Iowa State Cyclones at Hilton Coliseum
The Iowa State Cyclones have a storied record of ups and downs, including 20 NCAA tournament appearances, 10 of those in the last 20 years. Coached since 2015 by Steve Prohm, the Cyclones have appeared in the Final Four twice, won six conference titles and cinched six regular-season championships. Iowa State plays in the Hilton Coliseum at the Iowa State Center in Ames, Iowa. It opened in 1971, with light and sound upgrades executed in 2016 and more renovations planned for the next 10 years. The arena currently seats 14,400 and hosts Iowa State's other sports, including women's basketball, gymnastics, volleyball and wrestling. The arena was named for beloved Iowa State President James H. Hilton, and fans speak of the "Hilton Magic" that can help Iowa State teams pull off unlikely victories.
Iowa State Cyclones Men's Basketball History
The first tip-off for the Cyclones was in 1908 under football quarterback and infielder S. Clyde Williams. In the era when a single man tended to coach all sports at a university, Iowa State was no exception. The team has been affiliated with an intercollegiate conference — today the Big 12, formerly the Big Eight, Seven or Six — since the NCAA formed in 1910, when the Cyclones' conference was known as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
Forty Iowa State Cyclones — seven currently in the NBA — have gone on to become professional basketball players. These include Olympic bronze medalist Jeff Grayer and hometown Ames kid Fred Hoiberg, who returned to Iowa State after a 10-year career in the NBA and won the Big 12 twice and Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2012.
The Cyclones have a long-running in-state rivalry with the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, which encompasses all sports and is known as the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. The annual Hy-Vee Classic, named for the local supermarket chain, features Iowa State challenging Drake and Northern Iowa in alternate years. The Cyclones' closest Big 12 Conference rivals are the Kansas Jayhawks, the only Big 12 team that can consistently beat the Cyclones at home in Ames.
