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| Howard Payne athletics photo |
Howard Payne announced the naming of assistant head coach Kevin Bachtel as the next head coach, as Jason Bachtel accepts a coordinator position at Houston Christian University.
Kevin Bachtel, the current assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at HPU, will take over the reins of the Yellow Jacket program to continue the success he and his brother, Jason have built at Howard Payne.
"Having closely worked with Kevin the past two seasons, I am excited that he is going to be our head football coach," said Hunter Sims, director of athletics and former football coach. "I am thrilled that we will be able to continue success for the HPU football program. He is a man of God and a strong fit to guide the Yellow Jacket program."
Jason Bachtel was named the new offensive coordinator at D-I FCS Houston Christian after guiding the Howard Payne football program to back-to-back 7-3 seasons. It was the first back-to-back winning seasons for the Yellow Jackets since the 2004 and 2005 campaigns. The program was 16-9 under Jason Bachtel in the two full seasons plus the spring 2021 campaign.
Climbing the ASC defensive statistics lists, Kevin Bachtel's defenses have drastically improved since he arrived as the defensive coordinator at HPU in the fall of 2021. Upon his arrival to the program, the HPU defense was ranked last in the American Southwest Conference.
In the fall of 2021, the Yellow Jackets improved to sixth in the conference, and in 2022, his defense was ranked fourth in the ASC in points allowed (27), and in touchdowns allowed (36), The Jackets' defensive efficiency also improved to fourth in the ASC in 2021 and in 2022 was ranked third in the conference.
Over two seasons (2021 and 2022), Kevin has coached nine all-conference defensive players including 2022 first team All-Region defensive back, Kyle Bell.
Kevin Bachtel came to Howard Payne from Edgewood (Texas) High School, where he was the head football coach for five seasons (2016-2021), compiling a record of 40-17 and a district championship in 2016.
Before Edgewood, Kevin had coaching stints at Grand Saline High School as the assistant head football coach and defensive coordinator, and at Wills Point High School as the defensive coordinator. Both schools are in Texas.
Kevin is a 2000 graduate of Texas A&M Commerce and is married to his wife Sara with one daughter, Madlyn.