Six Head Coaches Named To AFCA Board Of Trustees
February 10, 2026
Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire, New Mexico head coach Jason Eck, San Diego State head coach Sean Lewis, Montana State head coach Brent Vigen, Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald, and Old Dominion head coach Ricky Rahne have been named to the Board of Trustees of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Kentucky wide receivers coach Joe Price III has also been named to the board as an ex officio member.
McGuire will be a second Big 12 representative, Eck will represent the Mountain West Conference, Lewis will represent the Pac-12 Conference, Vigen will be an FCS representative, Fitzgerald will be a second Big Ten representative, Rahne will represent the Sun Belt Conference, and Price will be chairman of the FBS Assistant Coaches Committee.
Those coaches will join a group of distinguished head coaches who guide the organization. The Board formulates policy and provides direction for the AFCA, which was founded in 1922 by Amos Alonzo Stagg, John Heisman and others. Returning members of the AFCA Board of Trustees include 2026 president Clark Lea of Vanderbilt, first vice-president Jim Catanzaro of Lake Forest, second vice-president Bret Bielema of Illinois and third vice-president Steve Ryan of Morningside.
Also serving on the Board in 2026 are: Jason Simpson, UT Martin; Alvin Parker, Virginia Union; Tony Elliott, Virginia; Brent Venables, Oklahoma; Jerheme Urban, Trinity (Tex.); Jas Bains, Western Colorado; Jamey Chadwell, Liberty; Jeff Monken, Army West Point; Lance Taylor, Western Michigan; Kalani Sitake, BYU; Rhett Lashlee, SMU; Van Malone, Hampton, ex officio member and chairman of the Minority Advancement Committee; Michael Christensen, Carson (Calif.) High School, ex officio member and chairman of the High School Committee; and Scott Strohmeier, Iowa Western Community College, ex officio member and Junior College representative. AFCA Executive Director Craig Bohl serves as secretary-treasurer of the organization.
McGuire completed his fourth season as head coach at Texas Tech by leading the Red Raiders to a 12-2 record, the program’s first Big 12 Conference title and their first appearance in the College Football Playoff. The 12 wins were the most in a single season in program history. McGuire, who earned AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year honors in 2025, owns a 35-18 record at Texas Tech. Prior to being named head coach for the Red Raiders, McGuire was an assistant coach at Baylor from 2017 to 2021. His first head coaching job came at Cedar Hill (Tex.) High School in 2003. McGuire earned an impressive 141-42 record during his 14 years as head coach with three class 5A state titles.
At New Mexico, Eck became the first Lobo head coach to lead his team to a bowl game in his first season. The Lobos went 9-4 and played in the 2025 Rate Bowl, tying for first place in the Mountain West with a 6-2 record. Those nine victories were also the most for a first-year head coach in New Mexico history. Eck came to Albuquerque after three successful seasons as the head coach at Idaho. He guided the Vandals to a 26-13 overall record with three straight trips to the FCS playoffs, including two quarterfinal appearances in his final two seasons. Eck increased his win total each season, culminating with a 10-4 record in 2024. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin in 1999 and spent time as an assistant coach at Colorado, Idaho, Winona State, Ball State, Hampton, Western Illinois, Minnesota State, Montana State, and South Dakota State before being named head coach at Idaho in 2022.
Lewis turned San Diego State around in his second season as head coach, leading the Aztecs from a 3-9 record in 2024 to a 9-4 mark in 2025. SDSU finished tied for first in the Mountain West Conference regular season and appeared in the New Mexico Bowl. The former Wisconsin tight end arrived at San Diego State after one season as the offensive coordinator at Colorado. Prior to that, Lewis was the head coach at Kent State from 2018 to 2022. He guided the Golden Flashes to a pair of bowl games and the Mid-American Conference East Division title in 2021. Lewis began his coaching career at Richards (Ill.) High School in 2008, then moved to the college ranks in 2010 as the tight ends coach at Nebraska-Omaha. He was a graduate assistant at Akron in 2011, then worked as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois, Bowling Green and Syracuse before arriving at Kent State as head coach.
Vigen completed his fifth season at Montana State by guiding the Bobcats to their first national title since 1984. Montana State went 14-2 overall, won the Big Sky Conference for a second year in a row, and beat Illinois State, 35-34 in overtime, to claim the 2025 FCS national championship. Since he arrived at Montana State in 2021, Vigen has led the Bobcats to the playoffs every year with three national championship game appearances and finished first or second in the Big Sky every season. He began his coaching career at North Dakota State in 1998 when his playing days were over. Vigen coached tight ends, quarterbacks and running backs until he moved up to offensive coordinator in 2009. He continued as OC at Wyoming under head coach Craig Bohl from 2014 to 2020 before becoming the head coach at Montana State.
