Josh Heupel Children: Who Are Hannah and Jace Heupel and What Is Known About His Family?

Josh Heupel is widely recognized as the head coach who helped bring renewed energy to Tennessee Volunteers football, but away from Neyland Stadium, another part of his life matters just as much. Heupel and his wife, Dawn, are parents to two children, daughter Hannah Heupel and son Jace Heupel.

The Heupel family has experienced college football from a particularly close perspective. Coaching has taken Josh from Oklahoma to several programs around the country before eventually bringing the family to Knoxville when he accepted the Tennessee job in 2021.

Official information from the University of Tennessee identifies Dawn as Josh Heupel’s wife and Hannah and Jace as their two children.

Although Josh’s position makes him one of the most visible people in Tennessee athletics, the family has generally avoided turning Hannah and Jace into public personalities. They occasionally appear around Tennessee football events, but much of their everyday life remains private.

How Many Children Does Josh Heupel Have?

Josh Heupel has two children with his wife, Dawn Heupel.

Their daughter is named Hannah, while their son is named Jace.

The University of Tennessee has consistently listed both children in Heupel’s official biography since he arrived at the school. Its updated 2026 coaching profile again identifies his family as wife Dawn, daughter Hannah and son Jace.

Josh has also mentioned both children publicly when discussing the family side of his coaching career.

When Tennessee introduced him as its new head coach in January 2021, Heupel specifically thanked Dawn, Hannah and Jace while talking about the sudden transition their family was making.

Moving to another school is not simply a career change for a college football coach. It affects the entire family, particularly children who may have to leave friends, schools and familiar surroundings behind.

That became part of the Heupel family story when Tennessee came calling.

Who Is Hannah Heupel?

Hannah Heupel is Josh and Dawn Heupel’s daughter and the older of their two children.

Unlike her father, Hannah has not pursued a large public profile. Most of what is known about her comes through occasional family appearances connected with Josh’s coaching career.

She has reportedly developed interests in activities including dance, cheer and music while growing up around the constantly changing schedule of college football.

Hannah has also been seen supporting Tennessee alongside members of her family.

Being the daughter of a major college football coach offers an unusual childhood experience. Saturdays during football season are rarely ordinary family weekends. Instead, they can involve packed stadiums, television cameras, thousands of fans and the pressure surrounding Southeastern Conference football.

Despite that environment, Josh and Dawn have generally kept detailed information about Hannah’s private life away from extensive public coverage.

Her age, schooling and future plans have not been made a major part of Josh’s public football profile.

Who Is Jace Heupel?

Jace Heupel is Josh Heupel’s son and the younger of the coach’s two children.

Sports appear to be an important part of his life, with Jace reportedly participating in youth athletics such as football and baseball.

That interest would hardly be surprising considering the family environment in which he has grown up.

Josh was a championship-winning college quarterback before becoming a coach, and football was part of his own upbringing long before he became a Tennessee coach.

When Heupel was introduced at Tennessee in 2021, he even shared a lighthearted detail about Jace’s excitement over the move.

Josh said his son was already looking forward to the possibility of catching a football from Tennessee legend Peyton Manning.

The comment gave fans an unusual glimpse into the family’s excitement during what was otherwise a major professional announcement.

For Jace, moving to Knoxville meant entering a community where football is deeply woven into everyday life.

Hannah and Jace Experienced Tennessee’s Move Together

Josh Heupel’s hiring by Tennessee dramatically changed life for the entire Heupel family.

Tennessee officially hired him as the program’s 27th head football coach on January 27, 2021. He had spent the previous three seasons leading UCF.

During his introductory press conference, Heupel acknowledged that the decision had happened quickly for his children.

He said Hannah and Jace had essentially awakened to a changed world that day. There had apparently been some emotion about leaving their previous home, but seeing Tennessee’s orange “T” helped create excitement about what was coming next.

It was a small comment, but it showed the family realities behind major coaching changes.

Fans usually experience coaching hires through press conferences, contracts and football expectations. Coaches’ children experience them differently. Their schools, friendships, routines and communities can all change almost immediately.

For Hannah and Jace, Knoxville eventually became home.

Who Is Josh Heupel’s Wife Dawn?

Hannah and Jace’s mother is Dawn Heupel.

Dawn and Josh have known each other since their younger years and have remained together through the many moves required by his football career.

