SMU has made a crucial decision regarding its football program ahead of Saturday’s American Athletic Conference Championship Game and next year’s move to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The university agreed to a multiyear contract extension with second-year head coach Rhett Lashlee after leading the program to its first conference title game in over a decade and winning 10 games in a single season for the first time since 1984.
“We are excited to announce this extension with Coach Lashlee to keep him on the Hilltop for years to come,” SMU Athletic Director Rick Hart said in an official announcement. “Coach, his family and staff have poured so much into our program and student-athletes. This extension is well deserved and there’s no question about the commitment and dedication that he has shown to SMU. As we enter the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference), there is no one we’d rather have leading our football program than Rhett.”
Lashlee has become one of the innovative young offensive minds in college football since his days as a graduate assistant at Auburn, earning his way through the ranks as an offensive coordinator at Stamford, Arkansas State, Auburn, SMU, and Miami before returning to the Hilltop to replace Sonny Dykes as head coach when Dykes left for TCU in 2021.
Lashlee’s brief tenure has brought rapid success to the program as he continues to recruit the local area and Dykes’s drive to brand the Mustangs as “Dallas’ College Football Team” but was also able to attract transfers from other programs like Alabama, Miami, and TCU, among others.
SMU has a 17-8 record in two seasons under Lashlee, including an incredible 7-1 mark in November games. This season, he helped lead the team to new heights, boasting top 10 units on both offense and defense for most of the year and developing younger, talented players as other schools became interested in his services.
However, he chose to stay in Dallas and will lead the team into a new chapter in the ACC as the program returns to a power conference.
“Lauren, our kids and I love being part of the SMU Family. We want to thank Dr. Turner, Rick Hart, David Miller, Bill Armstrong, the Board of Trustees and the entire University community for their continued belief in us and our staff,” the head coach said in the announcement. “We believe in what we are building on the Hilltop and we are excited to finish this season with a chance to compete for the conference championship in the American, and we’re humbled to be leading our program into the ACC in 2024 and beyond.”
