Kelley Lee comes back to Eastern New Mexico University as announced on January 9, 2023.
The Truth or Consequences, N.M. native is in his second tenure as the head coach of Greyhound football.
Coach Lee holds a 21-12 record (.636) and guided the Hounds to the program's first ever Division II bowl win after defeating Southern Arkansas in the 2019 Heritage Bowl. Prior to being named head coach, Lee spent five seasons as ENMU's offensive coordinator and built one of the most dominant run games and efficient passing games in the Lone Star Conference and NCAA Division II.\
From 2017-2020 as the program's head coach, he coached 50 All-LSC honorees and three All-Americans.
The 2019 Hounds broke the school record for rushing yards in a single season with 4,191 yards and matched the second-highest win total in the history of the program with a record of 8-4. Lee and company also broke the Lone Star Conference record for rushing attempts in a season with 770, a mark that was previously held by the Greyhounds back in 2016 with 731 attempts.Â
Senior Paul Terry continued the storied tradition of dominant fullbacks for Eastern New Mexico and secured the Lone Star Conference rushing title with 1,888 yards on the ground, marking the fifth time in the last six seasons in which a representative from Greyhound football led the LSC in rushing. Terry broke the school record for individual rushing yards in a season and earned his second straight D2CCA All-Region selection at season's end. Â
A total of 18 Greyhounds were recognized as all-conference performers following the 2019 season, continuing the strong tradition built under Lee in one of Division II football's toughest conferences. The Hounds completed their seventh straight year with a record of .500 or better in conference play in 2019 and knocked off the second nationally-ranked opponent during the Lee era with a 20-17 win over no. 21 Angelo State.
In addition to a rushing attack that finished second in all of Division II football with an average of 348.8 yards per game, Lee continued to establish a program that is among the nation's best in tight game situations, producing a record of 11-0 in games decided by seven points or less under Lee's direction. Eastern New Mexico has also complied a record of 18-0 when leading entering the fourth quarter of play and 15-1 when leading at the half under Lee. Â
Year two of the Kelley Lee era saw the Hounds take on five opponents throughout the season that were ranked or receiving votes in the national polls, finishing with a record of 5-6. Eastern took the defending national champions Texas A&M-Commerce and defending Lone Star Conference Champions Midwestern State down to the wire inside Greyhound Stadium and shutout arch-rival West Texas A&M for the first time since 1992 on the road in Canyon, Texas.Â
The ground attack continued to prove as one of the nation's best throughout the 2018 season, ranking fourth in all of Division II (284.5 ypg) and tops in the Lone Star Conference. Paul Terry replaced Kamal Cass at the fullback position and worked his way towards a First Team All-LSC selection. Eastern New Mexico was represented by a total of 18 Greyhounds on the all-conference list at season's end.Â
The Hounds also ranked in the top-25 nationally in six other categories: redzone offense (9th, 89%), kick return defense (11th, 15.8), time of possession (16th, 32:32.0), 4th down defense (19th, 30%), and 4th down offense (22nd, 64%).
In his first year as head coach in 2017, Lee led the Greyhounds to an 8-2 overall record with a 6-2 mark in LSC play. ENMU led all of Division II in three categories during the season in rushing offense (352.7 ypg), time of possession (36:40), and least amount of passes intercepted by opponents (2). Defensively, ENMU led the LSC in rushing defense at 80.8 ypg, which ranked sixth in Division II. The Greyhounds finished the season ranked in the top-25 statistically in yards per completion (7th, 15.75), 4th down conversion pct on defense (11th, .286), 3rd down conversion pct on defense (24th, .321), and defensive first downs allowed in a season (18th, 174). Running back Kamal Cass was named a AFCA First Team All-American and a D2Football.com Second Team All-American under Lee. Cass was also named the LSC Offensive Back of the Year to go along along with First Team All-LSC honors. Overall, ENMU had 16 players named All-LSC, two named Academic All-LSC, one All-Region player, One Academic Athletic of the Year, and three LSC Player of the Week accolades.
Lee joined the Eastern New Mexico University football coaching staff in 2012 after a stint at Valencia High School, where he served as the athletic coordinator and head football coach. Since coming to ENMU he has served as the offensive coordinator and helped ENMU achieve the No. 1 rated rushing offense in the Lone Star Conference with 345 yards per game in 2015. While at ENMU, the team has seen six offensive players named All-Americans under Lee's guidance and made their first Division II bowl appearance ever, appearing in the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl in 2015 and 2016.
In his ground attack, Lee tutored three running backs that have set the single-season record for rushing yards and career record for rushing yards in Paul Terry, (1,881, 2019) E'lon Spight (1,611; 2014) and Kamal Cass (4,301; 2014-17), respectively.Â
Lee took over a program at Valencia that was 1-9 and quickly turned them into a contender going 26-9 and reached the state playoffs all three years. In 2011, Kelley was named the Metro Coach of the Year when VHS posted an 11-1 record and led the state in scoring, averaging 50.5 points per game.
Lee also served as the offensive coordinator/assistant head coach at Midland College in 2008 where the offense ranked first in the NAIA in red zone efficiency and in the top-10 in rushing offense and fourth-down conversions.
In 2006 and 2007 Lee was the offensive coordinator/recruiting coordinator at NMMI, finishing second in the nation in rushing offense both years. In 2006 Lee directed an offense at NMMI that finished fourth in the Nation in total offense. In 2002 and 2003 Coach Lee was a graduate assistant for the Greyhounds where he coached running backs and quarterbacks respectively.
Lee earned his bachelor's in 2000 from Western New Mexico where he played quarterback.
Kelley is married to Melissa Lee, who is a former track and field athlete and coach at ENMU. They have two children, Kingston and Croix.