The 2026 season will be Pat Fitzgerald’s first as head coach of the Michigan State Spartans. He returns to the sidelines after serving 17 years as head coach at his alma mater, Northwestern. From 2006 to 2022, Fitzgerald guided the Wildcats to 110 victories, 10 bowl games and two Big Ten West Division titles. The winningest head coach in Northwestern history, Fitzgerald was named Big Ten Coach of the Year twice and won the Dodd Trophy in 2020 after leading the Wildcats to a No. 10 national ranking and victory over Auburn in the Citrus Bowl. Northwestern won the AFCA Academic Achievement Award seven times under Fitzgerald, and he was named Honorary Head Coach of the 2017 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Fitzgerald returns to the AFCA Board of Trustees after serving as president of the association in 2021. His first run on the board was from 2012 to 2021.
In 2025, Rahne led Old Dominion to their best finish in 10 years. The Monarchs finished second in the Sun Belt East Division, recorded an overall record of 10-3 and beat South Florida in the StaffDNA Cure Bowl. His first season as head coach was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but since then, Rahne has guided Old Dominion to 30 wins and three bowl game appearances. Prior to be named head coach at ODU, Rahne spent six seasons at Penn State as quarterbacks and tight ends coach, then eventually offensive coordinator his final two years. He began his coaching career at Holy Cross in 2004, then returned to his alma mater, Cornell, in 2005 as running backs coach. Rahne spent five years at Kansas State, then followed new head coach James Franklin to Vanderbilt as quarterbacks coach from 2011 to 2013.
Price will begin his first season as wide receivers coach at Kentucky after spending the last six seasons at UTSA. He was the associate head coach, pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach his final three seasons with the Roadrunners after he started out as director of player personnel in 2020. Price started his coaching career at Galena Park (Tex.) High School in 2009 and spent five years as an assistant coach, video coordinator, player development coordinator and recruiting coordinator. He moved on to North Shore (Tex.) High School in 2014 as passing game coordinator, wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator before making the jump to college football at Illinois in 2019 as the Director of High School Relations.
For more information about the AFCA, visit www.AFCA.com. For more interesting articles, check out The Insider and subscribe to our weekly email.
If you are interested in more in-depth articles and videos, please become an AFCA member. You can find out more information about membership and specific member benefits on the AFCA Membership Overview page. If you are ready to join, please fill out the AFCA Membership Application.
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Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire, New Mexico head coach Jason Eck, San Diego State head coach Sean Lewis, Montana State head coach Brent Vigen, Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald, and Old Dominion head coach Ricky Rahne have been named to the Board of Trustees of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Kentucky wide receivers coach Joe Price III has also been named to the board as an ex officio member.
McGuire will be a second Big 12 representative, Eck will represent the Mountain West Conference, Lewis will represent the Pac-12 Conference, Vigen will be an FCS representative, Fitzgerald will be a second Big Ten representative, Rahne will represent the Sun Belt Conference, and Price will be chairman of the FBS Assistant Coaches Committee.
Those coaches will join a group of distinguished head coaches who guide the organization. The Board formulates policy and provides direction for the AFCA, which was founded in 1922 by Amos Alonzo Stagg, John Heisman and others. Returning members of the AFCA Board of Trustees include 2026 president Clark Lea of Vanderbilt, first vice-president Jim Catanzaro of Lake Forest, second vice-president Bret Bielema of Illinois and third vice-president Steve Ryan of Morningside.
Also serving on the Board in 2026 are: Jason Simpson, UT Martin; Alvin Parker, Virginia Union; Tony Elliott, Virginia; Brent Venables, Oklahoma; Jerheme Urban, Trinity (Tex.); Jas Bains, Western Colorado; Jamey Chadwell, Liberty; Jeff Monken, Army West Point; Lance Taylor, Western Michigan; Kalani Sitake, BYU; Rhett Lashlee, SMU; Van Malone, Hampton, ex officio member and chairman of the Minority Advancement Committee; Michael Christensen, Carson (Calif.) High School, ex officio member and chairman of the High School Committee; and Scott Strohmeier, Iowa Western Community College, ex officio member and Junior College representative. AFCA Executive Director Craig Bohl serves as secretary-treasurer of the organization.
McGuire completed his fourth season as head coach at Texas Tech by leading the Red Raiders to a 12-2 record, the program’s first Big 12 Conference title and their first appearance in the College Football Playoff. The 12 wins were the most in a single season in program history. McGuire, who earned AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year honors in 2025, owns a 35-18 record at Texas Tech. Prior to being named head coach for the Red Raiders, McGuire was an assistant coach at Baylor from 2017 to 2021. His first head coaching job came at Cedar Hill (Tex.) High School in 2003. McGuire earned an impressive 141-42 record during his 14 years as head coach with three class 5A state titles.
