After six years in Class 2A, a familiar big-school football coach is headed back to the Class 5A ranks.
Mike Campbell is leaving Englewood to become the new head coach at Vista PEAK Prep, coinciding with the Bison’s move up from Class 4A to Class 5A for the 2024 season.
“I wanted one more go in my career at big-school football,” Campbell said. “The idea the program is going from 4A to 5A was appealing. And in a time where enrollment seems to be dwindling in more established parts of town — that’s sort of what’s happening at Englewood, and it’s certainly what happened in my time at Arapahoe — the idea of being in a community (in southeast Aurora) that’s just getting started and is growing was a huge box to check.”
Campbell spent 15 years as the head coach at Arapahoe before leaving for Englewood in 2018. Counting his days as a Warriors assistant, the 1990 Arapahoe alum and former lineman at the University of Idaho has 28 years of total coaching experience in Colorado. The 51-year-old brings a 120-89-1 career record into Vista PEAK, with 10 playoff appearances.
The Bison (6-14 over the last two years) will be playing in the Front Range League South in the fall along with Erie (last year’s Class 4A champion), Horizon, Legacy, Mullen and their rival, Rangeview. Campbell’s goal for Year 1 on East 6th Avenue is to post a winning record, contend for the league title and make the playoffs.
“Erie is the defending state champion, and even if that was 4A, they’re obviously going to be the team I would think our league is chasing,” Campbell said. “I’m sure Legacy has an opinion on that because they had a really good year last year also. It’s a competitive league with good programs, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Campbell will become the dean of students at Vista PEAK along with his gig coaching football. He and his family are moving into the Vista PEAK neighborhood, and his son, quarterback Carson Campbell, will be transferring to Vista PEAK as well.
Carson Campbell threw for 1,709 yards and 21 TDs with a 114.3 rating as an Englewood junior last fall. The 6-foot-5, 190-pounder will likely be an immediate contributor for a team that split time primarily between three sophomore quarterbacks in 2023, although his dad said Carson “is going to have to earn his stripes” at his new school.
“One, Carson would want it that way — he doesn’t want to walk in and just have (the starting job) handed to him by his dad,” Campbell said. “He’s going to have to earn the job through leadership and through his play. He knows he’s going to have eyes on him (from his peers) because of his last name, and he’ll be ready for that.”
Vista PEAK’s high-water mark came in 2019, when the Bison went 10-1 and lost in the opening round of the 16-team Class 4A state tournament. Campbell believes he can put a foundation in place to make those types of a seasons a regularity.
“We expect to win games,” Campbell said. “You start winning, it’s amazing how many more kids come out. And with the growth of the area, this job has a ton of potential.”
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