Pete Lembo

Peter A. Lembo (born April 16, 1970) is an American college football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at the University at Buffalo, where he led the Bulls to a record number of victories in his first season as head coach. Previously, he was the special teams coordinator at the University of South Carolina, where, in 2022, he oversaw the highest rated special teams unit in college football. Lembo has enjoyed success in each of his four stops as a head coach, leading each program to at least nine wins and post season appearances. He has accumulated a 121–69 career record over a 16-year period. His 79–36 record in ten seasons at the FCS level makes him one of the winningest coaches in the history of that classification.

Lembo attended Monsignor Farrell High School on Staten Island, where he was a starter on the varsity football squad. He graduated in 1988. He attended Georgetown University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1992. While at Georgetown, Lembo was a four-year starter at center and served as team captain of the Hoyas in 1991. He earned his graduate degree at the University at Albany, SUNY, graduating with a Master of Arts in Public Administration in 1994.

Lembo became one of the youngest head coaches in all of Division I when he was named head coach at Lehigh University in February 2001. The Mountain Hawks managed at least eight wins in each of his five seasons as head coach. Lembo is the winningest head coach in Lehigh school history with a .759 winning percentage. His conference record of 26–7 (.788) puts him third among all Patriot League coaches in terms of winning percentage. Lembo's teams won two Patriot League championships and made two appearances in the FCS playoffs.

In 2001, Lembo led Lehigh to an undefeated regular season and an upset win over Hofstra in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. That season, Lehigh also won the prestigious Lambert Cup, was named the ECAC team of the year and finished ranked 5th in the nation. In 2002, the Mountain Hawks upset the University at Buffalo, an FBS level team from the Mid-American Conference. This marked Lehigh's first victory over an FBS (I-A) team since 1987. The Mountain Hawks reached #2 in the national polls in September 2002, the highest ranking in program history. Lehigh defeated 9th ranked Fordham in September 2003. In 2004, Lehigh defeated 18th ranked Colgate and won the Patriot League before facing eventual national champion James Madison in the first round of the FCS playoffs. The Mountain Hawks also knocked off undefeated Harvard in 2005, in a battle of top 15 ranked teams.

Lembo's Lehigh teams posted a 9–2 record against Ivy League opponents during his tenure, including an undefeated record against Harvard, Yale and Princeton in eight of those games. The Mountain Hawks, despite playing with need-based financial aid at that time, also held a winning record against teams from scholarship-based conferences.

Three of Lembo's student-athletes at Lehigh earned AP all-American recognition during his tenure as head coach. Defensive back Abdul Byron was selected in 2001, defensive end Tom Alfsen in 2004 and tight end Adam Bergen was a two-time selection in 2003 and 2004.

Lembo was the head football coach at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina for five seasons, from 2006 until 2010. His coaching record at Elon was 35–22. The Phoenix went 14–42 in the five seasons prior to Lembo's arrival. Lembo led the Phoenix to a 9–3 record (7–1 Southern Conference) and their first appearance in the FCS playoffs in 2009. His Elon teams set over 120 NCAA, Southern Conference and school records. He is one of only two football coaches in the Division I era at Elon to secure a winning career record. Two of Lembo's former assistant coaches at Elon – Rich Skrosky and Tony Trisciani – have since become head coaches for the Phoenix.

During Lembo's tenure, the Phoenix were ranked in the FCS top 25 polls from October 20, 2007, through October 9, 2010, for 34 straight weeks. Elon peaked as high as #3 in the nation in October 2008. Lembo's teams defeated nationally ranked opponents seven times from 2006 to 2010. The Elon program had just one win versus the FCS (I-AA) top 25 prior to that stretch. Elon knocked off nationally ranked Georgia Southern in back-to-back years (2007 and 2008) and secured a victory at #7 Wofford in 2007, defeating the highest ranked opponent since being classified in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision.