Grand Valley State football's Matt Mitchell hired by Wisconsin as special teams coordinator
Wisconsin football’s hiring of Luke Fickell as head coach is dropping some ripples into the Division II pond as well, as Grand Valley State will be looking for a new head coach.
The Badgers have hired Matt Mitchell as special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Mitchell led the Lakers to a 12-1 record and the GLIAC title this season, including a win over rival Ferris State in October. But Ferris State got its revenge, defeating GVSU in the rematch in the quarterfinals of the NCAA playoffs in early December, en route to the Bulldogs' second consecutive national title. Mitchell went 117-31 over 12 seasons (spanning 13 years) with the Lakers.
BULLDOGS REIGN:Ferris State football beats Colorado School of Mines, 41-14, for 2nd straight NCAA title
WAYNE STATE:Paul Winters no longer head coach after 19 years
His departure marks the fourth coaching change in the seven-team GLIAC this offseason. Wayne State fired longtime coach Paul Winters, who coached 19 years at the school, in December after a 1-9 record and winless run in the conference. Northern Michigan hired alumnus Shane Richardson late last month to replace Kyle Nystrom, who resigned in November. And Michigan Tech fired Steve Olson in late November, promoting offensive coordinator Dan Mettlach to the top job.
Mitchell was elevated from the Lakers’ coaching staff when Chuck Martin was hired as an assistant at Notre Dame. Previously, Mitchell served as GVSU’s defensive coordinator from 2008-09 and the linebackers coach from 2004-07.
In 2010, Mitchell was hired as GVSU head coach by his father-in-law, Tim Selgo, the longtime GVSU athletic director, though Mitchell downplayed any thoughts of favoritism to the Free Press: “I was here coaching, and I was on staffs that won national championships long before I ever met my wife. … My track record speaks for itself. … When people talk about that relationship, they always want to put it in context of what's going to happen if I fail. Well, that's not the plan.”
The 2022 conference title was Mitchell’s third at GVSU, with the others coming in 2010 (his first season) and 2016. He led GVSU to seven NCAA berths, reaching the semifinals in 2013 and 2015.
Mitchell should enjoy at least some of the perks of coaching at a Power Five school. As he noted to the Free Press when he was hired, Division I schools have some baked-in advantages over their Division II brethren: "The big boys got 85 (scholarships). In some ways, I think it's more different for us to offer scholarships than it is at that level. There, you get everything paid for or you get nothing paid for. We've got 36 scholarships and there are very few, if any, guys on our roster receiving full aid. It's like a salary cap. We're not the Yankees."
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GVSU football's Matt Mitchell hired by Wisconsin as special teams boss
