (that the NCAA nixed), Rhoads mentioned doing it during annual fall camp.
"I'd love to find a way to incorporate that into college football, like the NFL does and like basketball does, to see and compete against different bodies and different offenses and different defenses," Rhoads said after a 2015 spring practice. "I think there's a lot of positives that could come out of that.
"There's logistical problems, but nothing you can't work out."
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And finally . . .
I’ve got an idea. Have the final practice, and if college stadiums aren’t available, move the workouts to a high school.
Allow fans to watch. Charge admission. Host schools keep concession money.
Share that cost of admission only with players that participated in the spring – and participate in the fall.
Impossible?
Probably.
(Award-winning columnist Randy Peterson can be, and has been, reached at randypete4846@gmail.com or at any Okoboji-area beverage/food establishment between the hours of open and close.)