Longtime college basketball coach Thad Matta is retiring.
The Butler coach announced his retirement on Monday after five total seasons with the school. Matta got his first head coaching job with the Bulldogs in 2000, and returned to the school ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Advertisement
[Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem is back: Enter for a shot to win up to $50K]
“After taking some time to reflect following the end of the season, I have decided that the time has come for me to step away from the sidelines,” Matta said in a statement. “The love my wife, my daughters and I have for Butler is what brought us back four years ago, and it feels especially meaningful that I conclude my coaching career here. Butler has always meant more to us than just basketball—and that connection is why I’m grateful to continue working with the University and offering my help in any way I can. My commitment to Butler and to the future of this program remains as strong as ever. I want this program to compete at the highest levels of the Big East and national landscape, and I am excited to be part of what we continue to build here.”
Butler went 16-16 in 2025-26 and was 63-69 in his final four seasons at the school. He will continue to remain employed by the university in an administrative capacity.
Matta was out of coaching for five seasons before returning to Butler. He stepped down after a successful 13-year run at Ohio State in the spring of 2017 because of health issues. The Buckeyes went 337-123 in his time at the school and made two Final Fours.
The first came in 2007, when Ohio State won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles. The Greg Oden-led Buckeyes beat Georgetown to advance to the national title game but fell 84-75 to Florida as the Gators won back-to-back championships.
Advertisement
The Buckeyes got back to the Final Four five years later as a No. 2 seed before losing 64-62 to Kansas in the semifinals. Ohio State won at least 20 games in each of Matta’s first 12 seasons before dropping to 17-15 in his final season at the school.
He came to Ohio State from Xavier, where the Musketeers won 26 games in each of his three seasons in Cincinnati. In his final season in 2004, Xavier made a run to the Elite Eight as a No. 7 seed, taking down No. 2 Mississippi State and No. 3 Texas before losing by three to No. 1 Duke.
Matta retires with a career record of 502-223 in 21 seasons as a head coach. His 500th win came on Feb. 18 against Georgetown.