AUDIO: MWSU AD Kurt McGuffin discusses the hire
ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western State University director of athletics Kurt McGuffin announced Monday that Matt Williamson has been named the sixth head football coach in Missouri Western history.
Matt Williamson is a 1996 Missouri Western graduate who is very familiar with Griffon Football and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). He began his coaching career at Missouri Western in 1997 as a graduate assistant and returned to his alma mater in 2000 as a defensive line coach before becoming defensive coordinator in 2005, a position he held for two seasons. Since leaving Missouri Western, Williamson spent 10 seasons at the Division I level, most recently serving as defensive coordinator at Stephen F. Austin University.
“We’re very happy to see Matt come home,” McGuffin said. “Clearly, Matt is familiar with Missouri Western, the region and the MIAA, which is a very important foundation to have as a head coach in this league. Matt will also bring a wealth of knowledge from coaching experiences outside this conference and at various levels of NCAA football.”
A press conference introducing Williamson will be held Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 11 a.m. in the KCP&L Theater inside the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex.
“It’s a blessing, an honor, to be selected as the new head coach at one of the top Division II programs in the country,” Williamson said. “I’m looking forward to getting back on campus and back to St. Joseph. In the last 11 years, there hasn’t been a day when I didn’t think about Missouri Western. This university and this community are going to get every ounce of energy I have. I’m fired up, and I’m ready to go.”
In three seasons as defensive coordinator at Stephen F. Austin, Williamson had the Lumberjack defense among the top of the Southland Conference in rushing and scoring defense. In his first year at SFA, Williamson guided a turnaround of the defensive unit, giving up 21 fewer points per game and 120 fewer yards per game than the 2013 SFA defense.
Prior to his stint at Stephen F. Austin, Williamson was defensive coordinator at the University of Central Arkansas during the 2010-13 seasons after serving as defensive line coach and special teams coordinator for three seasons. Williamson’s UCA defenses led the Southland Conference in scoring defense three-straight seasons.
After serving two seasons as a defensive graduate assistant at MWSU, Williamson spent one season as defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Arkansas-Monticello.
The three-time All-MIAA defensive lineman was named honorable mention Don Hansen All-American for the Griffons in 1995.
— MWSU Athletics —