Iowa State is hitting its program peak at the right time. Half of our winning seasons this century have come in the last four seasons. A high-ranked recruiting class coming in. New facilities. Playing in big-time games. Continual upgrades to facilities. Vague power and light district. 

The college football world has seen some rapid changes since we last left the gridiron. The beginning of the Name-Image-Likeness era will change the game of recruiting, and the inevitable conference realignment will undoubtedly leave the league with both winners and losers. As a rising but not quite established program, how will Iowa State fare in the future? 

The obvious elephant in the room is the Big 12’s crisis. After Oklahoma and Texas abruptly announced the selling of their souls to the SEC, the remaining members of the conference have been left to scavenge for the future of their teams. Just continuing on without the two economic and cultural powerhouses would leave the conference short on cash and important games. Adding a couple of teams from the AAC or MAC would keep it on life support but just would not have the same effect. 

Simply put, the Power 5 Big 12 as we know it will be gone in a couple of years.

However, I believe Iowa State is not doomed to go down with the ship. Through both smart management and pure luck, the university heads into the possible realignment era at its absolute peak. Half of Iowa State football’s eight winning seasons in the last twenty years have come in the last four campaigns thanks to two-time Big 12 coach of the year Matt Campbell. Once the team kicks off this Saturday, it will begin the fifth consecutive season that it has touched the top 25. Before this streak, the team had not been ranked by the associated press since 2005.  

The program also continues to make significant investments in its athletic infrastructure. This summer, the university completed construction on a new student-athlete facility and a new north end zone. Currently, there are multiple projects slated to begin work in the coming years that include a large renovation of Hilton Coliseum and a pedestrian bridge stemming from the side of Jack Trice Stadium to adjacent parking lots. 

This list does not include a pitched but unconfirmed project that would change the face of both the University and Ames as a whole. 

As far as basketball goes, the team is not in an ideal spot. Traditionally one of the conference’s better teams, ISU basketball has recently been something one would wish to forget. Yet as new head coach T.J. Otzelberger returns to Iowa State, he looks to return to the success that the team saw during his previous stints with the program. The last three Cyclone teams Otzelberger coached all made trips to March Madness.

So as we plunge into turbulent water, it is okay to hold on to a strong sense of optimism. We are all very lucky to be experiencing the best stretch of Iowa State football the school has ever seen and may witness the era that establishes ISU as a powerhouse.