Colorado State University Pueblo

Philip Vigil enters his fourth season as the head football coach at Colorado State University Pueblo in 2026 after continuing the ThunderWolves' tradition of excellence during the 2025 campaign. Since taking over the program in December 2022, Vigil has compiled a 28-6 overall record and a 25-2 mark in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, leading the Pack to back-to-back RMAC championships in 2024 and 2025.

In 2025, Vigil guided CSU Pueblo to a 10-2 overall record and an undefeated 9-0 RMAC mark, securing the program's second consecutive conference championship and extending the ThunderWolves' dominance in league play. Under his leadership, CSU Pueblo earned an NCAA Division II Playoff berth for the second straight season, marking another successful postseason appearance for the nationally recognized program. Vigil's efforts were recognized nationally as he was named the 2025 Coach of the Year by the National Football Foundation Colorado Chapter.

Vigil's first three seasons in Pueblo have produced remarkable success. Following an 8-3 record in his inaugural season in 2023, he led the ThunderWolves to a 10-2 record and an outright RMAC championship in 2024 before repeating the feat in 2025. His teams have consistently ranked among the region's best while reestablishing CSU Pueblo as a perennial NCAA Division II playoff contender.

Vigil was named just the fifth head football coach in program history and the second since the program was reinstated in 2008 when he was hired in December 2022. His appointment as the Pack’s new football coach came following the retirement of longtime CSU Pueblo head coach John Wristen, who was hired by his alma mater to resurrect the ThunderWolves football program in 2007. Wristen spent 15 seasons (2008-22) as the head coach. 

In his first season with the Pack in 2023, Vigil led the program to an 8-3 overall record and a 7-2 mark in the RMAC. His first Pack team ended the season by winning seven straight games. Vigil’s team led NCAA Division II in kickoff return average as they averaged 29.95 yards per return. 

Meanwhile, the Pack offense ranked in the Top 10 in NCAA Division II in passing offense (7th, 289.7 yards per game) and scoring offense (9th, 42.0 points per game) and fewest sacks allowed (10th, 0.91 per game), while the Pack defense was ranked 10th nationally in quarterback sacks as they averaged 3.27 per game.

Vigil's second Pack team in 2024 posted a 10-2 overall record and went undefeated in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play with a 9-0 record. The Pack earned the program's ninth all-time RMAC title and first outright league title since 2013. The team earned the No. 1 seed in Super Region IV and hosted a second round NCAA Playoff game against Minnesota State. The Pack finished the season ranked No. 8 and No. 11 in the final AFCA Division II Coaches and D2Football.com polls.

The Pack offense finished the 2024 season ranked in the Top 10 in Division II in passing (6th, a school record 308.5 yards per game), scoring offense (7th, a school record 40.2 points per game), total offense (9th, a school record 462.3 yards per game) and passing completion percentage (10th, a school record .656 percent). In addition, the Pack was 11th in Division II in team passing efficiency at 163.5. Meanwhile, on the defense, the Pack was sixth in sacks as they averaged 3.33 per game and 16th in interceptions as they picked off 15 passes and was eighth in Division II in blocked kicks with seven, including a school-record tying three blocked kicks. 

Vigil's third Pack team in 2025 tallied a 10-2 overall record and went undefeated for the second straight season in RMAC play with a 9-0 record to repeat as RMAC Champions. The team earned the No. 3 seed in Super Region IV and hosted a first-round NCAA Division II Playoff game against UT-Permian Basin. The Pack finished the season ranked No. 11 and No. 14 in the final AFCA Division II Coaches and D2Football.com polls.

In 2025, the Pack offense ranked among the Top 15 teams in NCAA Division II in first downs (7th, a school-record 307), scoring offense (8th, 38.3 points per game), and passing offense (11th, 297.8 yards per game). Defensively, CSU Pueblo ranked among the Top 15 nationally in defensive touchdowns (7th, four), interceptions (8th, 17), and turnovers gained (8th, 26).

Vigil, who is no stranger to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as he played at Colorado Mesa from 2005-08 and also coached with the Mavericks from 2012-14 and spent one season coaching at Colorado School of Mines, arrived at CSU Pueblo after spending the last two seasons (2021-22) as the head football coach at Western New Mexico University, which is an NCAA Division II school in the Lone Star Conference that is located in Silver City, New Mexico. 

