Former Ohio State men’s basketball coach Thad Matta is hanging up the clipboard, closing the book on one of the most successful Buckeyes coaches in history.
Matta, 58, announced on Monday that he is retiring from coaching after more than 20 seasons as a Division I head coach, a run that included a transformational 13-year tenure in Columbus. He finishes with 502 career wins, 13 NCAA tournament appearances, two Final Fours, and a trip to the 2007 national championship game with Ohio State.
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From 2004 to 2017, Matta turned the Buckeyes into a national power, leading Ohio State to five Big Ten regular-season championships and four Big Ten tournament titles while becoming the program’s all-time wins leader. Under Matta, Ohio State reached the Final Four in 2007 and 2012 and won an NIT title in 2008.
For Ohio State fans, Matta’s retirement brings an extra touch to a positive time for Buckeyes basketball. Names such as Greg Oden and Mike Conley are brought back up, as is a time when Ohio State basketball was the class of the Big Ten.
Matta finished his career at Butler, his alma mater, where he will remain as a special assistant to the president and athletic director. But in Columbus, his legacy is secure: the standard he set still defines what Ohio State basketball can and should be.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Former Ohio State coach Thad Matta’s Retirement and His Lasting legacy
