DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS

Today was a ceremony at the local high school.  We have a group of alumni who have distinguished themselves in their post high school life in various pursuits ranging from nuclear scientists, doctors, veterinarians, weather researchers, big time stage drama, etc.  Today we inducted a young man who is the first to distinguish himself in the area of college sport. He is a member of the Class of 2008.
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He was an average high school student, participated in football, basketball and golf.  Of all his sports activities, he was best in golf.  He went on to college and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management and then a Masters Degree in Organizational Management. He knew he wanted to coach...but had no experience.  Yet it was his dream and he did everything he could to realize that dream.  He started at the bottom being an assistant coach at a small school and over the years did everything from blowing up basketballs to folding laundry.  He advanced from job to job and is presently the Head Basketball Coach at Northern Michigan University.
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 Unlike most college coaches, he never played college basketball yet he achieved his dream of being a coach through hard work and dedication. At the time of his hiring, he was the youngest D1-D2 head coach in the nation.  His teams have made the NCAA tournament, he has coached players who now play professional ball, his players have a 100% graduation rate at the university, he was voted GLIAC Coach of the Year  in '22-'23, he has coached nine All Conference players, his teams volunteer to work with children in the Special Olympics and at children's museums and elementary schools where they read to the students and he also started a Youth Basketball program that has sent over 30 kids onto college basketball programs.
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Recently, his team played Michigan State University and he retired legendary coach Tom Izzo's jersey (Izzo played at Northern Michigan as an undergraduate).  The game was broadcast on the Big Ten Network and afterward Coach Izzo said that "Matt was a very good coach."  High praise from one of the best basketball coaches in the nation.
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Matt has earned his place among those in the ELG Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame.  Seen with him in the photo is the high school's athletic director and Matt's golf coach.
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BEST IN LARGE.