P.J. Fleck won 13 games in his last season at Western Michigan in 2016. Fleck’s successor has won the same number of games the past two seasons, and that’s enough for his university to reward the head coach contractually.
Thursday, WMU announced they have reached an agreement on a two-year contract extension with head football coach Tim Lester. The coach, who originally signed a five-year contract upon taking the job in January of 2017, is now signed through the 2023 season.
There is no word on what if any financial enhancements were included.
“Over the past two years, Coach Lester has developed incredible relationships with his student-athletes with the philosophy and understanding that our team will compete for championships and on the national level,” athletic director Kathy Beauregard said in a statement. “Coach Lester has laid the foundation for his leadership of this program, which has been demonstrated with back-to-back top recruiting classes in the Mid-American Conference. This extension confirms our support of Coach Lester, allowing him to pursue the University’s championship goals and build Broncos for life.”
After going 6-6 in Lester’s first season, the Broncos have gone 7-5 in 2018 with a bowl matchup with BYU awaiting Friday afternoon. WMU’s recruiting classes have been the highest-ranked of any football program in the MAC the past two cycles (2018, 2019).
The Broncos also had the top-ranked class in the year prior to Fleck’s departure for Minnesota.
“Western Michigan is home to me and this has always been my dream job,” Lester, who played his college football at WMU, said in his statement. “Our staff is committed to this program, winning championships, and continuing to move this program forward. I would like to thank Kathy Beauregard, Dr. Montgomery, and the University for the continued belief in our leadership.”