At New Mexico, Eck became the first Lobo head coach to lead his team to a bowl game in his first season. The Lobos went 9-4 and played in the 2025 Rate Bowl, tying for first place in the Mountain West with a 6-2 record. Those nine victories were also the most for a first-year head coach in New Mexico history. Eck came to Albuquerque after three successful seasons as the head coach at Idaho. He guided the Vandals to a 26-13 overall record with three straight trips to the FCS playoffs, including two quarterfinal appearances in his final two seasons. Eck increased his win total each season, culminating with a 10-4 record in 2024. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin in 1999 and spent time as an assistant coach at Colorado, Idaho, Winona State, Ball State, Hampton, Western Illinois, Minnesota State, Montana State, and South Dakota State before being named head coach at Idaho in 2022.
Lewis turned San Diego State around in his second season as head coach, leading the Aztecs from a 3-9 record in 2024 to a 9-4 mark in 2025. SDSU finished tied for first in the Mountain West Conference regular season and appeared in the New Mexico Bowl. The former Wisconsin tight end arrived at San Diego State after one season as the offensive coordinator at Colorado. Prior to that, Lewis was the head coach at Kent State from 2018 to 2022. He guided the Golden Flashes to a pair of bowl games and the Mid-American Conference East Division title in 2021. Lewis began his coaching career at Richards (Ill.) High School in 2008, then moved to the college ranks in 2010 as the tight ends coach at Nebraska-Omaha. He was a graduate assistant at Akron in 2011, then worked as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois, Bowling Green and Syracuse before arriving at Kent State as head coach.
Vigen completed his fifth season at Montana State by guiding the Bobcats to their first national title since 1984. Montana State went 14-2 overall, won the Big Sky Conference for a second year in a row, and beat Illinois State, 35-34 in overtime, to claim the 2025 FCS national championship. Since he arrived at Montana State in 2021, Vigen has led the Bobcats to the playoffs every year with three national championship game appearances and finished first or second in the Big Sky every season. He began his coaching career at North Dakota State in 1998 when his playing days were over. Vigen coached tight ends, quarterbacks and running backs until he moved up to offensive coordinator in 2009. He continued as OC at Wyoming under head coach Craig Bohl from 2014 to 2020 before becoming the head coach at Montana State.
The 2026 season will be Pat Fitzgerald’s first as head coach of the Michigan State Spartans. He returns to the sidelines after serving 17 years as head coach at his alma mater, Northwestern. From 2006 to 2022, Fitzgerald guided the Wildcats to 110 victories, 10 bowl games and two Big Ten West Division titles. The winningest head coach in Northwestern history, Fitzgerald was named Big Ten Coach of the Year twice and won the Dodd Trophy in 2020 after leading the Wildcats to a No. 10 national ranking and victory over Auburn in the Citrus Bowl. Northwestern won the AFCA Academic Achievement Award seven times under Fitzgerald, and he was named Honorary Head Coach of the 2017 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Fitzgerald returns to the AFCA Board of Trustees after serving as president of the association in 2021. His first run on the board was from 2012 to 2021.
In 2025, Rahne led Old Dominion to their best finish in 10 years. The Monarchs finished second in the Sun Belt East Division, recorded an overall record of 10-3 and beat South Florida in the StaffDNA Cure Bowl. His first season as head coach was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but since then, Rahne has guided Old Dominion to 30 wins and three bowl game appearances. Prior to be named head coach at ODU, Rahne spent six seasons at Penn State as quarterbacks and tight ends coach, then eventually offensive coordinator his final two years. He began his coaching career at Holy Cross in 2004, then returned to his alma mater, Cornell, in 2005 as running backs coach. Rahne spent five years at Kansas State, then followed new head coach James Franklin to Vanderbilt as quarterbacks coach from 2011 to 2013.
Price will begin his first season as wide receivers coach at Kentucky after spending the last six seasons at UTSA. He was the associate head coach, pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach his final three seasons with the Roadrunners after he started out as director of player personnel in 2020. Price started his coaching career at Galena Park (Tex.) High School in 2009 and spent five years as an assistant coach, video coordinator, player development coordinator and recruiting coordinator. He moved on to North Shore (Tex.) High School in 2014 as passing game coordinator, wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator before making the jump to college football at Illinois in 2019 as the Director of High School Relations.
For more information about the AFCA, visit www.AFCA.com. For more interesting articles, check out The Insider and subscribe to our weekly email.
If you are interested in more in-depth articles and videos, please become an AFCA member. You can find out more information about membership and specific member benefits on the AFCA Membership Overview page. If you are ready to join, please fill out the AFCA Membership Application.
