Thad Matta
Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Head coach |
Team | Butler |
Conference | Big East |
Record | 56–41 (.577) |
Biographical details | |
Born | Hoopeston, Illinois, U.S. | July 11, 1967
Playing career | |
1985–1986 | Southern Illinois |
1987–1990 | Butler |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1990–1991 | Indiana State (assistant) |
1991–1994 | Butler (assistant) |
1994–1995 | Miami (OH) (assistant) |
1995–1996 | Western Carolina (assistant) |
1996–1997 | Miami (OH) (assistant) |
1997–2000 | Butler (assistant) |
2000–2001 | Butler |
2001–2004 | Xavier |
2004–2017 | Ohio State |
2022–present | Butler |
Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
2021–2022 | Indiana (Assoc. AD) |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 471–187 (.716) |
Tournaments | 24–13 ( 2013) |
Awards | |
Horizon League Coach of the Year (2001) Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (2002) 3× Big Ten Coach of the Year (2006, 2007, 2010) | |
Thad Michael Matta (born July 11, 1967) is an American
Before returning to Butler, Matta spent a season (2021–22) as the Associate Athletic Director for Indiana and the men's basketball team.
Playing career
A basketball standout for the
Early coaching years
In total, Matta spent six seasons as a full-time assistant coach at three different universities, helping his squads compile a composite 128–58 (.688) record and make six postseason tournament appearances. He was on the bench in five consecutive conference tournament championship games and won four league tournament championship rings. He was in the
Matta began his coaching career at Indiana State University as a graduate assistant under head coach Tates Locke in 1990–91. Matta served as an academic coordinator and administrative assistant at Butler (1991–94) before moving into the full-time coaching ranks.
Matta took his first full-time assistant coaching position under Herb Sendek at Miami University (Ohio) in 1994–95 and helped Miami to a 23–7 record, a Mid-American Conference regular-season championship and a first-round win in the NCAA tournament.
The following year, Matta accepted a coaching position at Western Carolina University under Phil Hopkins and helped the Catamounts to a 17–13 record, the school's first winning record in 10 years. Western Carolina captured the Southern Conference tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament as a 16 seed, very nearly upsetting 1-seed Purdue in the round of 64. Matta returned to Miami under new head coach Charlie Coles in 1996–97 and helped the RedHawks to a 21–9 record, the MAC regular season and tournament championships and a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Matta rejoined Butler University's staff in 1997 and helped the Bulldogs to three consecutive 20-win seasons. He established himself as one of the nation's best young coaching prospects during a six-year assistant coaching stint. In his three seasons as Barry Collier's top assistant, Butler compiled a 67–29 (.698) record, won two
Head coaching
Butler
Matta took over as head coach of
Butler was 24–8 under Matta's direction that year with an 11–3 record and an MCC regular season championship, a MCC tournament championship and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Butler won 13 of its last 15 games. Eventual NCAA runner-up Arizona ended the Butler run in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Xavier
At Xavier, Matta led the Musketeers to three consecutive 26-win seasons, back-to-back Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season championships in 2002[2] and 2003[3] and two league tournament titles in 2002 and 2004.[4] Xavier advanced to three NCAA tournaments, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2004 following two second-round trips.
Matta's 26 wins for the 2002–03[5] season marked the highest win total ever for a second-year Xavier head coach. He also broke the school record for most victories by a Xavier rookie head coach. Xavier's 26–6 record in the 2001–02 campaign set the record.[6]
Matta was named 2002 Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year, while leading the Musketeers to the top regular season finish in the league at 14–2 and an Atlantic 10 Conference tournament championship. In addition, Matta became the only first-year coach in conference history to ever win both the A–10 regular season and tourney championships.
Ohio State
Matta, a finalist for the 2002–03 Naismith National Coach of the Year Award, was hired as the 13th head coach in Ohio State history on July 7, 2004, after the school had fired previous coach
In the 2005–06 season Matta led the Buckeyes to an outright Big Ten Championship for the first time since 1992, finishing one game ahead of
In the 2007–08 season, Matta's Buckeyes did not make the NCAA tournament. However, they won the 2008 NIT championship, despite playing with four new starters for the second consecutive year.[11]
In 2009, Ohio State went to the NCAA Tournament, but were eliminated in the first round by Siena.[12] In 2010, the Buckeyes won a share of the Big Ten and the 2010 conference tournament title. In the NCAA tournament they beat UC–Santa Barbara in the first round 68–51. The next round they beat Georgia Tech 75–66, but went on to lose to Tennessee in the Sweet 16.[13][14]
In the 2010–11 season, Matta's Buckeyes were 29–2, ranked #1 in all polls (16–2 in conference play), and won the outright Big Ten Championship.[15][16] The Buckeyes beat Penn State on March 13 to win their 2nd consecutive Big Ten tournament title. The Buckeyes were the overall number one seed in the 2011 NCAA tournament and the number one seed in the Eastern bracket, where the Buckeyes won two games in Cleveland before losing to eventual Eastern regional champion Kentucky.
