By David Rogers. CINCINNATI, Ohio — Reports out of Ohio this morning are that former Appalachian State head coach and alum Scott Satterfield, most recently head coach at Louisville University, is on the move — and just 100 miles up the Ohio River, to become the head coach at University of Cincinnati and shepherd its transition to the Big 12 Conference, another one of the so-called Power 5 leagues in NCAA football.
Satterfield, who oversaw App State’s successful transition from FCS to FBS from 2014 to 2918, replaces Luke Fickell, who took the Bearcats to the College Football Playoffs in 2021. In November, Fickell accepted the head coaching position at the University of Wisconsin.
The Big 12 was a focal point of the reshuffling of FBS conferences earlier this year when the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma announced they were moving to the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Along with Cincinnati, the Big 12 announced the addition of Brigham Young, Central Florida, and Houston. They join current members Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas Christian (TCU, which is in the College Football Playoffs this year), Texas Tech, and West Virginia.
A press conference to introduce Satterfield is scheduled for 1 p.m., Monday, Dec. 5.
As head coach of Appalachian State, Satterfield compiled a record of 51-24 in his five years at the helm, including three Sun Belt championships and four straight bowl appearances from the time the school became bowl-eligible in 2015 after its transition year in 2014. At Louisville, Satterfield guided the program to a 25-24 overall record and bowl eligible in three of the four years he was there.
Satterfield played for App State in the mid-90s, including as starting quarterback in 27 games from 1992-1995. After starting his coaching career as an assistant under the Mountaineers former head coach, Jerry Moore, Satterfield was also quarterbacks coach at the University of Toledo and served Florida International for two years as offensive coordinator before rejoining App State in 2012.
Louisville athletic director Josh Heird issued the following statement on the news of Satterfield’s leaving to accept the job at Cincinnati:
“We’re grateful to Scott for his dedication to our program and wish him well. We are always prepared to conduct head coaching searches, and we will begin a national search immediately to identify our next head coach. We will be looking for a tremendous leader who recognizes both the history and potential of Louisville Football and is committed longterm to helping the program reach new heights.”
There is a certain irony in the timing of the announcement: Louisville and Cincinnati are scheduled to play each other in the Fenway Bowl on Dec. 17.
