Cal Poly has hired Tim Skipper as the program’s next head coach. Skipper was the interim head coach at UCLA for the last 9 games of the 2025 season, following the dismissal of DeShaun Foster.
Skipper played linebacker at Fresno State from 1997 through 2000 and immediately went into coaching with Western New Mexico for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. In 2003, he became the defensive backs coach at Sacramento State and added the defensive coordinator responsibilities for 2004 and 2005. He returned to his alma mater for the first time in 2006 as the running backs coach. He remained with the Bulldogs through 2011 in various positions, including linebackers coach, run game coordinator, and interim defensive coordinator.
From 2012 through 2014, he was at Colorado State as the linebackers coach and assistant head coach. He continued to Florida in 2015 to remain as part of Jim McElwain’s staff. He coached the Gators at running back for 2015 and 2016, followed by the linebackers in 2017 and 2018. He spent the next two years at UNLV as the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator.
Skipper joined Central Michigan in 2020 as the linebackers coach, once again under McElwain. He added the assistant head coaching duties the following year. In 2022, he returned to Fresno State once more as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach. He kept that title until the 2023 bowl game, when he was promoted to head coach. Skipper led Fresno State to a 37-10 win over New Mexico State as Jeff Tedford faced health issues. Skipper was named the interim head coach at Fresno State right before the 2024 season as Tedford’s health concerns led him to step down. He led the Bulldogs to a 6-7 overall record, losing the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to Northern Illinois, 28-20.
He joined UCLA in the offseason and started the 2025 season as a special assistant to the head coach. That changed following UCLA’s 0-3 start and DeShaun Foster’s firing. The Bruins lost Skipper’s first game 17-14 at Northwestern, then pulled off three straight victories. The first one was a 42-37 upset of then 7th-ranked Penn State, which played a factor in James Franklin’s firing. Penn State lost to Northwestern 22-21 the following week and fired Franklin the next day. UCLA went 3-6 with Skipper at the helm and finished 3-9 overall.
Skipper will take over the Cal Poly program from Paul Wulff, who went 10-24 overall and 5-19 in the Big Sky during his three seasons. The Mustangs haven’t reached the FCS Playoffs or posted a winning record since 2016, when they went 7-5 and lost the first round matchup at home to San Diego. The last conference title occurred in 2012, which was Cal Poly’s first season in the Big Sky Conference.
Cal Poly’s 2026 schedule is almost full. The Mustangs open the season and Skipper’s tenure at home in a Big Sky clash against Idaho before back-to-back road games at Colgate (Patriot) and San Jose State (Mountain West).
Photo Credit to UCLA Athletics
