After four seasons at the helm of the football team, head coach John Troxell ‘94 has signed a contract extension that will lock him in at Lafayette College through 2031.
“This is home to me,” said Troxell, who played four seasons for the Leopards and previously served as an assistant coach from 2001 to 2005. “Keeping this place afloat and raising us to the top is the goal.”
Troxell, whose current contract was set to expire following the 2026 season, said he first heard talks of the extension at the start of the year. The college announced his extension in a news release on March 17.
“There’s no place I’d rather be,” he said. “This was a dream job for me, and I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
Troxell has compiled a 27-20 record since arriving at College Hill in 2022, coaching 37 All-Patriot League selections and six FCS All-America designations and guiding the team to a Patriot League championship in 2023. His contract was renewed following an 8-4 season that saw the Leopards finish 6-1 in conference play and break into the top 25 in the FCS Coaches Poll for the third straight year despite ranking fifth in the Patriot League preseason poll.
“I was really proud of the job that we did as a staff last year with the group we had,” Troxell said. “The highlight is we got the most out of that group. That was really gratifying.”
Senior offensive lineman Spencer Adams, who is gearing up for his fifth season under Troxell, said the team culture was “not much of a winning one” when he first arrived on campus.
“Seeing the way Trox went about things gave me a lot of hope,” Adams said. “He seemed to care a lot more than even some of the guys that were on that team.”
Adams said Troxell has “instilled a winning culture” over his four years with the program.
“The way we have to do things, the details we have to follow, the discipline we have to have,” Adams said. “We’re not able to step out of line and start falling apart.”
Assistant head coach and offensive line coach Kevin Baumann, who coached under Troxell for 13 seasons at Franklin & Marshall College before joining his staff at Lafayette, said he “learned early on” that Troxell is “a great person to work with.”
“He’s been successful everywhere he’s been,” Baumann said. “We’ve always had that blueprint of hiring good people and bringing good players into the program.”
Baumann noted Troxell’s emphasis on controlling possession of the ball and offensive line play — which has led to three consecutive seasons with a 1,000-yard rusher — has remained a consistent part of his winning formula.
“Being good up front, playing great defense, great special teams and don’t turn it over on offense,” Baumann said. “In our 18 years together, that’s been his keys.”
Troxell said he’s hoping for the team to “compete at the national level,” noting the expansion of Patriot League football to 10 teams will create “a competitive conference.”
“When you talk about past history, I don’t think we got the respect or due respect that we deserved,” Troxell said. “Now you see a whole different level of football being played, so I think one of the most exciting things about being here is just to see that through a little bit.”