Dec. 8, 2008

University of New Mexico Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs has confirmed that Mike Locksley will be introduced as the Lobos' 29th head football coach on Tuesday afternoon.

Locksley, 38, who has helped build the Illinois offense into one of the nation's top attacks since his arrival at Champaign-Urbana in 2005, lands his first head coaching job. Illinois Head Coach Ron Zook is delighted for Locksley.

"I am very excited for Mike to have this opportunity," Zook said. "He is ready to take this next step, and I know he will be a great ambassador for the University of New Mexico. Locks is the whole package. He can coach, he can recruit and he can motivate his players. He did a tremendous job with our offense here and will be missed."