On Sunday, Nov. 30, the University of New Mexico announced that football Head Coach Jason Eck signed a new five-year deal that will keep him under contract through 2030.
The deal includes $400,000 in guaranteed base pay, $575,000 for media participation and another $575,000 for program promotion, totaling $1.55 million for the first year of the contract and increasing $100,000 each following year. The deal also adds incentives for total wins, wins over Power 4 schools and ranked opponents, along with increasing incentives tied to conference championship wins and appearances.
In his first season with the program, Eck has led the Lobos to a 9-3 record — the most wins by a first year Lobo head coach, with a secured a bowl game for his squad in the process — and went 6-0 at home, a first for UNM since 1938. To add on to his list of accolades, Eck was named Mountain West football coach of the year.
With the announcement of Eck's new contract, immediate praise from fans followed. UNM freshman Xavier Apodaca, a die hard Lobo fan, is loving the championship behavior Eck has brought to UNM.
“He has brought the football program to new heights that I haven’t seen in my lifetime, (Athletic Director Fernando Lovo) brought the right guy in,” Apodaca said.
Apodaca wasn’t the only student fan who had praise for Eck, as freshman Matteo Franco was very satisfied with coach Eck’s new deal.
“The money, that's definitely deserved, he’s coming out here his first year, dominates, as a Lobo fan we haven’t had a lot of winning seasons so him coming out here — I feel like that's an outstanding measure that he has been able to create,” Franco said.
It’s not just student fans that have been buzzing about Eck’s extension; it has also been lifelong Lobo fans like Billy Gupton. Gupton said he believes that the contract is great, and hopes that Eck will continue his winning ways in the future.
“I think it’s great for both the school and the coach, the hope is of course we’ll continue to have that success that he had this year and that will continue for years to come,” Gupton said. “It’s a great opportunity to be able to further show UNM’s commitment to coach Eck and his commitment to UNM.”
With excitement in the air around Eck's new contract, expectations for coach Eck have already started to grow.
“It’s gonna be high expectations, a lot higher than this year, I’m looking for another great year and hopefully a Mountain West championship game,” UNM sophomore Amare Kramer said.
Rodney Prunty is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @rprunty05
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