Falcon Football - UTPB

UTPB Welcomes FIRST Head Football Coach - Permian Basin 360 : 'via Blog this'

BY ADAM ZUVANICH azuvanich@oaoa. com Justin Carrigan arrived in the Permian Basin a day early, before his Wednesday job interview on the UTPB campus in Odessa, and reached out to the area’s most prominent high school football coaches. On Tuesday he introduced himself to Permian coach Blake Feldt, Odessa High coach Ron King and Midland High coach Craig Yenzer, visiting each one personally. Then, before heading back to his home in Stephenville on Thursday, Carrigan met with Midland Lee coach James Morton. He might not have realized it at the time, but that seemingly small gesture is one of the reasons Carrigan was introduced Friday as the first football coach in UTPB history. It certainly made an impression on former Permian coach John Wilkins, who UTPB sought out to be a lead member of its search committee, because Wilkins said it was “critical” for the Falcons to find a coach who knows how to recruit and build relationships with the high school coaches in the region. “He was just d

Justin Carrigan By Adam Zuvanich, Odessa American The upstart football program at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin has its first leader in place. Justin Carrigan, a native Texan with longstanding ties to the Lone Star Conference, was named UTPB's first football coach at a news conference Friday morning. The 35-year-old Carrigan, a 1998 graduate of Carrollton Turner High School, was a two-time all-conference safety for Angelo State in San Angelo and has worked on the coaching staffs at fellow LSC schools Midwestern State in Wichita Falls and Tarleton State in Stephenville. UTPB president David Watts and athletics director Steve Aicinena both said Carrigan's ties to the conference, in which UTPB will compete beginning in the fall of 2016, helped set him apart from the other finalists for the job, Lindsey Wilson University head coach Chris Oliver and former Valparaiso head coach Dale Carlson. Watts and Aicinena also cited Carrigan's recruiting connections in th

Chris Oliver, Dale Carson, Justin Carrigan BY ADAM ZUVANICH azuvanich@oaoa.com  - Odessa American UTPB is close to hiring its first football coach. Athletics director Steve Aicinena confirmed Monday that the school has narrowed its inaugural coaching search to three finalists — Lindsey Wilson University head coach Chris Oliver, former Valparaiso head coach Dale Carlson and Tarleton State offensive coordinator Justin Carrigan. Oliver interviewed in Odessa on Monday, Carlson is scheduled to interview on campus Tuesday, and Carrigan’s interview is scheduled for Wednesday. Aicinena said one of them could be offered the UTPB job as early as Thursday. “We’re hoping to come to closure by the end of the week,” Aicinena said. “I don’t know if we’re going to know by Friday, but that’s our intent. We’ll get all three people in by Wednesday, meet with the (search) committee on Thursday and make an offer either Thursday night or Friday. “We are really excited to be at this stage and have al

Supporters have donated more than $9.5 million, so UTPB can start football in fall 2016. “We’re in the process of hiring a football coach. We should have someone in January or February.” The university also is in need of more academic space, which officials hope to get tuition revenue bonds for. More ...