Drake football hires UW-River Falls' Matt Walker as its new head coach
· Yahoo Sports
Drake has found its next football coach, and the new hire has championship pedigree.
Matt Walker will take over the Bulldogs program after 15 seasons as the head coach at Wisconsin-River Falls. He led the Falcons to the 2025 NCAA Division III national title.
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Drake athletics director announced the hire in a news release on Feb. 22.
“We are thrilled to welcome Matt Walker and his family to Drake and Des Moines,” Hardin said in the relese. “Matt inherited a program routinely at the bottom of its conference and turned it into one of the best programs in the country. His identification and development of young men will serve him well at Drake and I look forward to the heights he will guide our team.”
Since 2021, Walker has posted an overall record of 44-13 including back-to-back Isthmus Bowl (NCAA Division III postseason bowl game) titles.
Walker's River Falls teams have been elite on the offensive side of the ball. Three times since 2021, the Falcons ranked in the top four of Division III in total offense. Walker’s teams averaged 42.4 points per game over the last five seasons.
“I am extremely honored and feel blessed to be given the opportunity to become a part of the Drake family,” Walker said in the news release. “I look forward to building upon the amazing tradition of Drake football and Bulldog athletics. My family and I are excited to get to know everyone and get to work."
Walker takes over for Joe Woodley, whose first and only Bulldogs team finished 8-4 overall. Drake won the Pioneer Football League title with a 7-1 record. The Bulldogs’ season ended in the first round of the FCS Playoffs with a 38-17 loss at No. 11 South Dakota. Woodley was recently hired as an assistant coach at Rutgers.
"My heart goes out to these (Drake) players having to go through another coaching change," Walker said. "It’s not the journey anyone signs up for but I’m determined to make this transition smooth for them, get to know them, roll up our sleeves together and get on a mission to win another conference title.”
Walker also served as an assistant coach at Butler University and as an assistant coach and head coach at DePauw University, both in Indiana.
Walker earned his bachelor’s degree in Sports Science from DePauw in 1999, then earned his master’s in physical education from Indiana State in 2001, collecting Phi Kappa Phi academic status.
Drake sports information contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake football hires UW-River Falls' Matt Walker as its new head coach