AMES, Iowa – Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen has extended the contract of Athletics Director Jamie Pollard to 2026.

Pollard, who will be the nation’s fourth-longest serving Football Bowl Subdivision AD this fall (behind Oklahoma’s Joe Castiglione, Kentucky’s Mitch Barnhart and Ohio State’s Gene Smith), has led Cyclone Athletics since 2005.

“In light of his consistently steady and successful leadership over many years, especially during a worldwide pandemic that brought unprecedented challenges, I am delighted to announce that Jamie will remain at Iowa State executing our shared vision for athletics,” President Wintersteen said. “True to his servant leadership style, which has always been focused on others, Jamie accepted our extension enthusiastically, and has agreed to do so without an increase in compensation.”

Pollard’s tenure has been punctuated with record-setting performance in nearly every metric. A couple highlights from the 2020-21 season were the football team’s PlayStation Fiesta Bowl Championship and safely playing games and hosting fans (albeit smaller crowds) during COVID-19. Iowa State has had the fewest positive COVID tests of any school in the Big 12.

“I am grateful to Dr. Wintersteen for the opportunity to continue pursuing our ambitious goals for the athletics department,” Pollard said. “The administration’s support, led by President Wintersteen, has been instrumental to our program’s success.”

The athletics department has ranked near the top of the Big 12 in both athletics performance and academic achievement for a number of years consecutively. Later this spring, the department will be opening the doors to its newly constructed, $90 million Sports Performance Center. That is the latest addition to the nearly quarter of a billion dollars that ISU Athletics has devoted to facilities during Pollard’s tenure.

National observers have noticed the resurgence at Iowa State and Pollard was recognized as 2019 Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). He was also a finalist for the 2019 Sports Business Journal AD of the Year.

Pollard is currently in Indianapolis serving the second year of his five-year term on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of NACDA and was that organization’s first vice-president in 2020.

“I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to lead our athletics program for the past 16 years and look forward to leading the program for many more,” Pollard said. “We have created an incredible culture among our coaches and staff which makes coming to work every day so enjoyable. Lastly, our children grew up in Ames and our family is proud to call Iowa home.”

INDIANAPOLIS — University of Iowa senior Luka Garza is the recipient of the 2021 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. The announcement was made by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Named after Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the annual honor in its seventh year recognizes the top center in Division I men’s college basketball. Garza is the first student-athlete to win the award multiple times.

“To win this award two years in a row is a surreal feeling,” said Garza. “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar represented what it was to be an amazing person and basketball player and was a role model to many, including myself. I would not have been able to accomplish this without my teammates, coaches, and my family. I am forever grateful for the University of Iowa. Go Hawks!”

No player was more dominant in the paint for a second consecutive year than Garza. Yesterday, the 6-foot-11 center was the recipient of the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year Award.

Garza has been named national player of the year by all of the major organizations and publications to date, including the Naismith, Associated Press, National Association of Basketball Coaches, United States Basketball Writers Association (Oscar Robertson Trophy), Sporting News, and Basketball Times. Iowa’s first two-time unanimous consensus first-team All-American is also a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, which will be announced on Tuesday.

Garza led the nationally-ranked Hawkeyes to 22 victories and a third place Big Ten finish in 2021. The Washington, D.C., native led the nation in total points (747), player efficiency rating (35.84), 30-point games (8), field goals made (281), and 20-point games (22). Garza ranked second nationally in points per game (24.1), fifth in free throw attempts (199), 10th in free throw makes (141), and 11th in double-doubles (13). His 747 points extended the single-season school record he set last season (740).

In his final game as a Hawkeye, Garza poured in 36 points and cleared nine rebounds. The 36 points are the most points scored by any Division I player in the 2021 NCAA Tournament and ties Bill Logan’s school record set against Temple 65 years ago on March 22, 1956.

