Ricky Matt named 22nd head football coach in Texas Lutheran history
SEGUIN, Texas – Ricky Matt, Texas Lutheran University's assistant head football coach and defensive coordinator, has accepted the university's offer to become the 22nd head football coach in program history.
Matt (pronounced "MOTT") succeeds Carl Gustafson, who announced his retirement on Thursday.
Gustafson, a two-time American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year, was TLU's head coach for three seasons and produced a 21-9 overall record and 20-7 mark in the ASC. The Bulldogs were 8-2 overall and 8-1 in the ASC in 2019.
"We are thrilled that Ricky Matt is the new head football coach at Texas Lutheran University," TLU President Dr. Debbie Cottrell said. "As an alum of Texas Lutheran and a former Bulldog football player, Coach Matt knows and loves this place - its people, its student-athletes, its culture, and its history."
"Coach Matt is a dedicated Bulldog who has had tremendous success here as an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, and I have full confidence that this success will continue as he assumes the role of head coach. As he retires, Carl Gustafson is leaving our football program in outstanding shape, and we are forever grateful for the job that Coach Gus did. I believe that Coach Matt will continue this tradition of excellence and push the program to new heights in the American Southwest Conference and in the NCAA Division III."
Matt was one of the first hires by Gustafson after Gustafson accepted the TLU head coaching position on Nov. 17, 2016. Matt was named defensive coordinator on Jan. 10, 2017. He served as defensive coordinator in all three of Gustafson's seasons as head coach.
Matt was promoted to assistant head coach prior to the 2018 season.
"Coach Gus brought me back to TLU, and I want to thank him for giving me that opportunity," said Matt, a 1979 graduate of TLU and a member of the university's 1975 NAIA-II National Championship squad. "It has been a privilege to coach with him. His integrity and leadership have been examples to all of us. What I like most about Coach Gus is that in every decision he made he had the players' best interest at heart. Coach Gus loves his players, and they love him."
"The top priorities for me now will be to keep our staff together and our team together and to recruit student-athletes that will make us better. It comes down to recruiting, retaining, and graduating. Our goals always will be to win the conference championship and to make the playoffs. At TLU we want to dream big. We believe we can accomplish anything if we have faith, courage, and enthusiasm. I believe positive relationships are everything. The cornerstones of this program will be faith, family, education, and football."
Matt, 62, has 41 years of football coaching experience. He has coached collegiately at TLU, Central Arkansas, Trinity (Texas), Texas State-San Marcos, Texas A&M-Kingsville, McNeese State (La.), Nicholls State (La.), and Louisiana State-Monroe.
"This is a special opportunity at TLU, and I thank our university president, Dr. Debbie Cottrell, for the trust and faith she has placed in me," said Matt. "We are lucky to have her as our president. She understands the importance of athletics and the critical role that athletics plays in our university's life."
"And I want to thank our Director of Athletics Bill Miller. Coach Miller was a teammate of mine on the 1975 national championship team, when I was a freshman and he was a junior. I consider him to be my mentor. I believe that Coach Miller has given of himself to TLU as much as anybody. He's done so as a player, as a coach and as an athletics director. Coach Miller is a winner, and we appreciate all that he does for the university and the athletics department."
Matt's three years at TLU as defensive coordinator have produced three of the best statistical years in the Bulldogs' non-scholarship era, which started in 1998. The Bulldogs went from allowing 38.2 points per game in 2016 (the year before Matt's arrival) to allowing 29.2 in 2017 – a nine-point improvement per game. TLU also went from two overall wins in 2016 to six wins in 2017.
The points allowed per game by the TLU defense has gone from 29.2 in 2017, to 26.9 in 2018, to a new TLU DIII-era record of 18.4 points per game in 2019.
Under Matt, TLU became a much better defense against the run. The Bulldogs went from giving up 171.6 yards of rushing per game in 2016 to allowing only 91.8 yards per game in 2017.
The 2018 squad set the TLU DIII-era record for rushing defense by allowing only 76.5 rushing yards per contest. The 2019 squad came within six yards per game of tying the mark of the 2018 team. This past season, the TLU defense gave up only 82.5 yards on the ground per game.
