Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard gets extension through 2026

<p>AMES, Iowa &mdash; Iowa State extended athletic director Jamie Pollard’s contract through 2026 on Monday after a breakthrough football season.</p>
<p>The school said there is no scheduled salary increase. He was earning $757,000 when he announced temporary 10% pay cuts for coaches and some administrators to help offset a $25 million budget shortfall because of COVID-19.</p>
<p>Pollard, the athletic director since 2005, will be the nation’s fourth-longest serving Football Bowl Subdivision AD this fall behind Oklahoma’s Joe Castiglione, Kentucky’s Mitch Barnhart and Ohio State’s Gene Smith.</p>
<p>University President Wendy Wintersteen lauded Pollard for his “consistently steady and successful leadership over many years, especially during a worldwide pandemic that brought unprecedented challenges.”</p>
<p>Iowa State had its <a href="https://apnews.com/article/college-football-iowa-matt-campbell-iowa-state-cyclones-football-football-f7b4a897b852a10542c3eec484ffbedc">best football season in program history</a> in 2020. The Cyclones played in the Big 12 championship game and beat Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl, and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/college-football-iowa-matt-campbell-iowa-state-cyclones-football-football-7a1af6de253cf5773da60efe3eb35a69">Pollard extended coach Matt Campbell’s contract</a> through 2028. </p>
<p>“The administration’s support, led by President Wintersteen, has been instrumental to our program’s success," Pollard said.</p>
<p>The department this spring will open the new $90 million Sports Performance Center, which is in addition to nearly $250 million in facilities upgrades under Pollard.</p>
<p>The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics named Pollard its 2019 athletic director of the year. He is in his second year of a five-year term on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee.</p>
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