Under Vigil’s leadership, the Mustangs recorded the program’s first winning season in the LSC since 1993 during the 2022 campaign. During Vigil’s tenure, the Mustangs’ football program earned 22 All-Conference awards from the LSC, including a program-best 17 selections in 2022. Those 17 selections were the most for the program in its LSC history. 

Following a 30-year championship drought, Vigil led the Mustangs to the Chile Bowl Championship in 2022 as Western New Mexico defeated its rival, Eastern New Mexico, 38-24. The win over Eastern New Mexico culminated a 6-5 season in 2022. The six wins were the most for the program since the 2005 Mustangs team posted a 5-5 overall record. 

Prior to Vigil's arrival, the Mustangs football program had won a total of five games over a four-year span. 

Before earning his first head football coach position at Western New Mexico, Vigil spent 12 seasons as an assistant football coach at the collegiate level. 

Vigil came to Western New Mexico in 2021 after serving as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator for Head Coach Colby Carthel at NCAA Division I Stephen F. Austin in 2019 and 2020. 

During his time with the Lumberjacks, Vigil played a pivotal role in Stephen F. Austin in recruiting back-to-back Top 5 recruiting classes and consecutive No. 1 recruiting classes in the Southland Conference.

On the coaching front at Stephen F. Austin, Vigil coached freshman running back Ja’quarion Turner to First-Team All-Conference honors in 2020. The 2020 SFA team captured its first winning season in over a decade by posting a 6-4 record. The only four losses that season came against Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs.

Prior to coaching at Stephen F. Austin, Vigil coached at Fort Hays State University from 2015-18 as the program's Pass Game Coordinator and Recruiting Coordinator.

During his time at Fort Hays State, the Tigers posted a 36-12 overall record and qualified for the postseason all four years and won back-to-back Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) championships in 2017 and 2018.

In both 2015 and 2018, under Vigil’s leadership, two different Tiger quarterbacks (Treveon Albert in 2015 and Jacob Mezera in 2018) would break school records for both total yards and total touchdowns. Those two quarterbacks would also go on to earn both All-Conference and All-American honors. 

Before arriving at Fort Hays State in 2014, Vigil was the Associate Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach for three seasons (2012-14) as his alma mater, Colorado Mesa University. During his time coaching at Colorado Mesa, the Mavericks won a total of 15 games over three seasons and also won 13 conference games during that same period. 

From 2010-11, Vigil spent two seasons coaching running backs at NCAA Division II powerhouse Northwest Missouri State University. During his tenure with the Bearcats, two of his running backs earned All-Conference and All-American honors. 

As a team, the Bearcats posted a 22-5 record over Vigil’s two seasons in Maryville, Mo., and he was part of the coaching staff when the Bearcats won 46 consecutive games in MIAA play. In 2010, Northwest Missouri State finished ranked No. 3 in the final AFCA Division II Top 25 poll and advanced to the National Semifinals, while a season later, he helped the Bearcat offense lead Division II in scoring as they averaged 48.6 points per game.

Vigil started his collegiate coaching career in 2009 as a defensive backs coach at Colorado School of Mines.

A former quarterback at Colorado Mesa from 2005-08, Vigil was a two-year starter under center for the Mavericks. In 2007, he led Mesa to a 10-2 record and an NCAA Division II Playoff appearance. The 2007 Colorado Mesa team ended the season ranked 19th in the final AFCA Top 25 Poll. 

He finished his playing career at Colorado Mesa as a two-time All-RMAC selection and was ranked all-time in school history in career passing yards (4,583) and second and third in single season passing yards (2,032 and 1,960). In the classroom, he was named an RMAC All-Academic honoree four times. 

Vigil, who is a native of Arvada, Colo., and graduated from Faith Christian High School, earned his bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from Colorado Mesa in 2008 and his Master’s degree in Education from Northwest Missouri State in 2011. 

He and his wife, Melanie, live in Pueblo West and have three children: son Peyton and daughters Ava and Olivia.