Vandals tab Eck as football coach

From news services

MOSCOW — South Dakota State offensive coordinator, an offensive line coach at Idaho for three seasons in the 2000s, has been named the 36th head coach of the Vandal football program, pending approval by the Idaho State Board of Education, Idaho athletic director Terry Gawlik said.

"The opportunity to return to a place that is very special to my family makes us grateful, humbled, and fired up," Eck said in a school news release. "The Idaho Vandals are a sleeping giant in FCS football. Our coaching staff can't wait to get to work and help build a championship program for the University of Idaho."

South Dakota State's season ended Saturday with a 31-17 loss at Montana State in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs.

The 2019 America Football Coaches' Association FCS Assistant Coach of the Year spent the last six seasons at South Dakota State, where he helped lead SDSU to three semifinal appearances in four seasons and a national championship game appearance during the spring 2021 season. Eck has over two decades of experience as a college coach and returns to Moscow where he began his full-time coaching career.

"Coach Eck is a proven offensive coach and recruiter," Gawlik said. "He knows what it takes to get to the top of the FCS and has the vision to see it through. He is ready to hit the ground running and start the work immediately to build a championship program. I firmly believe that Jason is the coach that can help us achieve our high expectations."

In three years as the offensive coordinator at SDSU, Eck's teams have averaged 32.5 points per game, including 37.5 this season.

In the 2021 spring season, freshman quarterback Mark Gronowski was the runner-up for the Jerry Rice Award as the FCS freshman of the year before being injured on the first series of the national championship game. The Jackrabbits fell 23-21 despite missing Gronowski.

Eck served as the offensive line coach for the Jackrabbits from 2016-18.

Before his time at SDSU, Eck was the offensive line coach and run-game coordinator at Montana State in 2015.

He was the offensive coordinator for the record-setting offense at Minnesota State, Mankato during back-to-back Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championships in 2013 and 2014. He served as the offensive line coach in 2013 and added offensive coordinator duties in 2014 as the Mavericks advanced to the NCAA Division II championship game.

He also has served coaching stints at Winona State (2007-08), Ball State (2009-10), Hampton (2011) and Western Illinois (2012).

His first time as a Vandal came in 2004 when he coached the Vandal offensive line for three seasons. Eck spent two seasons under head coach Nick Holt and one under head coach Dennis Erickson.

A 1999 graduate of Wisconsin, Eck played on the Badgers' 1998 Big Ten championship team which went on to win the Rose Bowl. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin under head coach Barry Alvarez and later moved on to Colorado.

Eck will be introduced at a press conference at 1 p.m. Monday at the ICCU Arena Alumni Club Room. The press conference will be streamed live on ESPN+. An open reception will take place Monday at 5 p.m., also at the ICCU Arena Alumni Club Room.

The entire football staff will be announced at a later date.