DeKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University Head Baseball Coach Ed Mathey has resigned his position with the school after 12 years at the helm of the Huskie program, NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier announced Thursday.
Mathey will become head coach at North Central College in Naperville, the position he held prior to coming to NIU in 2003.
Frazier thanked Mathey for his years of service to NIU and said the Huskies will immediately begin a national search for a new coach to lead the program.
“Coach Mathey’s dedication to NIU and to building this program the right way will be missed,” Frazier said. “We thank him for his many years of leadership and wish him continued success in his new position.
“I want to assure our current baseball student-athletes and parents, our incoming class as well as our letterwinners, alumni and friends of the program that we will work hard, and we will work comprehensively, to find the right coach for NIU. Thanks to Coach Mathey, the Huskie baseball program is positioned for success, and we will continue to move the program forward in all areas in the future.”
NIU Senior Associate Athletic Director John Cheney, the Huskies’ sport administrator for baseball, will lead the search.
Mathey, NIU’s all-time leader in wins, compiled a record of 294-371-2 in his tenure with the Huskies, which included the 2013 Mid-American Conference West Division Championship. He had the four highest single season win totals in school history, led by the 2003 and 2007 squads that each won 34 games.
“For me it’s bittersweet to leave a place that has meant so much to me, a place where over the past 12-plus years, I have met a lot of great people and made friendships I will take with me,” Mathey said. “I’m proud of what we accomplished in the program, and feel good about the respect we’ve helped build for Northern Illinois Baseball in the MAC, in the region and nationally.”
NIU, which opens the 2015 season February 13 in Tennessee, returns 18 letterwinners and seven position starters from last season’s team, which posted a 17-36-1 overall record.
