West Texas A&M University Athletics

A native of Andrews, Texas, Mickey Matthews was a 'blue chip' recruit as a halfback when he arrived at West Texas State in 1972.  He went on to be a four-year letterwinner for coach Gene Mayfield's Buffaloes and earned his Bachelor's in Education in 1976.
 
But it's as a coach that Matthews has earned his reputation.  Working his way through a myriad of coaching stops, including Kansas State, West Texas State, UTEP, Houston, TCU, Marshall and Georgia, Matthews finally earned the opportunity to be a head coach when he was named head coach at James Madison in 1999.
 
His record as a head coach speaks loudly.
 
Taking over a program that went 3-8 in 1998, Matthew's first squad posted an 8-4 record and earned the Atlantic-10 championship.  On a personal note, Matthews was recognized with the Eddie Robinson Award, given annually to the top head coach in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision.
 
In 2004, his Dukes won the FCS National Championship, defeating Montana, 31-21 in the Championship game. In September 2008,  James Madison defeated the University of Maine, giving Matthews his 68th career victory and making him the winningest coach in James Madison football history, and on September 10, 2010, Matthew's Dukes took a 21-16 win at 13th-ranked Virginia Tech, which at the time marked just the second time that a Division I-AA team had defeated a ranked Football Bowl Series opponent. Matthews served as the head coach at James Madison until 2013.