Iowa State, Learfield Enter New Era of College Athletics with Partnership Extension Through 2038

Iowa State Athletics and Learfield, a media and technology company powering college athletics, are set to enter the new age of college athletics with a transformative long-term partnership extension focused on revenue generation and student-athlete marketing opportunities.

The Cyclones will maximize sponsorship revenue through Learfield’s integrated data and digital solutions and utilize Learfield Impact NIL services to provide a combination of people, content, and technology for brand partners and Cyclone student-athletes.

“Iowa State Athletics is honored to extend our relationship with Learfield, the industry’s premier multi-media rights company and a trusted partner for nearly 20 years,“ says Iowa State Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard. “Not only has Learfield committed to re-investing in our athletics program, but they also recognize the numerous opportunities that will be available as a result of our innovative investment in CyTown. This extension will allow us to leverage CyTown to significantly grow our financial resources at a critical time in our athletics’ program’s history.”

“Thanks to the incredible work of our Cyclone Sports Properties team, Learfield has a demonstrated track record of success and growth, and we look forward to working with them to foster innovative ideas to provide more opportunities for local and national brand partners to engage Iowa State fans, while also giving our student-athletes opportunities to grow their personal brands through Learfield Impact NIL services,” he adds.

Learfield has been Iowa State’s exclusive multi-media rightsholder since the 2006-07 academic year. However, the partnership between the two parties traces its roots to 1984 when the department signed its first-ever multi-media rights agreement to become the second collegiate property in Learfield’s sports portfolio. With this extended partnership, the agreement runs through the 2037-38 academic year.

Iowa State Athletics and Cyclone Sports Properties have strived to create impactful NIL opportunities, an effort that will now be further enhanced through the utilization of Learfield Impact and the addition of three NIL-dedicated staff members in Ames. Learfield’s approach to NIL combines on-campus NIL leadership and resources, dealmaking technology through Compass NIL, and student-athlete and brand partner storytelling through Learfield Studios, providing opportunities for student-athletes to not only build their brand but also create impact for their partners.

Learfield’s solutions are backed by Fanbase, the largest fan record database in college athletics, giving Iowa State the ability to pull fan insights on millions of Cyclone fans and compare benchmarking analysis across the Big 12.

Since the 2011-12 academic year, ISU is the nation’s only institution to average at least 50,000 fans at home football games (13-straight seasons), 12,000 fans at home men’s basketball games (15-straight years), and 9,000 fans at home women’s basketball games (17-straight seasons), excluding the COVID-impacted 2020-21 academic year.

Through Learfield’s programmatic digital marketing services Iowa State’s brand partners experienced more than 40% growth in digital campaigns in 2024-25. ISU has also doubled year over year output of sponsored social media content marking it as one of the fastest-growing content distribution channels.

“With the significant changes facing college athletics, we are proud to step up with an innovative long-term partnership extension with Iowa State Athletics to maximize revenue generation for the Cyclones,” says Kim Damron, Learfield’s President of Sports Properties. “Jamie is a fantastic partner and an innovator in our industry, and we look forward to taking our partnership to the next level, including industry-best NIL services and solutions.”

By connecting additional Learfield enterprise offerings, Iowa State continues to unlock more revenue potential through partnerships with CLC and SIDEARM Sports. Licensed merchandise sales have grown by nearly 36% over the last three years while Iowa State’s official athletics website and mobile app have unlocked 249% growth in fan records since 2021.

As part of the long-term extension with Learfield, Iowa State will also expand its relationship with Learfield Amplify. The Cyclones will now utilize Learfield Amplify Development to work directly with the ISU Foundation, growing year-round philanthropic support for ISU Athletics teams, programs, and initiatives.