Dawn has generally stayed away from the spotlight despite her husband’s increasingly high-profile coaching jobs.

Josh gave a glimpse of their relationship during his Tennessee introduction when he called Dawn his “copilot in life” and joked that she was probably doing most of the piloting because of the amount of time he spends working.

That comment also reflected the demands placed on coaching families.

College football head coaches work exceptionally long hours during recruiting periods, preseason preparation and the playing season. Travel and meetings can consume much of the week.

For a family with children, that makes the support structure at home particularly important.

Football Runs Deep in the Heupel Family

Hannah and Jace are growing up in a family where football reaches back another generation.

Josh Heupel was raised in Aberdeen, South Dakota. His father, Ken Heupel, was a football coach, including serving as head coach at Northern State University.

Josh has recalled growing up watching game film alongside his father.

That early exposure eventually helped shape his own life.

He became a quarterback and played at Weber State and Snow College before reaching Oklahoma, where his career changed dramatically.

Heupel became the Sooners’ starting quarterback and led Oklahoma to the 2000 national championship. He was also runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and earned several major individual honors during that season.

His path eventually moved from playing football to teaching it.

Now Hannah and Jace have grown up watching their father from the other side of the sport.

Josh Heupel’s Coaching Career Meant Plenty of Moving

Before Tennessee became home, Hannah and Jace experienced the reality of having a father working in college football.

Josh’s coaching career included positions with Oklahoma, Arizona, Utah State and Missouri before he became head coach at UCF.

He coached UCF from 2018 through 2020 and compiled a 28-8 record before Tennessee hired him.

Each coaching opportunity came with professional benefits, but it also required family adjustments.

The move to Knoxville ultimately became one of the most important.

Heupel inherited a Tennessee program trying to find stability and quickly helped rebuild its national relevance.

His success also meant that Hannah and Jace increasingly became part of one of college football’s most passionate communities.

Family Life Around Tennessee Football

The Heupel family is sometimes seen together around Tennessee football activities and important moments involving the program.

Hannah and Jace have had the unusual opportunity to experience major college football from close range, including the excitement surrounding Tennessee home games and postgame celebrations.

Still, Josh has not made his children a major feature of his public image.

That has left them with more privacy than the children of some other prominent sports figures.

There are no extensive official biographies for Hannah or Jace, and Tennessee’s own materials generally limit family information to confirming their names.

That means details such as their exact ages, education and long-term career ambitions should not be assumed unless the family chooses to discuss them publicly.

Josh Heupel Balances Fatherhood and Coaching

Being a college football head coach is a demanding job.

During football season, coaches can spend long days preparing game plans, reviewing film, meeting players and handling recruiting responsibilities.

The offseason is hardly quiet either.

Recruiting, transfer portal decisions, spring practice and roster management have turned college football into something approaching a year-round operation.

That makes Heupel’s references to Dawn, Hannah and Jace meaningful.

During one of the biggest professional moments of his life, his introduction as Tennessee’s head coach, he made a point of recognizing all three family members.

His remarks showed that behind the coach standing at the podium was a family adjusting to the same career move.

Where Does the Heupel Family Live?

Josh Heupel’s work is based in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he has coached the Volunteers since 2021.

The family relocated to the area following his appointment.

Knoxville has since become closely associated with the Heupels as Josh has spent multiple seasons building the Tennessee program.

The family can occasionally be seen supporting the Volunteers during events connected with the university and football team.

For Hannah and Jace, Tennessee has therefore become more than simply their father’s employer.

It has been the setting for an important part of their childhood and teenage years while Josh’s coaching profile continued to rise.

Hannah and Jace Remain Mostly Outside the Spotlight

Interest in Josh Heupel’s children has increased as his visibility in college football has grown.

Even so, Hannah and Jace are not public figures in the same sense as their father.

Information about them remains relatively limited, and that appears intentional.

What is firmly established is straightforward: Josh and Dawn Heupel have two children, Hannah and Jace, and both have been part of the family journey that brought the coach from UCF to Tennessee.

They have watched their father move from being a former championship quarterback to one of the best-known coaches in college football.

At the same time, Josh’s own upbringing offers an interesting parallel. He was once the coach’s son sitting beside his father and learning about football.

Now Hannah and Jace are experiencing their own version of life inside a football family, only this time at Tennessee, with Neyland Stadium and the Volunteers forming the backdrop.