Football coach signs contract extension through 2017

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The University of Toledo and Head Football Coach Matt Campbell have agreed to a contract extension that will run through the 2017 football season, UT Vice President and Athletic Director Mike O’Brien announced today.

Campbell, in his second full season with the Rockets, has a 15-7 record as head coach. He led the Rockets to a 42-41 victory over Air Force in the 2011 Military Bowl in his first game as head coach. In 2012, his Rockets finished 9-4 and were ranked in the Top 25 at one point in the season. So far this season the Rockets are 5-3, 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference.

“Matt Campbell is not only one of the finest young football coaches in the country, he is also a great mentor to the young men in our football program,” O’Brien said. “He is determined to make the UT football program the finest in the Mid-American Conference. But more than that, he is dedicated to making sure our student-athletes get a good education and to helping them develop as well-rounded individuals. We are pleased to make this commitment to Coach Campbell and look forward to many more years with him as our head football coach.”

“I’m grateful for the support of President Lloyd Jacobs, Mike O’Brien and the entire UT administrative staff,” Campbell said. “I’m honored to be the head football coach at this great university. Most of all, I would like to thank our players, assistant coaches and football support staff. Their effort and enthusiasm help make our program a point of pride for The University of Toledo and the Toledo community.”

Campbell served three seasons as UT’s offensive coordinator under former Head Coach Tim Beckman from 2009 to 2011. He was named head coach for the Rockets Dec. 12, 2011, becoming the 26th head football coach in school history and the youngest head coach in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision at the time by more than three years.

A native of Massillon, Ohio, Campbell played his college football at Mount Union, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 2002. Campbell earned NCAA Division III All-America honors at defensive end in 2001 and 2002, leading the Purple Raiders to national championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He returned to coach at Mount Union under legendary Head Coach Larry Kehres in 2005 and 2006, helping guide the Purple Raiders to two more national titles. Campbell then coached at Bowling Green State University for two seasons as the offensive line and run game coordinator before joining the UT staff in 2009.

Campbell and his wife, Erica, have two girls, Katelyn, 5, and Isabella, 4, and a son, Rudy, who was born in July.