EX-OSU coach Matta returns to Butler
INDIANAPOLIS – Former Ohio State coach Thad Matta is returning to lead Butler basketball.
The university, which is Matta's alma mater and the school where he coached for seven seasons — one as head coach — made the announcement Sunday morning. He will be introduced at a Wednesday news conference.
Matta spent this past year as an associate athletic director at Indiana University, and he replaces Lavall Jordan, who was fired on Friday.
“Butler is a special place, one that Barb, Ali, Emily and I each chose as our school,” Matta said in a news release. “I'm grateful for the opportunity to return to Butler and lead our men's basketball program.
“There is a solid foundation in place, and I'm confident that Butler
will consistently be among the top programs in the Big East. I can't wait to attack the work we have in front of us and to be back on the sidelines at Hinkle Fieldhouse.”
Matta underwent back surgery in 2007 and suffered nerve damage in one of his feet as a result. Those health issues helped end Matta's coaching career at Ohio State, and he and the Buckeyes parted ways in June 2017. He has not coached since.
He lives across the street from athletic director Barry Collier, who once hired Matta as a Butler assistant coach. Matta famously coined the phrase, “The Butler Way,” and he was 24-8 in 2000-01, his only season as Butler head coach, delivering the Bulldogs' first NCAA Tournament victory in 32 years.
Matta has a 17-year coaching record of 439-154 (.733), averaging 26 wins a year. He was 78-23 in three years at Xavier and 337-123 in 13 years at OSU.
He took teams to two Final Fours, four Elite Eights (one at Xavier), and he has won five Big Ten championships and four Big Ten Tournament titles.
“The success that Thad has achieved at every one of his programs speaks for itself,” Collier said. “He is a championship-caliber coach and recruiter who brings valuable experience and contagious energy to Butler.”