Football | 10/21/2021 3:48:00 PM

Dixie State University Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Jason Boothe announced on Thursday that the University and Head Football Coach Paul Peterson have agreed to terms on a contract extension that runs through the 2025 football season.

Peterson, who was named head coach on December 2, 2018, was signed to a five-year contract that was set to expire in December of 2023. With the new extension agreement, Peterson's contract will be extended two more seasons to December of 2025.

"In just a couple brief years, Paul has more than proven that he is the right long-term head coach for Trailblazer Football," Dr. Boothe said. "He and his staff are phenomenal and are doing all the rights things to establish a fantastic culture that will produce a very successful program at the Division-I level. 
 
"I look forward to assisting Paul and his staff in every way to ensure they have all the resources we can provide to ensure success on and off the field as we continue to grow into a Division I program."
 
Peterson, who is the fourth head coach in the program's four-year era, led the Trailblazers to an 8-3 record in his debut season at Dixie State in 2019. That season served as the program's final season at the NCAA Division II level, and included a third-place finish in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 7-3 league mark, while 17 student-athletes earned all-RMAC honors.
 
Then after the COVID-19 pandemic moved the 2020 season into the spring of 2021, Peterson guided DSU to a 2-3 record in its first transition season into NCAA D-I FCS play. That season was highlighted by an impressive 26-14 road victory over then-No. 22 Tarleton State in the program's FCS debut game (2/27/21), which was followed one week later by a hard-fought 36-29 road loss at FBS member New Mexico State in a game that saw NMSU score the game-winning touchdown in the final minute of regulation.
 
Though Dixie State is winless (0-6/0-1 WAC) to this point of the 2021 fall season, the Blazers' slate is arguably the toughest schedule in the country at the FCS subdivision, with four of its first six games coming against teams either currently ranked, or were ranked, in the AFCA Coaches Top-25 poll. In all, DSU's fall schedule features seven FCS Spring playoff teams, and an 11-team list that posted a combined .714 overall winning percentage (record based on last completed season). 

"I am so thankful to the university leadership in making this commitment to the football program," Coach Peterson said. "Our coaching staff is excited to continue to dig in during this transition and work hard to make this a championship program.

"Our focus is to represent the university and community in a first class manner, recruiting exceptional student-athletes, helping them reach their developmental potential and continue to serve," Peterson added. "The future is bright in Trailblazer Nation."
 
While the Trailblazers have enjoyed success on the gridiron, they have also excelled in the classroom. In the 2019-20 season, seven football student-athletes earned Academic All-RMAC, while the program as a whole posted a cumulative 2.980 GPA that season. In addition, the football program has and continues to give back to the St. George area by providing service to several community entities and Washington County schools.  

Dixie State will wrap up the 2021 Homecoming Week of festivities by hosting WAC newcomer Stephen F. Austin this Saturday night inside Greater Zion Stadium. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m.