Skip to main content

Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock retires, ending a coaching career after 4-plus decades

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock has retired, ending a coaching career after four-plus decades.

He announced his decision on Tuesday.

Heacock, known for a 3-3-5 scheme with the Cyclones, was a finalist for the Broyles Award that recognizes college football’s top assistant coach in 2017 and was nominated for it from 2022-25.

He was a top assistant on Matt Campbell’s staff at Iowa State for 10 seasons and at Toledo for two seasons. Campbell left Iowa State earlier this month to lead Penn State’s program.

Heacock was 60-44 as coach at Youngstown State from 2001 to 2009, leading the second-tier college football program to the FCS semifinals in 2006 and earning conference coach of the year honors twice.

The 65-year-old Heacock, who is from Beloit, Ohio, started his coaching career in 1983 at Toledo as a graduate assistant. He later was a graduate assistant for the late Bo Schembechler at Michigan and defensive coordinator for Jim Tressel at Youngstown State.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

The Cactus Bowl is back, returning to Arizona State’s campus in December

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Cactus Bowl is back and it's returning to Arizona State's campus. Fiesta Sports Foundation, which operates the Fiesta and Cactus bowls, announced the return on Wednesday, ending a nine-year run at Chase Field, home of baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. The game will be played Dec. 26 at Arizona State's Mountain America Stadium. The bowl moved to Chase Field while Arizona State's stadium underwent renovations and had numerous title sponsors, most recently being known as the Rate Bowl from 2024-25.
Read Next Story