Colby Don Carthel (born August 29, 1976) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach and former player. He is the head football coach at

Stephen F. Austin State University Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU or SFA) is a public university in Nacogdoches, Texas, in the United States. Named after Stephen F. Austin, one of the founders of Texas, SFA was founded as a teachers college in 1923 and built on part ...

Nacogdoches, Texas Nacogdoches ( ) is a city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Stephen F. Austin State University is located in Nacogdoches and special ...

, a position he has held since December 2018. Carthel served as the head football coach at

Texas A&M University–Commerce East Texas A&M University (ETAMU; formerly Texas A&M University–Commerce) is a public university in Commerce, Texas, United States. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in ...

from 2013 to 2018, leading the 2017 Texas A&M–Commerce Lions football team to an NCAA Division II Football Championship title. Prior to his time as head coach, he was the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

under his father, Don Carthel, at

West Texas A&M University West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Southern Associat ...

, from 2006 to 2012. Carthel played football at

Angelo State University Angelo State University is a public university in San Angelo, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1928 as San Angelo College. It gained university status and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1967 and graduate degrees in 1969, the s ...

, where he was an all-conference

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

Early life

Carthel was born in

Floydada, Texas Floydada ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Texas, Floyd County, Texas, United States. This rural community lies on the high plains of the Llano Estacado in West Texas and is sometimes referred to as the Pumpkin Capital of Texas ...

, and was reared in

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...

. He attended Friona High School in Friona, Texas, where he captained the football team and led them to a district championship during the 1994 season. He also went to the State Track & Field Championships for his high school, placing fourth in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

. He graduated from Friona High School in 1995.

Playing career

Carthel played college football at

. He started at

for the

Rams In engineering, reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS)Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the South Central states, with schools in Texas ...

title. He was a four-year letterman and starter for the Angelo State, as well as a three-time Academic All-Conference winner. He graduated in 2000 with a degree in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

Coaching career

Early career

Upon graduation from Angelo State in 2000, Carthel began his coaching career as the

defensive line coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive a ...

and recruiting coordinator at

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Christian research university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as an R2 (High Research Spending and Doctorate Production) institutio ...

, where he remained until 2006. In 2006 his father, Don Carthel, named him the

on his staff at

Texas A&M–Commerce

In 2013, Carthel was hired as the 19th head football coach at

Texas A&M University-Commerce East Texas A&M University (ETAMU; formerly Texas A&M University–Commerce) is a public university in Commerce, Texas, United States. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in ...

. The program was coming off of two back-to-back 1–9 seasons, the worst two-year stretch in school history. Carthel quickly established a new culture in Commerce that saw 50 of the 85 players leave the program. Carthel and his staff quickly plugged in the missing parts with mainly Junior College transfers and Division I transfers to quickly rebuild the program. Former

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

quarterback Tyrik Rollison, who had been considered the best high school quarterback in Texas in the class of 2010, transferred to Texas A&M-Commerce and was one of many JUCO and Division I players from the Dallas/Fort Worth and Northeast Texas area that transferred to A&M-Commerce to play for the Lions.

2013 season

Carthel and the Lions started his first season by opening with a home win again

Sul Ross State University Sul Ross State University (SRSU) is a public university in Alpine, Texas, United States. The main campus is the primary institution of higher education serving the nineteen-county Big Bend, Texas, Big Bend region of far West Texas. Branch campuse ...

51–6. The next week in front of 20,000 LSC fans at

AT&T Stadium AT&T Stadium is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. It is also the home of the Cotton Bowl Classic ...

, Carthel's Lions upset the 22nd ranked

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

. The next week Carthel the Lions faced off with his former team, West Texas A&M in

Canyon, Texas Canyon is a city in and the county seat of Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,836 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo metropolitan area, metropolitan statistical area ...

