Cedar City • Southern Utah has extended the contract of Thunderbirds football coach Demario Warren through the 2022 season, the school announced Monday.

Warren was named Co-Big Sky Coach of the Year this past season, along with being named AFCA Region 5 Coach of the Year, making him a finalist for AFCA National Coach of the Year.

“Coach Warren is a fantastic football coach, a positive role model, and a huge asset to this University,” SUU Athletic Director Debbie Corum said in a news release. “It is with a great deal of happiness that we announce that he will continue to lead the program into the future as we continue to build the athletic footprint of Southern Utah University.”

In just his second year in charge of the Thunderbird program, Warren led his team to a 9-2 overall record and a 7-1 record in Big Sky Conference play. Warren and the T-Birds have also been a tough out at home, boasting a 9-1 record over two years at Eccles Coliseum.

Going into the 2017 season the Thunderbirds were picked to finish seventh in the league. Instead, Warren led SUU to its second Big Sky Conference title in three seasons.

Warren is 15-8 in two seasons as a head coach, and led the Thunderbirds to their first appearance in the Second Round of the FCS Playoffs.

Southern Utah opens its 2018 football schedule against the University of North Alabama in Cedar City on September 1.