Just a little bio piece I wrote for Coach Lamb’s award ceremony. He is such a class-act. He and his family will definitely be missed here in Cedar City.
Former Southern Utah University head football coach, Ed Lamb, has been named the 2016 Cedar City Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year. Lamb’s success on the field, leading the Thunderbirds to the 2015 Big Sky Championship, pales in comparison to his contributions in the community.
Ed and Sarah Lamb moved their family to Cedar City prior to the 2008 season following a successful stint as defensive coordinator at the University of San Diego. Lamb inherited a Thunderbirds squad that was on an 18 game losing streak. Lamb promptly went about transforming the team’s culture by implementing a strict workout regimen, enforcing stricter academic standards and mandating his players to volunteer in the community.
On the field, Lamb enjoyed a great amount of success at Southern Utah University. In 2010, Lamb guided the Thunderbirds to a 4-0 record and a conference championship in the Great West Conference. Following the 2011 football season, the Thunderbirds transitioned to the Big Sky Conference, a much more competitive league. Within two years of the transition, the Thunderbirds were competing in the FCS Playoffs. The Thunderbirds continued to build on this success, as all the hard work from years past culminated in the first ever Big Sky Football Championship for Southern Utah University in 2015.
In the 15 years prior to Lamb’s arrival at Southern Utah University, the Thunderbirds won only 55 football games. In the eight years Lamb served as head coach, the Thunderbirds won 45, including two games over FBS opponents. Lamb was also recently named AFCA Region Five FCS Coach of the Year.
These many successes has led to a bittersweet farewell, as Lamb was recently named Assistant Head Football Coach at Brigham Young University.
Ed Lamb will not only be missed because of his football prowess, but also because of the many hours he and his family spent interacting with the community. Lamb was actively engaged in community outreach projects, serving ecclesiastically and frequently performed with his band, “Spillbeedog,” for free at community events.
His plentiful contributions to the Cedar City community, along with the relationships he forged and his multiple successes as the head football coach at Southern Utah University, are why Ed Lamb will be greatly missed, and why he was named 2016 Cedar City Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year.
Hayden Coombs 