. The Lions stunned the crowd by jumping out to a 14–7 lead, but were bested by a prolific Buffalo team 68–28, and then dropped a 30–24 decision to Midwestern State the next week in Commerce. After a 2–2 start, the Lions rolled out 4 straight wins defeating Southeastern Oklahoma State 31–29, Texas A&M-Kingsville 41–28,

McMurry McMurry is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Frank Morton McMurry (1862–1936), American educator * John E. McMurry, whose name is given to the McMurry reaction *Lillian McMurry (1921–1999), American record producer See also ...

65–43, and arch-rival Tarleton State 22–20. The Lions rounded out the season by dropping a close loss to the

Angelo State Rams The Angelo State Rams, also known as ASU Rams, are the athletic teams that represent Angelo State University, located in San Angelo, Texas, in intercollegiate sports at the NCAA Division II, Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

25–20, bouncing back against Division I Houston Baptist Huskies 55–21, and ending the season with a last second 42–35 loss to

Eastern New Mexico Eastern New Mexico is a physiographic subregion within the U.S. state of New Mexico. The region is sometimes called the " High Plains", or "Eastern Plains (of New Mexico)", and was historically referred to as part of the "Great American Desert". T ...

. Despite the late season loss, the Lions were invited to the 2013 LiveUnited Texarkana Bowl to finish the season 7–5 overall and fifth in the conference.

2014 season

Carthel's 2014 A&M–Commerce squad led the nation in points per game with an average of 54.1, and yards per game with an average of 535.4. They opened the season with a record-breaking performance against East Texas Baptist in which they scored 98 points and amassed 986 total yards of offense and 13 touchdowns. The win gained the Lions national exposure as it was reported on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande, Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...

that same night. The next day, head coach Colby Carthel was interviewed by ESPN's

Linda Cohn Linda Cohn (born November 10, 1959) is an American sportscaster. She has anchored ESPN's ''SportsCenter'' since 1992. Early life and education Cohn grew up in a Jewish family on Long Island, New York (state), New York. As a child, she would w ...

in regards to the win. In that win the Lions set national and conference records for points scored, yards gained, and total offense in a game. The Lions also defeated A&M-Kingsville, Tarleton State, West Texas A&M, Angelo State, and Tarleton State a second time in the conference playoffs. The lone losses were to the Division I Stephen F. Austin State Lumberjacks, Midwestern State, and to Angelo State in a conference finals rematch. The Lions won the

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the South Central states, with schools in Texas ...

championship for the 21st time in school history, the first time since the 1990 season. The Lions were left out of the NCAA playoffs, but were invited back to the postseason, which resulted in a 72–21 win over

East Central University East Central University (ECU or East Central) is a public university in Ada, Oklahoma. It is part of Oklahoma's Regional University System. Beyond its flagship campus in Ada, the university has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, and Duran ...

in the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl, the win was the first postseason win for the program since a 1991 win over Grand Valley State in the 1991 NCAA first round of the playoffs to finish the season 9–3. The 2014 team saw Ricky Collins, Vernon Johnson, and Charles Tuaau be called to the NFL.

2015 season

Prior to the start of the 2015 season the Lions were picked second to finish behind Angelo State. The Lions started out with a win against Adams State followed by a loss to a top ten Delta State team in a last second thriller. Carthel then guided the Lions to their second straight conference championship with an undefeated conference record, and qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time since 1995, where they lost to the

Ferris State Bulldogs The Ferris State Bulldogs (FSU Bulldogs) are the athletic teams that represent Ferris State University, located in Big Rapids, Michigan, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Bulldogs compete as members of the Great Lake ...

in the first round of the playoffs, finishing 8–4 overall ranked No. 20 in the nation. The Lions were guided by former University of Nevada QB Harrison Stewart, Running Back Richard Cooper, Receiver Lance Evans, and Defensive Standouts Toni Pulu and Cole Pitts. Stewart threw for over 3,300 yards, putting him second all time for single season passing yards in Lion football History, while Cooper was an All-American and Evans, Pulu, and Pitts were all first team All-LSC Conference. The Lions led the conference in passing offense and total offense.

