UT to announce Campbell will be new head football coach

University of Toledo's new interim football coach, Matt Campbell, is to be named the Rockets permanent coach Monday night.

The University of Toledo has called a news conference for 7 p.m. Monday and is expected to announce the hiring of Matt Campbell, 32, as its new head football coach.

Former head coach Tim Beckman left to take the same position with the University of Illinois on Friday, and UT athletic director Mike O'Brien named Campbell as the interim coach for the Rockets' matchup with Air Force in the Military Bowl on Dec. 28 in Washington.

O'Brien said Friday that a national search would be conducted to find Beckman's replacement and commence Monday. Apparently, the search was short-lived as Campbell, who was the popular choice of current and former players, will be installed as the Rockets' 26th head coach in program history just three days after Beckman's departure.

Campbell has served as the Rockets' offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the last three seasons. UT's offense ranked first in the Mid-American Conference in both scoring offense (42.3 points per game) and total offense (493.2 yards per game).

Campbell was also named a "top recruiter" by Rivals.com earlier this year and was the only assistant in the MAC to earn that honor.

A 2002 graduate of Mount Union, Campbell was an All-American defensive end with the Purple Raiders in 2001 and 2002 and was part of three straight national championships in college. He later served as offensive coordinator at Mount Union from 2004-05 and was part of two more national titles.

Prior to UT, Campbell served as offensive line coach at Bowling Green from 2006-08 and was a graduate assistant with the Falcons from 2003-04.

A native of Massillon, Ohio, Campbell and his wife, Erica, have two daughters: Katelyn (3) and Isabella (2).