The University of New Mexico football program, not long after finishing out a wildly successful regular season, announced a five-year extension for first-year coach Jason Eck, a Wisconsin native who played and coached in the Wisconsin Badgers program.
The Lobos defeated San Diego State in overtime Nov. 28 to cap off a 9-3 overall season, the program's best since 1982.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNew Mexico tied with three other teams for the best mark in the Mountain West (including San Diego State) with a 6-2 league record but won't compete in the league's championship game after the application of complicated tiebreaker criteria; Boise State and UNLV will meet instead.
Before Wisconsin announced that it would retain coach Luke Fickell in 2026, you could find Eck on fan wish lists for the next UW coach.
Here's what to know about him:
Aug 30, 2025; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; New Mexico Lobos head coach Jason Eck on the sideline in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn ImagesHow old is Jason Eck?
He's 48.
Where is Jason Eck from?
Eck was born in La Crosse and attended high school in Atlanta. His father, Jay, coached college basketball and made a stop as head coach at Wisconsin-Stevens Point before moving on to Toledo. Jason Eck graduated from the University of Wisconsin and played on the football team at center.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter his tenure as graduate assistant with UW ended in 2001, he took a similar position in Colorado and worked his way up the ranks with stops in Idaho, Winona State, Ball State, Hampton, Western Illinois, Minnesota State, Montana State and South Dakota State. He was named FCS assistant coach of the year with the Jackrabbits in 2019, the year South Dakota State lost in the national-championship game.
In 2022, he became the head coach at Idaho, posting a 26-13 record for the Division I FCS program, with three trips to the NCAA FCS tournament. Last year, his team gave a serious scare to Oregon before ultimately falling, 21-14, to a team that finished the year with the No. 1 seed in the college-football playoff tournament.
New Mexico hired him away from Idaho in December 2024.
How much did Jason Eck play with the Badgers?
Eck attended the University of Wisconsin, graduating in 1999 and playing offensive line for Barry Alvarez; he later earned his master's in business at UW in 2001 while serving as a graduate-assistant coach at the beginning of his coaching career. His three-season run as a player included the 1998 season, when the Badgers advanced to the Rose Bowl and defeated UCLA.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEck appeared in three games that season.
Eck joined the Badgers as a walk-on before earning a scholarship and played center, backing up (among others) current UW assistant coach Casey Rabach.
What was Jason Eck's new contract?
Eck's five-year deal to remain at New Mexico will pay him $1.75 million per season, an increase of $600,000.
Why has Jason Eck's first season at New Mexico been so memorable?
In Eck's first season with the Lobos, New Mexico is bowl-eligible for the first time since 2016 and received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in nearly three decades. The program hasn't won 10 games in 43 years, but New Mexico could reach that threshold with a bowl-game victory.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNew Mexico was picked to finish 11th in a 12-team league in the preseason poll. It's the most wins for a first-year coach in the program since 1938. The program also touted its first sellout crowd since 2007 for a win against UCLA and the ends of a 13-game losing streak to Colorado State and a 25-year road losing streak to Air Force.
His roster came into the year with more than 70 new players.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jason Eck, New Mexico coach and ex-Wisconsin player, gets extension
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