Cyclone Tailgate Tour stops by Cedar Rapids
CEDAR RAPIDS — The most elaborate toaster in the country was front and center as Iowa State coaches popped up to toast their teams during the Cyclone Tailgate Tour.
Tuesday night’s event at the Veterans Memorial Building had a floor full of families and fans in cardinal and gold celebrating the Cyclone State. And it is a Cyclone state right now — ISU triumphed over Iowa in the 2024-25 Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series but Athletics Director Jamie Pollard noted that that traveling trophy hasn’t been delivered to Ames yet.
No matter. The trophies for both the Cy-Hawk football game (ISU 20, Iowa 19) and the 2024 Pop-Tarts Bowl (ISU 42, Miami [FL] 41) were there. The latter is indeed a functional toaster. The line to see head football coach Matt Campbell stayed dozens deep until shortly before he went on stage.
John Walters, “Voice of the Cyclones,” was the emcee. The first coaches to speak were volleyball’s Christy Johnson-Lynch and wrestling’s Kevin Dresser. Both were candid about their teams’ injury-riddled seasons. “We learned a ton, as frustrating as it was,” Johnson-Lynch said. One bright spot was Rachel Van Gorp, who was asked to change positions during the season and did so well she made the All-Big 12 Rookie Team. The McKee Volleyball Center, a dedicated training facility, opened this spring.
Dresser gave shout-outs to the Naaktgeboren brothers, Tate and Kane, who graduated from Linn-Mar. He also said former wrestler and NCAA champion David Carr will be competing for a spot on the U.S. wrestling team in June. All the coaches talked about freshmen and transfer players coming for next year.
Then the basketball coaches took the stage. The women’s team’s win in the First Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament was the 800th win of Bill Fennelly’s career. The “wins” going into next season are the returns of key players Audi Crooks and Addy Brown. Crooks, an Iowa native, posted a statement on Instagram reaffirming her commitment and asking people to “quit asking.” Fennelly joked he wished he had a dollar for every time a fan on the tailgate tour gushed about Crooks.
In the new world of college athletics, (re)commitments are nothing to take for granted. “Roster management has become the No. 1 thing in college sports,” Fennelly said.
That’s equally true for the men’s team. “We’re fortunate to have five guys back,” head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. Among them is Tamin Lipsey, who “leads by example.” While neither the men’s nor women’s teams made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, ISU’s overall win percentage for the football and basketball teams combined was best in the Big 12.
Campbell, the winningest coach (by number of games) in Iowa State history and coach of the first 11-win team in Iowa State history, started out by touting the four players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. One, cornerback Darien Porter, “stayed the course” in his college career, became a starter in his sixth season, and was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders. Two others, wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, are joining another ex-ISU receiver, Xavier Hutchinson, on the Houston Texans.
Campbell wasn’t done talking about former players’ achievements. First, quarterback Brock Purdy just signed a five-year, $265 million contact with the San Francisco 49ers. Second, David Montgomery fulfilled his promise to his mother and got his ISU degree. Montgomery, who played at ISU from 2016-18, was a “pioneer of changing the culture at ISU,” Campbell said.
As for current players, Campbell thought no tight end was playing better by the end of the season than Gabe Burkle, a Cedar Rapids Prairie graduate. A linebacker corps that by necessity had to go deep into the depth chart last year is now very experienced.
Finally, it was Pollard’s turn to talk about the future. CyTown, the development taking place in the area between Hilton Coliseum and Jack Trice Stadium, is on track to be done by fall 2027. The state boys’ basketball tournament will relocate to Hilton starting in 2027, which will be a “great infomercial” for the university, he said.
Campbell and Pollard also talked about the football season opener against Kansas State in Ireland. It will be an “iconic experience” for fans, “but our priority is to win the football game,” Campbell said. The game will be “a three-day pep rally,” Pollard said, noting that ISU was a little ahead of KSU in ticket sales.
Pollard had a local shout-out for Atkins native Tyler Krug, who was in attendance with his wife, Devyn, and their three children. While in 4-H, Krug had asked Pollard to show his steer, Frank the Tank, at the Iowa Governor’s Charity Steer Show at the Iowa State Fair. Pollard relished remembering the experience.
During the big-prize giveaway at the end of the night, Krug’s son Landry had the winning raffle ticket for a large sign commemorating last year’s 50th anniversary of Jack Trice Stadium.
On the sign, Pollard left his autograph and a special message: “Rest in Peace, Frank the Tank!”
My other work can be found on my website, Iowa Highway Ends, and its blog.
Iowa Writers Collaborative Roundup homepage and writer listing
Though I'm a Hawkeye through-and-through, Jeff, I enjoyed your spirited take on this Cyclone event. Every sports season I hope the Cyclones win every game but one ... and the Hawkeyes go undefeated.