WACO, TX — New Mexico head coach Jason Eck leads a group of six coaches named to the Board of Trustees of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Along with Eck, Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire, 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, with Kentucky wide receivers coach Joe Price III 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 the organization's secretary-treasurer.
Last year, 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. He 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.