The last time Penn State hired a coach from Iowa State, it worked out ok.
Almost 17 years ago, Penn State convinced Cael Sanderson to leave his alma mater and lead its wrestling program.
Since then, all Sanderson’s done is win 12 national championships in the last 14 seasons.
He had already led Penn State to five of those titles by the time Matt Campbell coached his first game at Iowa State in 2016, so the two didn’t overlap in Ames.
But it’s going to overlap in Happy Valley, and the two already have a head start on their relationship.
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“I hope… no, I’m going to demand a similar standard of excellence that the last great Iowa State coach that came here. And that last great Iowa State coach is Cael Sanderson. And I can’t thank Cael enough. He spent 45 minutes with me on the phone two nights ago and we talked about our similar journeys and similar paths. We’ve watched Cael from afar and talked about building excellence in a program the way Cael has. And to be able to link arms with him, I couldn’t be more grateful. And Cael, I really appreciate your time.”
CAEL ON CAMPBELL
Speaking near Rec Hall around the same time Campbell finished his introductory presser, Sanderson confirmed that the conversation happened, and endorsed Campbell as Penn State’s next coach.
“It was just a normal conversation,” Sanderson said. “I was actually appreciative that he wasn’t trying to get off phone with me, because that’s usually what happens in my life. But we kind of just talked through different things, his experience at Iowa State. He loves Iowa State, I loved my time at Iowa State and still have a lot of connections there. We talked a little philosophy, we talked a little about the program out here, and I think he’s going to do a really good job. You could tell he’s a really humble guy, competitive, and you put those two things forward, that’s a pretty dang good recipe there.”
In the James Franklin era, Penn State had Sanderson speak to the team as recently as 2024. It’s probably a good bet Campbell will, as well.
