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| By Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com |
Matt Walker, the head coach of the reigning Division III football national champion UW-River Falls Falcons, has been named head football coach at Drake, their athletic director announced February 22.
Drake is a Division I FCS non-scholarship program and competes in the Pioneer Football League along with schools such as St. Thomas (Minn.), Valparaiso, Butler and Dayton.
Jake Wissing was formally named interim head coach at UW-River Falls on Monday morning. It is generally understood that offensive coordinator Joe Matheson is going with Walker to Drake.
"I ... want to thank the town of River Falls, Wisconsin, the UWRF athletic department, and the Falcons' current players and staff," Walker said. "There will always be a piece of my heart there and I cannot wait to be their biggest fan under the leadership of Jake Wissing, who was with me all 15 years. He will do amazing things and I cannot wait to follow them on their quest for another national title."
"I would like to thank Coach Walker for his commitment to Falcon athletics and the football program," said Crystal Lanning, UWRF athletics director. "Over the past 15 years, he worked tirelessly to improve all areas of the program including the team culture, academic performance, and on-field competitiveness. He created a culture of pride and excellence within the team, and reengaged generations of Falcon alumni. I truly wish Coach Walker and his family all the best as he pursues a new professional opportunity. He will be greatly missed by the UWRF and River Falls community."
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 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.
"We are thrilled to welcome Matt Walker and his family to Drake and Des Moines," Drake athletic director Brian Hardin said. "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 games, 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 more than 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.
"I am extremely honored and feel blessed to be given the opportunity to become a part of the Drake Family," Walker said. "I want to thank athletics director Brian Hardin, and senior associate athletics director Jay Brummel for their hard work and belief in me to guide this program. 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. My heart goes out to these players [here at Drake] having to go through another coaching change. 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."