East Texas A&M University Athletics

Colby Carthel was hired as the 19th head coach in A&M-Commerce history on January 22, 2013 and has guided the Lions to the pinnacle of Division II, winning the 2017 NCAA Division II Football National Championship in his fifth season as head coach.

To say Coach Carthel has turned around Lion football would be a vast understatement. Carthel has resurrected the sleeping beast that has now accounted for 23 Lone Star Conference Championships – the second most in league history. The Lions have also had 126 all-LSC honorees in Carthel’s five seasons.

The 2017 season was far and away the most successful season in Lion athletics history, with the National Championship capping a spectacular run. The Lions defeated West Florida 37-27 in the National Championship Game in Kansas City, ending the season with a nation-best 10-game winning streak and the first NCAA title in school history.

The Lions completed the year with a record of 14-1 overall and 7-1 in the Lone Star Conference. A&M-Commerce won three straight road games in the playoffs as Super Region Four’s fifth seed. The three teams they defeated on the road came into the games with a combined record of 34-1, marking the toughest road to a national semifinal in Division II history. The Lions then defeated Harding 31-17 at home in the national semifinals in front of a record crowd of over 10,000. The Lions finished third in the nation in cumulative attendance and fifth in the nation in average attendance, as 8,580 fans per game turned out to support the national champions.

The Lions became the first team ever to claim the “Triple Crown” of the National Championship, Harlon Hill Trophy, and NCAA Elite 90 Award in the same season.

Quarterback Luis Perez became the first Lion to win the Harlon Hill Trophy, given to the top player in Division II football. He completed 421-of-596 passes for 4,999 yards, 46 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions and set Division II playoff records in all passing categories. Linebacker Garrett Blubaugh won the Elite 90 Award, given to the student-athlete at the championship site with the highest cumulative grade point average.

In 2017, three A&M-Commerce players – Perez, offensive lineman Jared Machorro, and cornerback Yusef Sterling-Lowe - accumulated seven All-American honors from the American Football Coaches Association, Division II Conference Commissioners Association, and Associated Press. The Lions became the first team to ever have three AFCA Division II All-Americans in the same season.

The Lions had 29 players recognized with honors from the Lone Star Conference at the end of the regular season, including Perez winning the J.W. Rollins Award as the top offensive player in the league and Machorro winning Offensive Lineman of the Year.

The 2016 season saw the Lions achieve new heights with their third straight LSC Championship and the first NCAA Division II Playoff win in 25 years. The Lions hosted their first postseason game since 1991 and defeated Colorado Mesa, 34-23, in the opening round of the playoffs.

A&M-Commerce went 11-2 with an 8-1 LSC record. The Lions re-set the school record with 29 all-Lone Star Conference honors, including Defensive Back of the Year Uriah Harris. Running back Richard Cooper and wide receiver Lance Evans repeated as first team all-LSC honorees.

In his third season of 2015, Carthel led the Lions to their second straight and 22nd overall Lone Star Conference regular season title. A&M-Commerce went 8-4 on the year and earned the seventh seed in the NCAA Division II Playoffs, advancing to the NCAA postseason for the first time since 1995. The Lions dropped their first round game at second-seeded Ferris State, 48-30.

With an undefeated LSC regular season, the Lions clinched their second consecutive conference title on October 24 with a win over Midwestern State. Postseason honors were many, as A&M-Commerce earned a school-record 27 all-LSC honors. The Lions also collected three All-American awards. Richard Cooper was named the LSC Offensive Back of the Year.

In Carthel’s second season of 2014, the Lions saw 26 players earn All-Lone Star Conference – a school record at the time – and saw six Lions earn NFL preseason roster spots.

The 2014 unit went 9-3 overall and 6-1 in the Lone Star Conference to earn the team’s 21st LSC title and first since 1990.  The team earned its second straight postseason appearance with a trip to the C.H.A.M.P.S Heart of Texas Bowl, 72-21 rout of East Central.  The trip was the first time since 1990-1991 that the Lions made consecutive postseason trips.

Wide receiver Vernon Johnson took home the LSC Wide Receiver of the Year Award, while defensive end Toni Pulu earned the LSC Defensive Player of the Year award. 

Five Lions, Johnson, Ricky Collins, Toni Pulu and Saul Martinez all took home All-American honors from various publications.  Five Lions earned postseason all-star bowl appearances with Joe Bergeron and Johnson appearing in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and Collins, Tuaau and Ashton Dorsey playing in the College Gridiron Showcase.

The Lions opened the season with 98 points and a NCAA record 986 total yards offense. The pace saw the Lions end the season with the NCAA’s No. 1 offense in terms of total yards per game and scoring per game.

The Lions racked up team accolades as well under Carthel’s direction in 2014.
A&M-Commerce also sported the No. 1 offense in the NCAA averaging 54.1 points per game, while the Lions defense finished the season No. 1 in tackles for loss per game at 10.8.

Carthel led the Lions to a 7-5 record in his first season at the helm in 2013, a far cry from the combined 5-26 record the team put up in the three seasons prior to his arrival. That turnaround, one that included wins over nationally-ranked Delta State and Tarleton State, earned the Lions a postseason berth in the Live United Texarkana Bowl – the program’s first postseason berth since qualifying for the national playoffs in 1995.

Although previously a defensive coordinator, the Lions made huge strides on the offensive side of the ball in his first season, averaging 35.0 points per game, which was up 22.4 points per game from the previous year and was the most by a Lion team since the 1990 team averaged 36.2 per game.

The Lions also garnered 15 all-Lone Star Conference selections in 2013, including three on the first team. Defensive lineman Charles Tuaau was named the league’s top defender and earned all-America honors, while Vernon Johnson was named the league’s top wide receiver after a season that saw him haul in over 1,300 yards and 13 scores through the air.

Carthel came to Commerce with strong ties to the Lone Star Conference, spending the seven previous seasons as the defensive coordinator at West Texas A&M and playing a key role in establishing the Buffs as one of the top teams in the region.

During his seven years at West Texas A&M, the Buffs captured four Lone Star Conference championships while making an appearance in the postseason each year including a trip to the NCAA semifinals.

All told, Carthel has made 12 consecutive trips to the postseason as a Division II coach, both as an assistant coach and a head coach.

Carthel, an Angelo State graduate, his wife Sarah and sons Major and Bear live in Commerce.

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