Matthew Driscoll (basketball)

Matthew Driscoll ((1964-12-14)December 14, 1964) is an American college basketball coach who is currently head coach of the University of North Florida Ospreys.[1] Before coming to UNF, Driscoll spent twelve years as an assistant at Baylor University, Valparaiso University, Clemson University and the University of Wyoming. In a May 2008 Fox Sports survey of his peers, Driscoll was rated as one of the top 10 assistants in the country.[1]

Matthew Driscoll
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamNorth Florida
ConferenceAtlantic Sun
Record183–178
Biographical details
Born (1964-12-14) December 14, 1964
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Playing career
1986–1987Butler County CC
1987–1988Greensboro College
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1988–1990Northgate HS
1990–1991Butler County CC (assistant)
1991–1992Seneca Valley HS (assistant)
1992–1993Slippery Rock (assistant)
1993–1997LaRoche College
1997–1998Wyoming (assistant)
1998–2003Clemson (assistant)
2003Valparaiso (assistant)
2003–2009Baylor (assistant)
2009–presentNorth Florida
Head coaching record
Overall183–178 (college)
Tournaments0–1 (NCAA Division I)
0–1 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
3x A-Sun regular season (2015, 2016, 2020)
A-Sun Tournament (2015)
Awards
3x A-Sun Coach of the Year (2015, 2016, 2020)

Career

A native of Pittsburgh, Driscoll is a 1992 graduate of Slippery Rock University.[1][2][3] From 1993 to 1997, he was the head coach at LaRoche College in Pittsburgh. He is a board member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and a former president.[1] His first stint as a Division I assistant was the 1997–98 season under Larry Shyatt for the Wyoming Cowboys, which resulted in a trip to the NIT.[3] He then followed Shyatt as an assistant for the Clemson Tigers from 1998 to 2003. While at Clemson, Driscoll help lead the Tigers to the 1999 NIT finals and three wins over the North Carolina Tar Heels, including one when the Heels were ranked number 1 in the country.[3]

In 2003, Driscoll spent seven weeks with Scott Drew at Valparaiso University before Drew accepted a job with the Baylor Bears, and Driscoll followed.[3] At Baylor, Driscoll's primary responsibilities included on-court development, scouting, recruiting, and administrative duties.[3] In his six years there, Driscoll helped revive the program from tragedy and NCAA sanctions. Baylor went from struggling under NCAA sanctions for his first several years, to making the NCAA tournament for the first time in twenty years in 2008. In 2009, Baylor lost in the Big 12 Tournament Finals to Missouri, and won four games in the NIT before losing to Penn State at Madison Square Garden in the NIT finals. After one of the toughest rebuilding projects in college basketball history, Baylor finished with 21 wins in 2007–08 with wins over Notre Dame, South Carolina and Texas A&M, and 24 wins in 2008–09 with wins over defending national champion Kansas, Texas and Georgetown.[4]

In 2009 Driscoll was hired as head coach of the North Florida Ospreys, succeeding Matt Kilcullen. He is the team's first coach since the University of North Florida completed its transition into NCAA Division I sports. In the 2010–11 he led the Ospreys to their first appearance in the Atlantic Sun Conference playoffs, in their second season of tournament eligibility. They upset Jacksonville University and East Tennessee State University to advance to the championship game, but were defeated 87–46 by Belmont University.[5][6][7]

During the 2011–12 season, Driscoll coached the team to a school record 16 wins in a season,[8] and first-ever season sweep of cross-town rival Jacksonville University.[9]

In the 2014–15 season, Driscoll coached the team to a new school record of 23 wins. He also guided the school to the first ever A-Sun regular season championship and was named Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year.[10] The team then won the 2015 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament and earned their first ever bid to the NCAA Tournament. After the season, he agreed to a 4-year contract extension to remain the team's head coach through 2022.[11]

The Ospreys' success continued in the 2015–16 season, winning the Conference regular season championship again. Driscoll and his staff were named Atlantic Sun Coaching Staff of the Year for the second year in a row.

Driscoll and his wife, Carrie, have two sons.[1][3]

Head coaching record

College
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
North Florida Ospreys (Atlantic Sun Conference) (2009–present)
2009–10 North Florida 13–188–127th
2010–11 North Florida 15–1910–106th
2011–12 North Florida 16–1610–8T–4th
2012–13 North Florida 13–198–107th
2013–14 North Florida 16–1610–8T–4th
2014–15 North Florida 23–1212–21stNCAA Division I First Four
2015–16 North Florida 22–1210–41stNIT First Round
2016–17 North Florida 15–198–63rd
2017–18 North Florida 14–197–7T–4th
2018–19 North Florida 16–179–7T–3rd
2019–20 North Florida 21–1213–3T–1stPostseason Cancelled
North Florida: 184–179 (.507)105–77 (.577)
Total:184–179 (.507)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

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References
  1. "University of North Florida Athletics - Matthew Driscoll named UNF men's basketball coach". Unfospreys.com. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  2. Player Bio: Matt Driscoll - CLEMSON UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
  3. Matthew Driscoll Profile - Baylor Bears Official Athletic Site - BaylorBears.com
  4. "Jacksonville sports news on the Jaguars, Suns and the University of Florida". jacksonville.com. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  5. "UNF basketball takes huge step in finally beating Dolphins". jacksonville.com. 2011-03-03. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  6. Elliott, Jeff (2011-03-05). "UNF men one upset from Big Dance after victory over East Tennessee State". jacksonville.com. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  7. "Gene Frenette: UNF needs more horses to hang with Belmont". jacksonville.com. 2011-03-05. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  8. North Florida Ospreys vs. Jacksonville Dolphins - Recap - February 24, 2012 - ESPN
  9. Elliott, Jeff (2012-02-25). "North Florida barrels through Jacksonville to clinch fourth seed in A-Sun Tournament". jacksonville.com. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  10. "Full Atlantic Sun All-Conference Team" (PDF). AtlanticSun.org. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  11. "Athletics Gives Driscoll 4-Year Contract Extension". UNFOspreys.com. University of North Florida. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
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