Kevin Sumlin became the head football coach at Texas A&M University in 2012 as the school enters its inaugural year in the prestigious Southeastern Conference. He came to A&M after a successful stint as head coach at the University of Houston, where he was the first African-American head football coach at a NCAA Division I school in the state of Texas.

A two-time national coach of the year finalist, Sumlin was one of only 10 first-year Football Bowl Subdivision coaches to guide his team to a bowl game and one of only six to win the bowl contest. where he led the Cougars to a school-record 12 victories and the program’s highest finish in the Bowl Championship Series standings in 2011. Sumlin was named the Region 5 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association in 2011 and was one of five finalists for the AFCA’s National Coach of the Year award.

During his time at UH, Sumlin led the Cougars to three bowl games. His final season in Houston was one of the finest in the history of the Cougar football program. Sumlin’s Cougars raced through the regular season with a perfect 12-0 record before falling in the Conference-USA Championship to Southern Miss. The Cougars set NCAA FBS team records for total offense and passing yards.

Prior to UH, Sumlin spent five seasons at the University of Oklahoma under head coach Bob Stoops. His coaching career has seen stops at his alma mater, Purdue (1998-2001), Minnesota (1993-97) and Wyoming (1991-92). Sumlin has coached in 11 bowl games, including all four BCS games.

A four-year letterman as a linebacker at Purdue from 1983-86 , Sumlin finished his career as one of the top tacklers in Boilermaker history. He was named to Sports Illustrated’s All-America walk-on list as a freshman after leading Purdue with 91 tackles.

The Indianapolis native graduated from Purdue in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in both criminology and criminal justice. Sumlin and his wife Charlene have four children: daughters Courtney and Shelby, and sons Jackson and Joey.