AMES — Throughout Conrad Hawley’s journey from a Kansas scholarship quarterback to an Iowa State walk-on basketball player, he has used his platform to give back and inspire others.

Hawley’s story to Iowa State does not look like most people. Within a two-year span, he won a football state title, committed to play football at Kansas, graduated early, moved to Colorado, enrolled at Iowa State and became an immediate fan favorite on the basketball team without playing more than four minutes in a game.

Hawley grew up in Raymore, Missouri, and played football and basketball his whole life.

“I can still remember Conrad as an elementary school-age kid, just being out there, being a leader,” said Sean Martin, Hawley’s head football coach at Raymore-Peculiar. “He’s always been a leader, a go-getter, an all-in type guy. He’s not halfway in. He’s all the way in on whatever he does.”

Along with his leadership, he had that spark of energy that everyone knew him for. Martin describes him as an energy giver.

As a sophomore in high school, Hawley was thrown into the starting quarterback position when as the starter at the time was injured. The team may not have won many games that year, but he did not let this rattle him.

Because of his work ethic, he came back as a junior, and the team went all the way to the state semifinals.

As Hawley finished his junior year, the world shut down due to COVID-19, and all sports stopped. That included the Raymore-Peculiar football team, which could not hold an organized practice.

Hawley and his teammates did not want to just watch the time pass, so they hosted their own football practices anywhere they could find an open field. Hawley told Martin, “We’ve been kicked off every football field in Kansas City.”

At this time, Hawley was being recruited for both basketball and football. If he put on more weight, he would have a better chance to be able to play at the highest level in football. Hawley wanted to compete at the highest level he could, so he did just that.

As a senior, Hawley helped lead his football team to a 6A Missouri State Championship. His willingness to be a good leader and hold his teammates accountable helped him do so.

“I think we won it because we had a group of guys who were not afraid to hold each other accountable. As a young man, I feel like it can be hard to use the word love, especially around guys but we loved each other and the way we loved each other was holding each other accountable,” Hawley said to the 2023 Raymore-Peculiar football team.

After his senior football season, he graduated early, missing his senior basketball season, to enroll in Kansas and start training with the football team.

During the 2021 season, the quarterback position at Kansas went through a lot of uncertainty. Hawley was lower on the depth chart, with many upperclassmen above him. He did not see any playing time on the field and redshirted for his freshman season.

Hawley realized he needed a change when the 2021 college football season ended. He didn’t feel purposeful at Kansas and entered the transfer portal.

From January 2022 to May 2022, he lived in Colorado. While living in Colorado, Hawley decided to take a semester off from school. He worked three jobs, including quarterback training on the side but continued to work out and stay strong.

While Hawley was in Colorado, he missed being on a team and was ready to start school to be challenged again. Hawley got connected with Iowa State basketball coaches T.J. Otzelberger and Kyle Green. They were looking for exactly the kind of guy Hawley wanted to be.

In June 2022, Hawley started his journey with the Iowa State men’s basketball team.

“It was fun to play basketball again because I hadn’t played in three years at that point,” Hawley said. “It was just good being around older guys, being around fast guys, physical guys, smart guys, good dudes and our program has a ton of low ego guys.”

Even as a walk-on, this didn’t stop him from being a leader and owning his role. He quickly acquired the name “Chief Energy Officer” and “CEO” for short.

Some of Hawley’s favorite moments were when Hason Ward threw down a dunk or when his teammates got ready to play lockdown defense. Many wonder how Hawley always has this positive, energy-giver attitude. Hawley strives to never have a bad day and live with gratitude and purpose no matter what he does.

“When you come from a place of thankfulness, it takes you away from all the bad thoughts or negatives that you may be thinking,” Hawley said. “You have to live a purposeful life and so I’ve just developed a purpose and a thankfulness that I think of most days and especially on the hard days.”

After Hawley’s first season with the Cyclones, he used his platform to help others and speak to students.

In early 2023, Hawley was able to sell t-shirts through Cyclone Fanatic. Hawley said he was not in it for money, he just wanted to help those around him. He decided to donate a portion of the proceeds to True Impact Outdoors.

True Impact Outdoors is an organization that helps disabled veterans become active in outdoor activities again, including hunting therapy. These outdoor activities allow veterans to take a break from life’s day-to-day challenges and engage in the outdoors. These activities provide many mental health benefits, such as stress reduction and fostering mindfulness.

“I have a special place in my heart for veterans, especially with family members being in the military,” Hawley said.