Cal Poly hires former UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper as new head football coach
Cal Poly has named former UCLA football interim head coach Tim Skipper as the Mustangs’ new head coach, the university announced Wednesday in a news release.
His arrival comes 10 days after Cal Poly announced it would part ways with Paul Wulff, who coached the Mustangs for three seasons and was let go the day after the team ended a six-game losing streak with a win over Eastern Washington.
Skipper took over as UCLA’s interim head football coach after an 0-3 start and the firing of its head coach, DeShaun Foster.
In his second game as interim head coach on Oct. 4, the Bruins upset then-No. 7 Penn State 42-37 at the Rose Bowl for their first win of the season. It was UCLA’s first win over an AP top-10 opponent since 2010. It was also just the fifth time in college football history, and the first since 1985, that a team 0-4 or worse beat a top-10 opponent.
Skipper brings 25 years of college coaching experience, including two stints at Fresno State, where he guided the Bulldogs to a bowl game in 2024 and served as acting head coach for their 2023 bowl win over New Mexico State.
His resume spans roles at Florida, Colorado State, UNLV and Central Michigan, along with a previous stop in the Big Sky Conference as Sacramento State’s defensive coordinator.
He was also a four-year starting middle linebacker at Fresno State, finishing his career with 418 tackles, the second-highest total in program history.
“Tim’s experience and accomplishments in college football speak for themselves, and I am thrilled to welcome him as our new head football coach,” athletic director Carter Henderson said in the press release.
Skipper becomes the 19th head coach in program history and steps into his first full-time head coaching role. He takes over a program seeking its first playoff berth since 2016 after a stretch of losing seasons. Over the last three years, Cal Poly went a combined 10-24 overall and collected just five Big Sky wins under Wulff.
Skipper steps in at the start of a new era, with the John Madden Center expected to be completed in the coming months, providing Cal Poly with a dedicated home for training and player development, and a major boost for recruiting.
“The ‘Learn by Doing’ approach and the academic excellence that has been achieved at Cal Poly have been inspiring to me for many years, and I look forward to pursuing the same type of excellence on the football field,” Skipper said in the release. “It will take the full support of our community coming together to win championships, and I can’t wait to engage with the Mustang family to chase our fullest potential together.”
Cal Poly will formally welcome Skipper as head coach during an introductory press conference on Dec. 8 at 10:30 a.m. in the Performing Arts Center lobby.
This story was originally published December 3, 2025 at 6:01 PM.