The Cyclone faithful were out in full force at the Emerson Innovation Center Monday for a chance to take pictures with coaches, cheerleaders and Cy himself, enjoy a variety of food options and hear a short presentation inside of the T.D. Buzbee Auditorium over the lunch hour.

“We’ve done this for 17 years, and it’s just a critical strategic decision we made back then to be able to take and come to our fans’ locations,” ISU Athletic Director Jamie Pollard said. “The fans do such a great job of supporting Iowa State University, but they’re always coming our way. So it’s just neat to come to their communities and see people on their home turf, and it’s during the offseason so it’s a way to kind of keep us relevant during a time of the year that things would be slower.”

For two of ISU’s best known leaders, football coach Matt Campbell and basketball coach TJ Otzelberger, Marshalltown holds a special place in their hearts. Otzelberger’s wife Alison coached the MCC women’s basketball team from 2012 to 2013 before resigning when he accepted a position with the University of Washington. During his tenure as an assistant coach with the Cyclones, he also recalls recruiting MCC standouts like Will Clyburn and DeMarcus Phillips.

“That was her first ever coaching opportunity, so I enjoyed coming out, watching a few practices and watching a few games,” he said. “It feels great to be back.”

After taking the team to the Sweet 16 in his first season as head coach, Otzelberger is itching to recreate that success in year three, and he knows the Cyclone faithful want it just as badly.

“You get to that NCAA tournament, and anything’s possible. So you want to be playing your best basketball when you’re getting into March,” he said.

With the transfer portal ramping up the recruiting season even further, he’s always on the lookout for the next great prospect. During this part of the year, coaches aren’t allowed to visit recruits in person, but they’re still hitting the phones and keeping in contact while working with the young men who are already on the roster.

“More than anything, this is a time to continue building relationships with the guys on our team and building that trust with the guys that are coming in,” he said. “We bring our team back June 11… so we’re really trying to be prepared and organized for that opportunity.”

Marshalltown is special to Campbell for a different reason. In 2018, less than three years after he first accepted the job, the devastating EF-3 tornado rolled through the downtown area, and Cyclone players were there to help.

“This is a place that has meant a great deal to our football program. To me, this has been a place where you just saw the power of this community, and this community rallied together for each other,” he said. “To me, every time you come up here, it’s a great thing for all of us, and this Cyclone Tailgate Tour is just the ability to give back… This is a special stop for myself and, I know, for all of our coaches.”

Heading into the fall, the Cyclones are eager to right the ship after a disappointing 4-8 record during the 2022 campaign, and Campbell has promoted Nate Scheelhaase to offensive coordinator to replace Tom Manning, who was fired.

“You’re talking (about) the second youngest team in college football last year, and a team that acted like it. The key for our success and our football team is the ability for us to just continue to grow forward,” Campbell said. “I think we’re a program that’s always going to have to build from the ground up when you lost the amount of seniors we did in 2021 and a lot of really good football players.”

Although junior Hunter Dekkers is “still the guy,” according to his coach, the outcome of the quarterback race, along with the competition at several other key positions, remains to be seen, according to the head coach.

“I think our entire football team is a little bit of a race wide open, but I think the great thing about Hunter is he’s a guy who did some really great things a year ago and a guy that you’ve got the talent and ability to grow forward with,” Campbell said. “I’ve been pretty proud on what he’s looked like this past offseason, and the great thing there in that (quarterback) room as well is there’s more talent than there’s ever been… I think holistically, that group in that room is really talented, and yet Hunter’s the guy that’s got a lot of good experience to draw from and grow from. And we’re excited for him.”

As the overseer of all athletic programs, Pollard expressed excitement about the direction of his department, and while speaking during the presentation in the auditorium, he said he looked forward to bringing home “the trophy that doesn’t travel” — the Cy-Hawk series trophy — for the third straight year. During an interview with the T-R, Pollard said an event like the Tailgate Tour is unique because, at many Division I programs, it would be difficult to even get the coaches of the various sports to travel on a bus together or spend time in the same room.

In addition to Campbell, Pollard and Otzelberger, Wrestling Coach Kevin Dresser, Women’s Basketball Coach Bill Fennelly and Assistant Volleyball Coach Marc Neef all took the stage at the event, which featured a free meal catered from La Carreta, a local Mexican restaurant owned and operated by ISU alum Alfonso Medina. It concluded with a question and answer session with coaches and a raffle that ended with several lucky Cyclone fans taking home their favorite team’s memorabilia.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.