Jason Eck
Partnership with Athletes First
Head Football Coach, University of New Mexico; 2025 Mountain West Coach of the Year
Jason Eck builds winning football programs, and he does it fast. He took New Mexico from eight years without a winning season to a nine-win bowl team in a single year, after doing the same thing at Idaho. He gives audiences the playbook for turning around a struggling team and building belief.
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Jason Eck builds winners, and he does it quickly. He arrived at the University of New Mexico with a program that had gone eight years without a winning season, and he changed that in a single year. The Lobos finished 9-4, with their best regular season since 1982, a bowl trip for the first time since 2016, and a tie for first in the Mountain West. They went undefeated at home for the first time since 1963, and Eck’s second home game drew the Lobos’ first sellout since 2007. He was named Mountain West Coach of the Year, the program’s first winner of the award since 2002. Rather than treat the job as a stepping stone, he signed an extension through 2030 to keep building.
His arrival announced itself fast. In just his third game, Eck took the Lobos into the Rose Bowl and beat UCLA 35-10, New Mexico’s first win over a Power Four opponent in seventeen years. He knew that stadium well, having won a Rose Bowl there as a Wisconsin player years earlier. What makes his success repeatable is that it does not rely on one formula. At Idaho, he inherited a program with a single winning season in more than a decade and won by developing the players already there. The Vandals reached the FCS playoffs in all three of his seasons, and he left at 26-13. At New Mexico, he did the reverse, rebuilding the roster almost entirely, which points to a real strength in evaluating and assembling talent. That track record has made him one of the most respected coaches in the game.
Eck earned his head-coaching chair the long way, spending more than two decades as an assistant at the Division II, FCS, and FBS levels before Idaho hired him in 2022. He was not simply waiting his turn. In 2019, he was named the national FCS assistant coach of the year, the season South Dakota State reached the national championship game. He is also known for coaching as himself, connecting with players and fans through humor and genuine personality. On stage, Eck turns all of it into practical lessons on building a winner, changing a culture, and leading as the person you actually are.
WHY AUDIENCES WILL BE BETTER OFF
- Audiences leave with a practical playbook for turning around a struggling team or organization quickly.
- Audiences leave knowing how to build belief and buy-in in a group that is used to losing.
- Audiences leave sharper at evaluating talent and building the right team for the situation they face.
- Audiences leave convinced that leading as their authentic selves is a strength, not a liability.
Jason Eck’s Speech Topics
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The Turnaround: Taking Over a Struggling Team and Winning Fast
Eck has walked into two programs mired in years of losing and made both winners in his first season, using a different approach each time. He breaks down how he reads a situation, sets the standard, and earns the early wins that build belief. Audiences leave with a concrete playbook for taking over a struggling team or unit and changing its trajectory quickly.
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Building Belief: Culture Change and Getting Buy-In
The hardest part of a turnaround is convincing a group that has been losing that it can actually win. Eck shares how he changes what a team expects of itself, earns real buy-in, and builds standards and accountability that hold. Audiences leave with practical ways to shift a culture, win over skeptics, and get everyone committed to the same goal.
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Built the Hard Way: The Craft Behind Fast Turnarounds
Eck’s fast turnarounds are built on more than two decades of preparation at every level of the game. He shares how a long apprenticeship, including a national assistant-coach-of-the-year award, gave him the tools to walk into a struggling program and know exactly what to fix. Audiences leave with an appreciation for how deep expertise and patience set up the moments that look like overnight success.
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Coaching as Yourself: Authentic Leadership and Connection
Eck has built a following by being unmistakably himself, humor, personality, and all. He shares how leading authentically helps him connect with his players, win over a fan base, and build trust faster than any script could. Audiences leave with the confidence to lead as their genuine selves and to use connection as a real competitive advantage.
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