Cyclones.com released a “Letter to Cyclone Fans,” written by athletics director Jamie Pollard following his open heart surgery.

The full link to the letter is here, but it reads as follows:

Dear Cyclone fans,

I want to take this opportunity to say thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers and kind words during the past several weeks. Although it is hard to believe it has been six weeks since my heart attack and open heart surgery, the time has flown by in large part due to the unbelievable support our family has received from the Cyclone community.

Our family feels blessed to be surrounded by so many thoughtful and caring individuals. Although the entire experience has been very humbling, it also has been very rewarding. The incredible support that we have received has certainly reinforced how proud we are to be part of the Cyclone family. I was not sure my love for the Cyclones could grow stronger but this experience has raised my love for Iowa State to an entirely new level.

I also want to publicly thank President Steven Leath, Acting Athletics Director David Harris, the other members of my senior executive team, and all of our coaches and staff for their leadership and hard work during the past six weeks. The true test of an organization’s strength is not how it performs during good times but rather how it performs during adverse times. I am proud to say our organization did not miss a beat during my absence because of the very talented individuals we have working at Iowa State University.

The good news is that I am continuing to make great progress on my recovery and plan to return to work full-time on April 27th.  Although the month of May is going to be very hectic with Big 12 meetings, our annual tailgate tour and the end of the school year, I am very excited to get back to work and look forward to having the opportunity to interact with all of our wonderful Cyclone fans in the coming weeks.

Finally, I ask that you continue to keep Coach Hoiberg and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Fred has a long, slow, journey ahead of him and the Hoiberg family will need all of our support.

Go Cyclones!

Jamie Pollard

Director of Athletics