Mike Locksley

Mike Locksley (born December 25, 1969) is an American football coach. After serving as an assistant coach for several college football squads, he became the 29th head coach of the University of New Mexico Lobos football team.

Early life
Locksley grew up in inner-city Washington D.C., and attended Ballou High School.

College playing career
Locksley played college football at Towson University. He redshirted his first year and then spent two seasons sharing time at safety and then cornerback, backing up Towson veteran Bryant Hall. For the 1990 season he had 43 tackles and two interceptions at safety, after he filled in for the injured Aaron Bates. He was named the Tigers' Defensive Player of the Year for his senior season. He graduated in the spring of 1992 with a degree in marketing, but knew that he wanted to be a college coach.

Coaching career
He served as defensive backs coach and special teams coach at Towson University for the 1992 season, then defensive coordinator at Naval Academy Preparatory School in 1993 (defensive backs) and 1994 (defensive line), was outside linebackers coach at the University of the Pacific for 1995, then spent the 1996 season coaching tight ends and split ends at Army Black Knights football.

Locksley became the running backs coach for the University of Maryland Terrapins football under head coach Ron Vanderlinden in February 1997. Ron Vanderlinden named Locksley to the additional post of recruiting coordinator, replacing Chris Cosh who left to take the defensive coordinator's job at Michigan State, in February 1998. After Vanderlinden was fired, in 2000, and Ralph Friedgen was named head coach, Locksley and wide receivers coach James Franklin were the only two assistants to be retained by Maryland. In February 2003, after six years at Maryland, he was named as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Florida under Ron Zook, replacing Tyke Tolbert, who left to be a coach with the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL.

Locksley was named offensive coordinator at the University of Illinois Fighting Illini in January 2005, replacing Larry Fedora who went to Oklahoma State University, pairing Locksley again with head coach Ron Zook. He is credited with luring at least nine players from the Washington D.C. area for Illinois from 2005 through 2008, including wide receiver Arrelious Benn, 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

New Mexico
He was named head coach of the New Mexico Lobos on December 9, 2008. He signed a six-year contract worth $750,000 annually.

In late May 2009, a former administrative assistant at New Mexico filed an age and sex discrimination complaint against Locksley with the Equal Opportunity Commission. The complaint was filed by Locksley's former administrative assistant Sylvia Lopez. Lopez claimed to have been subjected to age and sexual discrimination before being transferred out of Locksley's office. The claims were later withdrawn.

In late September 2009, Locksley was reprimanded for an altercation with an assistant coach, in which he hit the assistant. He was subsequently suspended without pay for ten days. He was not on the sideline for the game against UNLV on October 24, 2009.

Locksley led his Lobos to 1–11 records his first and second seasons. Despite fan outcry to fire him, he will return for his third season. The high buyout is a large reason UNM cannot fire him. UNM athletic director Paul Krebs, who made the decision to retain Locksley, expects improvement in the 2011 season.

Personal life
Locksley along with his wife Kia have four children, three sons, Mike, Jr., Meiko, and Kai, and a daughter, Kori.

Kia is a yoga instructor. She helped teach some members of the Fighting Illini football team yoga in the summer of 2008.