Buffalo has named Pete Lembo its next head coach, it announced Sunday.
Lembo brings head coaching experience at three prior stops: Lehigh from 2001-06, Elon from 2006-11 and Ball State from 2011-15.
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“I would like to thank Director of Athletics Mark Alnutt and President (Satish K.) Tripathi for providing me with this tremendous opportunity,” Lembo stated in a release. “I look forward to partnering with them, as well as the other leadership in the athletic department, on campus and in the community to make the UB football program one that we can all be proud of. We will work tirelessly to recruit, develop and maximize the experience for our student-athletes on and off the field. I am really excited to assemble an energetic staff that will build meaningful relationships with our players and with each other.”
According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, Lembo received a five-year contract from Buffalo.
Holding over 30 years of coaching experience, Lembo compiled a 79-36 at the Football Championship Subdivision.
Lembo’s career record is 112-65. He is the winningest head coach in Lehigh program history.
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Lembo has spent the past three seasons as associate head coach and special teams coordinator at South Carolina. In 2019-20, he was assistant head coach and special teams coordinator at Memphis, and Lembo served the same roles at Rice in 2018 and Maryland from 2016-17.
Lembo succeeds former Buffalo head coach Maurice Linguist, who took a position under Kalen DeBoer at Alabama as co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach.
“I’m extremely excited to welcome Pete Lembo as well as his wife, Jenifer, and children, Sophia, A.J. and Victoria to the UB family,” Buffalo athletics director Mark Alnutt stated in a release. “I’ve followed his career and have been very impressed not only with his coaching acumen but how he’s achieved success at his various stops. His positive engagement and relationship building with people are second to none. This is very advantageous when it comes to running a successful program. I have no doubt that we will be very competitive and win championships in the MAC. The future is very bright for UB Football with Coach Lembo at the helm.”
