South Carolina assistant Pete Lembo named football coach at Buffalo

Field Level Media|published: Sun 21st January, 13:36 2024

Oct 28, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer and assistant coach Pete Lembo work the sideline during the second quarter in a game against Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. credits: Dustin Safranek-USA TODAY Sports

Buffalo named coaching veteran Pete Lembo as its head football coach on Sunday.

Lembo, with more than 30 years of coaching experience, previously was the head coach at Lehigh (2001-05), Elon (2006-10) and Ball State (2011-15). He amassed a 112-65 career record as a head coach.

At Ball State, he competed in the Mid-American Conference, to which Buffalo belongs. He led Ball State to a 33-29 record (23-17 MAC) and during his tenure, the Cardinals set more than 60 school records, including single-season records for points (501), total offense (6,199 yards) and passing yards (4,214).

Lembo, 53, spent the past three seasons as associate head coach and special teams coordinator at South Carolina. He also has worked as an assistant coach at schools that include Memphis, Rice and Maryland.

"We will work tirelessly to recruit, develop and maximize the experience for our student-athletes on and off the field," said Lembo, a New York native. "I am really excited to assemble an energetic staff that will build meaningful relationships with our players and with each other."

He replaces Maurice Linguist, who resigned Tuesday to work on the defensive staff of new head coach Kalen DeBoer at Alabama.

—Field Level Media