Thad Michael Matta (born July 11, 1967) is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team. From 2004 to 2017, Matta led the Ohio State Buckeyes to five Big Ten Conference regular season championships (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012), four Big Ten tournament titles (2007, 2010, 2011 and 2013), two Final Four appearances (2007 and 2012), and the 2008 NIT Championship. He is the winningest coach in Ohio State history.
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 Cornjerkers at Hoopeston-East Lynn High School in Hoopeston, Illinois, Matta was a two-year starter for the Butler University Bulldogs in three seasons after transferring from Southern Illinois University as a sophomore. He led Butler in assists (100) and three-point field goal percentage (.433) in 1987–88 and in free-throw percentage in 1988–89 (.872). He served as a team captain (one of the Butler tri-captains that year) on Barry Collier's first team in 1989–90 and finished his career in sixth place on Butler's all-time list for free-throw percentage (.800). He earned a B.S. degree from Butler in 1990. Matta enjoyed his Butler career-high point total of 21 points against Xavier University at the Cincinnati Gardens on March 2, 1989.
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 NCAA tournament five times as an assistant under four different head coaches and in the postseason National Invitation Tournament once.
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 Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament championships and one MCC regular-season title, made two NCAA tournament appearances and earned one NIT berth. He served as Butler's primary recruiter.
Head coaching
Butler
Matta took over as head coach of Butler when Barry Collier left after the 1999–2000 season to coach at the University of Nebraska. Matta was named 2000–01 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year in his first and only season as head coach at Butler, after leading the Bulldogs to a school record 24 wins. He was also named National "Rookie Coach of the Year" by CBS SportsLine.com and College Insider.com.
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 and 2003 and two league tournament titles in 2002 and 2004. Xavier advanced to three NCAA tournaments, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2004 following two second-round trips.