Matt Walker, a national championship head coach, two-time NCAA Division III national coach of the year, and architect of one of the most explosive offenses in college football, was named head football coach at Drake University, Athletics Director
Brian Hardin announced February 22.
Walker makes the jump to the FCS ranks after 15 seasons in the same role at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. He capped his Falcon tenure with the ultimate result, leading UWRF to the NCAA Division III National Championship in 2025. Walker guided the Falcons to a program record 14 wins, their first national playoff berth since 1996, and the first national title in school history.
2025 also marked UW-River Falls' first outright Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship since 1985. Following the 2025 season, Walker was named D3football.com Coach of the Year and the WIAC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. In 2021, Walker also earned WIAC Coach of the Year honors and was named Hansen Rating National Coach of the Year following a nine-win campaign.
Since 2021, Walker has posted an overall record of 44-13 including back-to-back Isthmus Bowl (NCAA Division III postseason bowl game) titles, and routinely had the Falcons ranked among national offensive leaders.
In each of the last five seasons, Walker's teams led the WIAC in total offense and scoring offense. Three times since 2021, the Falcons ranked in the top-four of Division III in total offense and in the last five seasons, Walker's teams averaged 42.4 points per game.
Walker coached over 140 players to All-WIAC status, 13 All-Region honorees, six All-Americans, and the 2025 Gagliardi Trophy winner Kaleb Blaha, who was recognized as the most outstanding player in all of Division III football this past season. Five Falcons also earned the WIAC's most prestigious student-athlete achievement, the Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete Award, under Walker's tutelage.
Prior to UWRF, Walker served as an offensive assistant in 2010 at Pioneer Football League rival Butler University, where he coached the Bulldogs' tight ends.
His prior stop was back at the Division III level at DePauw University in Indiana. While with the Tigers, Matt coached running backs and wide receivers from 2000-05 before being elevated to head coach from 2006-09. In his three seasons as head coach at DePauw, Walker led the Tigers to a 22-8 record.
Walker's DePauw tenure was not limited to the gridiron, though, as he also served as the Tigers' head baseball coach from 2001-09. On the diamond, he led his squads to five divisional championships and an NCAA regional berth in 2001. He was one of the youngest coaches in college baseball history to reach 250 wins.
Walker earned his bachelor's degree in Sports Science from DePauw in 1999, then proceeded to earn his master's in physical education from Indiana State in 2001 where he collected Phi Kappa Phi academic status.
Matt and his wife, Jana, have two daughters, Kraly and Hudson, and two sons, Townsend and Sullivan.
Drake will host an introductory press conference marking Walker's official welcome on Sunday, March 1 in the Paul Morrison Room. Walker's availability will start at 12:30 pm and then will be introduced to Bulldog fans at the Drake men's basketball game that afternoon.
