Hall of Fame
KENT BAER
Hometown: Providence, Utah
Sport: Football, Assistant Football Coach
Years: 1970-72; 1979-85
Described as a 'Student of the Game' during his collegiate playing days, Kent Baer was a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter at linebacker for Utah State. As a senior in 1972, Baer set the then-school record for tackles in a single-season with 116, a mark that stood for 10 years, as he earned the team's Hustle Award. During his junior and senior seasons, Baer helped the Aggies post back-to-back 8-3 records, which included a 5-0 mark against in-state schools, as USU notched consecutive wins against both BYU and Utah to win the Beehive Boot (the state's collegiate football championship trophy) in each of its first two years in existence. Following his playing career, Baer immediately began coaching and became a graduate assistant for the Aggies in the spring of 1973. Baer then spent the next four years at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan, where he eventually became athletic director and head football coach. He returned to Utah State in 1977 and spent two years as a graduate assistant and seven years as a full-time assistant, as he coached the linebackers for four seasons (1979-82) and then spent three seasons as USU's defensive coordinator and secondary coach (1983-85). In two of his three years as defensive coordinator, the Aggies led the conference in total defense. In all, Baer has been a collegiate football coach for over 40 years and is currently the defensive coordinator at UNLV. In fact, UNLV is the 10th Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program at which Baer has served as defensive coordinator, as he held that title for 29 combined seasons at, in order, Utah State, Idaho, California, Arizona State, Stanford, Notre Dame, Washington, San José State and Colorado. During his time at Notre Dame, Baer was one of five finalists for the 2002 Broyles Award, presented to the nation's top assistant. He was also a nominee for the Broyles Award in 2012 while at SJSU. Baer has coached under several of the game's outstanding head coaches, including Bruce Snyder (Utah State, Cal and Arizona State), Tyrone Willingham (Stanford, Notre Dame and Washington) and Dick Tomey (San José State). A veteran of nine bowl games, Baer twice served as interim head coach in the postseason, winning the 2012 Military Bowl while leading San José State, and losing the 2004 Insight Bowl while leading Notre Dame. Baer graduated from Utah State in 1973 with a degree in physical education and recreation, following a fine prep career at Sky View High School in Smithfield, Utah.