2016 season

In the spring of 2016, Carthel was rewarded with a contract extension with options that would keep him Commerce until 2018. In his first three seasons as head coach he led the team to a total of three postseason appearances, two LSC championships, and seven or more wins in each season. He also helped lead a number of players to the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

. Carthel's Lions started the season ranked 9th in the nation and picked to win the Lone Star Conference for the third straight year. All-American running back Richard Cooper returned for his senior season and was picked preseason conference back of the year. The Lions ran out to a 5–0 record to start the season, but lost by 1 point to Midwestern State in a back and forth affair in Commerce. The Lions then reeled off 5 straight wins and clinched their third straight LSC Championship after Midwestern lost to Eastern New Mexico in the final game of the season. The Lions once again were selected for the NCAA Division II national playoffs and hosted a first-round game for the first time since 1991. The Lions defeated 24th ranked Colorado-Mesa, setting them up with the second ranked Grand Valley State Lakers. The Lions bowed out in the second round to the Lakers, ending the season at 11–2. Lions Quarterback Luis Perez was selected as a Harlon Hill Trophy nominee, while punter Hector Dominguez was first team All-American and offensive lineman Jared Machorro was named second team All-American. Return specialist Shawn Hooks and linebacker Uriah Harris were both named All-Region team and the Lions placed 8 members on the All-Lone Star Conference first team, including Cooper, Perez, Hooks, Harris, Dominguez, Machorro, Defensive lineman Tavita Faaiu, and Wideout Lance Evans. The Lions 11–2 season was the most wins for the Lions since 1953 and the first time the Lions had double digit wins since 1990. In December 2016, TAMUC President Dr. Ray Keck and Athletic Director Tim McMurray announced they were extending Carthel's contract yet again, this time until 2020.

2017 season

Carthel's Lions were picked to win a fourth straight Lone Star Conference title by the league's coaches and media. All-American Quarterback Luis Perez returned for his Senior season along with Pre-Season All-American Jared Machorro. The Lions started their season 4–0, reaching No. 2 in the polls before losing to Midwestern State University in a close 47–42 affair. The Lions finished the season 9–1, second in the Lone Star Conference behind Midwestern State. The Lions qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs for the third straight season. In the first round, the Lions traveled to

Winona State University Winona State University is a public university in Winona, Minnesota, United States. It was founded as First State Normal School of Minnesota in 1858 and is the oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It was the fi ...

and defeated the Warriors 20–6. In the second round, the Lions defeated

Central Washington University Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington, United States. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academi ...

in come from behind fashion in double overtime, 34–31. In the Super Region 4 Championship game, the Lions defeated Minnesota State University-Mankato 31–21. The Lions then hosted the Harding Bisons at Memorial Stadium in

Commerce, Texas Commerce is a city in Hunt County, Texas, Hunt County, Texas, United States, situated on the eastern edge of North Texas and the western edge of East Texas, in the heart of the Texas Blackland Prairies. The town is south of the Texas/Oklahoma bor ...

, in the National semifinals, the first time the Lions had played in the National semifinals since being in the NAIA during the 1980 season. The Lions defeated the Bison 31–17 to earn a spot in the national championship game against

West Florida West Florida () was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. Great Britain established West and East Florida in 1763 out of land acquired from France and S ...

University. The Lions defeated the Argonauts 37–27 to win their first national championship since 1972 and their first since as a member of the NCAA. Lions Quarterback Luis Perez won the Harlon Hill Trophy, and the Lions finished the season ranked a consensus # 1 in the country.

2018 season

Carthel's Lions were selected as a preseason national # 1 team and also picked to win the Lone Star Conference. The season started with a televised overtime thriller by beating rival Texas A&M-Kingsville for the 7th straight season, something no other Lion coach had ever done. The Lions then defeated William Jewell College 27–17 and Lone Star Conference foe Eastern New Mexico 21–11. The Lions then lost their first game of the season to 22nd ranked Colorado State Pueblo 23–13. The Loss to CSU-P was only the second time in the Carthel era that the Lions were held without an offensive touchdown. The Lions made personnel changes on offense and rebounded to soundly defeat Lock Haven (Pennsylvania) 68–6, and then avenged their only loss of the previous season by beating Midwestern State 20–19. The MSU game was played in odd circumstances as the Lions and Mustangs played to a 10–10 tie in the first half in

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan area, Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer County, Tex ...

