Matt Walker, a national championship head coach, two-time NCAA Division III national coach of the year, and architect of one of the most explosive offenses in college football, was named head football coach at Drake University.
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 (WIAC) 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,” 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 (NCAA Division III postseason bowl game) titles, 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 replaces Joe Woodley, who resigned to join the staff at Rutgers. Woodley led the Bulldogs to the Pioneer Football League championship in his only season as head coach.