PORTLAND, OR – MARCH 19: Head coach Thad Matta of Ohio State Buckeyes looks on as the Ohio State Buckeyes play the Virginia Commonwealth Rams in the first half during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2015 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
NCAABy Reice Shipley on

Longtime Ohio State head coach Thad Matta has not coached a college basketball game since the 2016-17 season, citing health reasons at the time for his resignation.

Matta was long revered as one of the best coaches in college basketball but his long absence had many people thinking that he is officially done with coaching. It appears that isn’t the case with a report on Sunday that shocked the college basketball world.

Butler University has announced that they have agreed to a deal with Matta as their next head coach.

Matta has deep ties with the Butler program, starting his head coaching career there in 2000, as well as playing at the school from 1987 to 1990. His one season as head coach for Butler was extremely successful, finishing 24-8 and making the NCAA Tournament. He left to become head coach at Xavier before taking the Ohio State job.

This news has many eager to see how Matta will adjust to the very different landscape that college basketball has become since his departure.

Matta will seemingly have his hands full in his return to Butler. The program has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2017, and struggled this past season, finishing just 14-19.

Regardless, this is a huge hire for Butler, who will look to return to prominence under the veteran head coach. It will be interesting to monitor the Bulldogs in the coming years, as the state of college basketball is far different than how Matta left it, given the implementation of the transfer portal and the growth of NIL deals.

[Butler University]

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

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