, but could not continue due to inclement weather. The schools mutually agreed to continue the second half of the game at

Apogee Stadium DATCU Stadium (formerly Apogee Stadium) is a college football stadium located at the north junction of Interstate 35E and Interstate 35W in Denton, Texas. Opened in 2011, it is home to the University of North Texas (UNT) Mean Green football ...

on the campus of The University of North Texas in

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, Denton County. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the List of cities in Texas by population, 20th-most populous city in Texas, the List of Un ...

, that following afternoon. After defeating MSU, the Lions lost for the first time in 5 years to A&M System rival

Tarleton State University Tarleton State University is a Public university, public research university in Stephenville, Texas, United States. It is a founding member of the Texas A&M University System and enrolled over 15,000 students in the fall of 2022. It is Carnegie C ...

47–21. Again, the Lions rebounded by routing Western New Mexico 55–7 and defeating another cross state rival, West Texas A&M, 41–16. The Lions finished the season with a close win against Texas-Permian Basin 20–17 and clinched a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs for the fourth straight season with a 41–13 win over Angelo State. The Lions finished the regular season with a 9–2 record, a # 15 national ranking, LSC runner-ups, and Carthel was named Lone Star Conference Coach of The Year. They then defeated an undefeated and top 5 ranked Minnesota-Duluth team 33–17 in the first round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs, before bowing out in a second round rematch against conference foe Tarleton State 34–28 to end the year at 10–3.

Stephen F. Austin

On December 2, 2018, Carthel was named the head football coach at

2019 season

Carthel inherited a program that received a post-season ban because the previous regime's failure to meet APR standards. With the ban SFA also had to forfeit any wins from the 2013–2019 seasons. Several upperclassmen student-athletes were academically suspended for the entire season. 43 different Freshmen saw meaningful snaps during the 2019 season.

2020 season

During the Covid Season, the Football Season was condensed to 10 games. 4 being FBS opponents of UTEP, UTSA, SMU and Memphis. With the limited amount of FCS teams playing during the 2020 Fall Semester, only teams available to play were Abilene Christian and Eastern Kentucky. The game between ACU and SFA was for the 2020 Fall Southland Championship. This was Carthel's first major win at SFA. He would eventually finish the season with a 6-4 record.

2021 season

Year 3 under Coach Carthel, the Lumberjacks showed continued improvement. Several All-Conference caliber players including Xavier Gipson, B.J. Thompson, Trae Self, Rayshad Nichols, TKai Lloyd, Myles Heard and many others helped lead SFA to an 8-3 Regular season record and giving the Lumberjacks their first playoff appearance since 2014.

2022 season

After the departure of Defensive Coordinator, Scott Power. Carthel had to revamp a defensive coaching staff as well as several talented student-athletes on the defensive side of the ball. Carthel was able to build the Lumberjacks to win the 2022 WAC Championship. Ingame postgame edits 227

Western Athletic Conference football . SFA would defeat ACU in the final regular season game to become the Final WAC Champions.

Personal life

Carthel is married to Sarah Carthel (''née'' Butler), who is one of the Lone Star Conference's most successful volleyball players and coaches. Upon her husband's move to

Commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

, she resigned her position at WT and became assistant head coach for the A&M–Commerce volleyball program. The Carthels have a one-year-old son named Major and reside in Commerce.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Stephen F. Austin profile

Texas A&M–Commerce profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carthel, Colby 1976 births Living people American football linebackers Abilene Christian Wildcats football coaches Angelo State Rams football players Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football coaches East Texas A&M Lions football coaches West Texas A&M Buffaloes football coaches People from Floydada, Texas People from Parmer County, Texas Coaches of American football from Texas Players of American football from Texas