Iowa State Loses Appeal, Still Faces Fine For Skipping Bowl Game

Iowa State University has lost its appeal and will still have to pay a fine for not participating in a bowl game following the 2025 college football season.

Iowa State Still Faces a Fine

The Des Moines Register reports that Iowa State was fined on December 12th in the amount of $500,000 by the Big 12 Conference after it declined a bowl game bid. While the school lost its appeal of that fine, the amount has been reduced to $250,000, according to ISU athletic director Jamie Pollard.

Why Iowa State Said 'No' to Bowl Game

Why did the Cyclones say 'no thanks' to a bowl bid? The Register reports that just a couple of days before the bowl lineup was announced, Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell announced that he was leaving the school after 10 seasons to become the head coach at Penn State. Less than an hour after his departure, Jimmy Rogers was announced as his replacement.

The Register reports that members of Campbell's coaching staff and Iowa State players met about the possibility of playing in a bowl game. In the end, players ended up voting not to play, citing a lack of healthy players on the roster.

I can understand why coaches and players at Iowa State didn't want to play in a bowl game. They'd just lost their head coach. Many players would soon enter the transfer portal and head to their next school. I feel worst for the seniors who never got to play that final game in a Cyclone uniform.