Football Coach Souers Awarded Contract Extension

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Arizona Board of Regents has unanimously approved a three-year contract extension for Northern Arizona head football coach Jerome Souers. The contract extension, which runs through 2013, was approved Friday morning in Tucson during the board’s regular meeting.

“I would like to thank President Haeger and Jim Fallis for their continued support and sharing in our vision for the growth of the program on and off the field,” said Souers. “We want our fans and alumni to be proud of the football program and my staff and I are fully committed to accomplishing that goal. We have a special opportunity with the Walkup Skydome renovations to showcase our football team moving forward.”

Prior to the meeting NAU President John Haeger said Souers is "much more than a football coach" at the university and cited continually improving APR rates and student-athlete success as part of the reason for the contract extension.

“Coach Souers has been an excellent fit for Northern Arizona University, building a lasting legacy at the university,” said Haeger. “His team members are first and foremost good students, and they’re solid players as well.”

The contract extension puts him under contract through the 2013 season. Souers has served as head coach of the Northern Arizona football program since 1998 and is the dean of the Big Sky Conference football coaches with 13 years at his institution.

“I want to thank President Haeger and the Board of Regents for supporting our efforts to move the program forward in the right way with the extension for Coach Souers,” said Athletics Director Jim Fallis. “I believe we are where we need to be academically, socially and competitively. Coach Souers has established a solid foundation that we hope to build on.”

Fallis plans to help the football program incorporate a significant summer program, allowing the student-athletes an opportunity to stay in Flagstaff and take advantage of NAU’s strength and conditioning program. Plans for a comprehensive campaign will be announced.

The football program has shown growth under Souers in the team’s academic, social conduct, and graduation rate performances.

The football program has a demonstrated record of improvement in its Academic Progress Rate (APR) since the initial figures were released in 2005-06, scoring a multi-year rate of 937 and one-year APR of 947 in the most recent report. Both figures ranked second in the Big Sky Conference. The overall team grade point average for 2009-10 was 2.76 and the team is scheduled to graduate 19 of the 20 seniors in the program this year.

Under Souers NAU made a record-breaking NCAA I-AA Quarterfinal appearance in 2003 while winning the first Big Sky Conference title since 1978. The Lumberjacks recorded two playoff berths and have posted eight winning seasons. During his 13-year tenure, Souers has coached 111 student-athletes to all-conference honors a combined 181 times with 41 first-team selections and 37 All-American honors.

Souers has the Lumberjacks posting impressive results in the classroom. The football program has produced the Golden Eagle Scholar Athlete of the Year six times in the last 10 years (Blair Boynton, Eric Damko, Steve Gomez, Mark Gould, Paul Ernster and Jeff Wheeler) and had nine student-athletes named to the 2009 Big Sky Fall All-Academic team. Overall, 56 student-athletes have earned 97 Big Sky academic honors over the last 12 seasons. There have also been five Academic All-Americans.