In the 2011–12 season, Matta led Ohio State to its third straight Big Ten championship, shared with Michigan and Michigan State. Ohio State advanced to the Final Four for the second time in Matta's career, before losing to Kansas in a game the Buckeyes led by nine at halftime.
In the 2012–13 season, Ohio State finished second in the Big Ten regular season, one game behind league champion Indiana. The Buckeyes went on to win the Big Ten tournament in Chicago, which was Matta's fourth Big Ten tournament championship. The Buckeyes were a 2 seed in the 2013 NCAA tournament. They lost in the Elite Eight to Wichita State.
On March 12, 2015, Matta set a school record for victories, winning his 298th game for OSU after defeating Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament.
On June 5, 2017, Matta mutually agreed with Ohio State to step down as its head coach due to health issues that were causing a decline in team performance and recruiting.[17] His final season at Ohio State was the first time in Matta's entire career that he failed to achieve at least 20 wins.
Return to Butler
On April 3, 2022, it was announced that Butler hired Matta as head coach to replace LaVall Jordan.[18]
Head coaching record
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Butler Bulldogs (Midwestern Collegiate Conference) (2000–2001) | |||||||||
2000–01 | Butler | 24–8 | 11–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
Xavier Musketeers (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2001–2004) | |||||||||
2001–02 | Xavier | 26–6 | 14–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
2002–03 | Xavier | 26–6 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
2003–04 | Xavier | 26–11 | 10–6 | T–4th | NCAA Division I Elite Eight | ||||
Xavier: | 78–23 (.772) | 39–9 (.813) | |||||||
Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten Conference) (2004–2017) | |||||||||
2004–05 | Ohio State | 20–12 | 8–8 | 6th | |||||
2005–06 | Ohio State | 26–6 | 12–4 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
2006–07 | Ohio State | 35–4 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA Division I Runner-Up | ||||
2007–08 | Ohio State | 24–13 | 10–8 | 5th | NIT Champion | ||||
2008–09 | Ohio State | 22–11 | 10–8 | T–4th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
2009–10 | Ohio State | 29–8 | 14–4 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
2010–11 | Ohio State | 34–3 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
2011–12 | Ohio State | 31–8 | 13–5 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
2012–13 | Ohio State | 29–8 | 13–5 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I Elite Eight | ||||
2013–14 | Ohio State | 25–10 | 10–8 | 5th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
2014–15 | Ohio State | 24–11 | 11–7 | 6th | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
2015–16 | Ohio State | 21–14 | 11–7 | 7th | NIT Second Round | ||||
2016–17 | Ohio State | 17–15 | 7–11 | T–10th | |||||
Ohio State: | 337–123 (.733) | 150–78 (.658) | |||||||
Butler Bulldogs (Big East Conference) (2022–present) | |||||||||
2022–23 | Butler | 14–18 | 6–14 | 9th | |||||
2023–24 | Butler | 18–15 | 9–11 | T–8th | NIT First Round | ||||
Butler: | 56–41 (.577) | 26–28 (.481) | |||||||
Total: | 471–187 (.716) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
See also
- List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach
References
- ^ Matta becomes all-time OSU wins leader - Ohio State Buckeyes
- ^ Xavier Musketeers Basketball 2001-02 Schedule - Musketeers Home and Away - ESPN
- ^ Atlantic 10 Conference Standings (2002–03) - College Basketball - ESPN
- ^ Xavier Musketeers Basketball 2003-04 Schedule - Musketeers Home and Away - ESPN
- ^ Xavier Musketeers Basketball 2002-03 Schedule - Musketeers Home and Away - ESPN
- ^ Atlantic 10 Conference Standings (2001–02) - College Basketball - ESPN
- ^ Ohio State Buckeyes Basketball 2004-05 Schedule - Buckeyes Home and Away - ESPN
- ^ a b c Ohio State Buckeyes Basketball 2005-06 Schedule - Buckeyes Home and Away - ESPN
- ^ Ohio State Buckeyes Basketball 2006-07 Schedule - Buckeyes Home and Away - ESPN
- ^ Big Ten Conference Standings (2006–07) - College Basketball - ESPN
- ^ Ohio State Buckeyes Basketball 2007-08 Schedule - Buckeyes Home and Away - ESPN
- ^ Ohio State Buckeyes Basketball 2008-09 Schedule - Buckeyes Home and Away - ESPN
- ^ Ohio State Buckeyes Basketball 2009-10 Schedule - Buckeyes Home and Away - ESPN
- ^ Big Ten Conference Standings (2009–10) - College Basketball - ESPN
- ^ Ohio State Buckeyes Basketball 2010-11 Schedule - Buckeyes Home and Away - ESPN
- ^ Big Ten Conference Standings (2010–11) - College Basketball - ESPN
- ^ Ohio State Fires Matta, accessed June 6, 2017
- ^ Thad Matta Returns to the Sidelines to Lead Butler Men’s Basketball Program, accessed April 3, 2022