Kent State coach Sean Lewis has agreed to a contract extension through the 2025 season, the school announced Monday.
Lewis, who became the youngest FBS head coach at 31 when Kent State hired him in December 2017, has guided the Golden Flashes to consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1976 and 1977. Kent State in 2019 recorded the first bowl win in team history, and the team went 3-1 during a shortened 2020 season.
Lewis’ initial five-year contract went through the 2022 season, and he was set to earn $460,000 this year. Financial terms of the new agreement were not immediately disclosed.
Athletic director Randale Richmond, who was hired in April, said Kent State’s progress under Lewis has been “remarkable.”
“Sean has continued to build this program in a fashion that ensures success not just for the present, but for years to come,” Richmond said in a statement.
Lewis, now 35, is a former tight end at Wisconsin who came up in coaching under Dino Babers, working for Babers at Eastern Illinois, Bowling Green and Syracuse before taking the Kent State job. In limited action last season, Kent State led the FBS in both scoring offense (48.75 PPG) and total offense (606.5 YPG).
The Golden Flashes return 18 starters, including standout quarterback Dustin Crum. They begin the 2021 season Sept. 4 at Texas A&M, and also visit Iowa and Maryland next month.
“I’ve said from the beginning how special this place is, and we are just getting started,” Lewis said in a statement. “We have an amazing staff and a special group of young men here in our locker room. There’s still a lot of work to be done to realize all we’re capable of doing.”