Penn State enters a new era of college football with Matt Campbell at the helm and it looks a lot like Iowa State. The 46-year-old head coach brought the exact same Code of Conduct to Happy Valley.
That is not hyperbole. They’re identical.
Although it is expected that a college football coach would bring many of the same values and principles from one program to another, this is rather specific. Not even one single word is different!
Matt Campbell drew criticism for his Code of Conduct.
The rise of Matt Campbell started at Toledo in 2012. He led the bottom-feeding Rockets to four-straight winning seasons, three seasons with nine wins, and an overall record of 35-15. It was a great run.
Iowa State jumped on the chance to hire Campbell in 2015. The Cyclones were one of the worst teams in the country before he arrived. They had only two losing seasons during his 10-year tenure, and that includes his first season. A program that had never won more than nine games in a single season prior to his arrival is nationally relevant today because of its now-former head coach.
At the forefront of the Iowa State program was the Cyclone Code of Conduct. It was super basic.
- I can always be heard saying PLEASE when asking for something.
- When given something, I will always say THANK YOU.
- Likewise when someone says thank you, I will say YOU’RE WELCOME.
- To politely interrupt, I will say EXCUSE ME.
- I can always be heard saying YES SIR, NO SIR, or YES MA’AM, NO MA’AM to my parents, instructors, coaches, advisors, managers, trainers, etc.
- Phrases such as: GOOD MORNING, BE SAFE, HOW ARE YOU and HAVE A GREAT DAY are all part of who I am.
- I AM THE RESPECTFUL CYCLONE!
Campbell drew widespread criticism from the haters for treating his players like Kindergarteners. However, it is just as important for a college football coach to be a leader of men as it is to win games. Iowa State put a priority on class and manners. Is that so wrong?
Look at what Matt Campbell was able to do in Ames. He wins! It works!
Penn State copied Iowa State!
Penn State ultimately hired Campbell away from Iowa State at the beginning of December. There is a lot of hope that he can exceed his success with the Cyclones with a historic program that is better suited to compete in the modern era of college football in terms of resources.
Not only are the Nittany Lions expected to win, they are expected to behave. Campbell brought his elementary Code of Conduct with him to Pennsylvania. Only two words were changed. ‘Cyclone’ was swapped out for ‘Nittany Lion’ and ‘Cyclones’ was swapped out for ‘Nittany Lions.’
Everything else is exactly the same. Word for word.
This should not come as a big surprise. This is not an earth-shattering revelation. A college football coach brought his standard Code of Conduct with him from his old program to his new program.
That doesn’t make it any less funny.
Now what happens at Iowa State? Did new head coach Jimmy Rogers remove the Code of Conduct? Are the Cyclones no longer focused on elementary school manners? Or will both programs operate under the same set of basic rules for conduct?