The two-time Big Ten Player of the Year broke Iowa’s 32-year old scoring record held by Roy Marble on Feb. 21, 2021. He finished his Hawkeye career with 2,306 points, which ranks seventh-best in Big Ten history. In addition to ranking first in career scoring, Garza is tops at Iowa in 30-point games (13), conference scoring (1,399), field goals made (870), field goal attempts (1,594), and 40-point games (2); second in rebounds (931); fourth in double-doubles (34); fifth in blocked shots (154); sixth in free throw makes (446) and attempts (636); and 16th in 3-pointers made (120). He is the only men’s basketball player in Big Ten history to accumulate 2,250 points and 900 rebounds

INDIANAPOLIS — University of Iowa senior Luka Garza is the recipient of the 2021 Naismith Trophy, the most prestigious individual basketball honor presented annually to college basketball’s most outstanding player. The announcement was made Saturday afternoon on CBS Sports Network by Barry Goheen, Atlanta Tipoff Club chairman.   

“Winning an award in Naismith’s name is an honor my family and I will always treasure,” Garza said. “Naismith changed my life, and so many others by creating the game that so many love. In 2015, when my dad and I watched Frank Kaminsky accept the Naismith Trophy in Indianapolis, I never thought I would be in this position six years later. I am forever thankful to the University of Iowa, Coach McCaffery, the rest of the coaching staff, my teammates, my family, and the countless other people and coaches who have helped me along the way. This is not an individual honor, but a team award and I am so proud to be able to bring this award home to Iowa City. Thank you to the Atlanta Tipoff Club for this prestigious award and thank you to Naismith for changing my life and so many others with the game of basketball.”

Iowa is one of just six institutions to have both a men’s and women’s Naismith Trophy honoree, joining Duke, LSU, Notre Dame, Texas, and Virginia. Megan Gustafson was the recipient of the 2019 Naismith Trophy following her senior season.

Garza will be presented the iconic Naismith Trophy, originally sculpted in 1982 by Atlanta’s Marty C. Dawe, on the University of Iowa campus this spring. A replica trophy will be donated by Herff Jones to the University of Iowa.

The most dominant player in men’s college basketball, Garza has been named national player of the year by all of the major organizations and publications, including the Associated Press, National Association of Basketball Coaches, United States Basketball Writers Association (Oscar Robertson Trophy), Sporting News, Basketball Times, and The Athletic. Iowa’s first two-time unanimous consensus first-team All-American is also a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, which will be announced on Tuesday.

 Garza led the nationally-ranked Hawkeyes to 22 victories and a third place Big Ten finish in 2021. The Washington, D.C., native led the nation in total points (747), player efficiency rating (35.84), 30-point games (8), field goals made (281), and 20-point games (22). Garza ranked second nationally in points per game (24.1), fifth in free throw attempts (199), 10th in free throw makes (141), and 11th in double-doubles (13). His 747 points extended the single-season school record he set last season (740).

“Luka just concluded a remarkable college career and had tremendous expectations to live up to all season long. He displayed complete dominance on the court throughout the course of an incredibly challenging basketball season,” said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. 

The two-time Big Ten Player of the Year broke Iowa’s 32-year old scoring record held by Roy Marble on Feb. 21, 2021. He finished his Hawkeye career with 2,306 points, which ranks seventh-best in Big Ten history. In addition to ranking first in career scoring, Garza is tops at Iowa in 30-point games (13), conference scoring (1,399), field goals made (870), field goal attempts (1,594), and 40-point games (2); second in rebounds (931); fourth in double-doubles (34); fifth in blocked shots (154); sixth in free throw makes (446) and attempts (636); and 16th in 3-pointers made (120). He is the only men’s basketball player in Big Ten history to accumulate 2,250 points and 900 rebounds.

Garza was chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s national voting academy, comprised of leading media members from around the country, current and former head coaches, former award winners and conference commissioners, all of whom based their selections on outstanding on-court performances during the 2020-21 college basketball season. Additionally, fans had the opportunity to cast a ballot. The Naismith fan vote accounted for five percent of the overall vote. The vote was tabulated and certified by Aprio, a premier, CPA-led business advisory firm, headquartered in Atlanta.

For more information about the Naismith Awards, visit naismithtrophy.com.