Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame
Jake Matthes
- Induction:
- 2014
- Class:
- 1991
Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field Coach, 1976-91
Matthes started the men’s cross country program in 1976 and the men’s track & field teams the following year. During his tenure as head coach, Liberty won the 1981 NCCAA men’s track & field national title, five Mason-Dixon men’s cross country championships, and eight men’s cross country regional titles.
Matthes, who coached Liberty at four different levels of competition (NCCAA, NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division I) helped 18 student-athletes at the NCCAA level earn All-America honors, four at the NAIA level, and three more as NCAA Division II competitors.
The native of Mansfield, Ohio, earned numerous coaching awards during his 15 years of coaching, including 1981 National Christian College Coach of the Year for men’s track & field and 1985 NCAA Division II South Region Coach of the Year for men’s cross country.
Matthes, who also started the women’s track & field and cross country programs in 1977, had Liberty’s outdoor track facility named after him in 1991. The facility, dubbed the Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex, pairs his name with Ron Hopkins, who took over the women’s programs shortly after Matthes helped get them off the ground.
Matthes started the men’s cross country program in 1976 and the men’s track & field teams the following year. During his tenure as head coach, Liberty won the 1981 NCCAA men’s track & field national title, five Mason-Dixon men’s cross country championships, and eight men’s cross country regional titles.
Matthes, who coached Liberty at four different levels of competition (NCCAA, NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division I) helped 18 student-athletes at the NCCAA level earn All-America honors, four at the NAIA level, and three more as NCAA Division II competitors.
The native of Mansfield, Ohio, earned numerous coaching awards during his 15 years of coaching, including 1981 National Christian College Coach of the Year for men’s track & field and 1985 NCAA Division II South Region Coach of the Year for men’s cross country.
Matthes, who also started the women’s track & field and cross country programs in 1977, had Liberty’s outdoor track facility named after him in 1991. The facility, dubbed the Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex, pairs his name with Ron Hopkins, who took over the women’s programs shortly after Matthes helped get them off the ground.
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