In Matt's three years as defensive coordinator, the Bulldogs have produced the top three rushing defense seasons of TLU's NCAA Division III era, spanning 22 seasons.
"When we hired Ricky Matt in January of 2017, I said he was on the short list of the best defensive minds in this state and this part of the country," said Gustafson. "That wasn't just a lot of talk. Hiring Ricky as our defensive coordinator was one of the best moves we could make when we came back to TLU in 2017. Ricky did an outstanding job in that first year, and our defense and our whole team continued to improve in each successive year with the help of his knowledge and guidance."
"I am so happy that he is the new head coach for this program. I know that Ricky is thrilled to be the head coach at his alma mater. He's ready for the challenge."
TLU's pass defense numbers under Matt also have enjoyed significant improvement. In Matt's first season as defensive coordinator, 2017, the Bulldogs allowed 309.1 passing yards per game. That number dropped to 259.8 per game in 2018 and fell to 203.7 per contest this season.
The Bulldogs' 2019 pass defense allowed the fewest passing touchdowns (10) in TLU's 22 seasons since the re-start of the football program in 1998.
The total number of opponent touchdowns allowed (24) in 2019 also set a new TLU DIII-era record for fewest TDs allowed in a season. The 2019 squad broke the DIII-era record by six touchdowns.
The defense's improvement combined with the Bulldogs' bruising, ball-control offense produced a runner-up finish in the ASC in 2019 and a pair of third-place ASC finishes (in 2017 and 2018). Counting TLU, there are 10 football teams in the American Southwest Conference.
"Coach Matt is one of the best defensive minds around, and I am excited to see him in action as our new head football coach," said Bill Miller, TLU's director of athletics. "What Coach Matt has done with our defense and our players in three years is simply amazing. Coach Matt and Coach Gustafson worked extremely well together, and their coaching and teaching, along with hard work from all of the members of our football coaching staff, led to our best three-year stretch in the ASC. I know Coach Matt is dedicated and driven to keep this high level of success going."
Matt coached playing All-American and Academic All-American® Manny Longoria for three seasons. Matt was instrumental in moving Longoria, a safety in his first year with the Bulldogs, to the defensive line. Over the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons, Longoria set new TLU school records for career sacks (24.5) and for career tackles for loss (46.5).
Longoria, a three-time All-ASC selection, collected two All-South Region honors. Free safety James Bell, another three-time All-ASC choice, garnered three consecutive All-South Region accolades.
The 2019 TLU defense combined with the TLU offense to produce a team turnover margin per game of plus-1.5. That turnover margin currently ranks sixth in NCAA Division III.
The TLU defense also ranks 12th nationally in defensive touchdowns, with four, and ranks 23rd in fumbles recovered, with 12. In the team's road upset this year of then-No. 6 Hardin-Simmons, the Bulldogs scored three defensive touchdowns in a 38-27 win in Abilene, Texas. The victory was the Bulldogs' second-ever win at HSU's Shelton Stadium.
The Bulldog defense this year also ranked 24th nationally in sacks, at 3.2 per contest, and 30th in team tackles for loss, at 8.0 per game.
Matt also has extensive coaching experience at the high school level. Matt has coached at Converse Judson, San Antonio Reagan, Nederland, New Braunfels, Samuel Clemens (in Schertz, Texas), Crowley (La.), and Opelousas (La.).
Just prior to his return to TLU as a coach, Matt was at Converse Judson High School, where he served as the defensive coordinator of the Rockets for three seasons (2014-16).
Matt played on Texas Lutheran's 1975 NAIA-II National Championship team, coached by Jim Wacker. Matt also played on the Bulldogs' 1976 NAIA-II National Semifinal team, coached by Dan Knight. Matt was a defensive back for the Bulldogs.
Matt has a master's degree in Education and Administration (Supervision) from Louisiana State University - Monroe.
Matt and his wife Susan will celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary in December. Susan and Ricky have three children - Megan, Jerod, and Ross - and three grandchildren, with a fourth grandchild due in March.