(Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
Today, Thad Matta held a press conference to announce that he would be retiring immediately as the men’s basketball coach at Ohio State University.
Matta is only 49-years-old, which is absolutely shocking news to me. I would’ve bet my bottom dollar that he was at least 60, but Matta has battled health problems since having a botched back surgery in 2007.
Despite having also held head coaching gigs at Butler (2000-2001) and Xavier (2001-2004), Matta is most well-known for his tenure with the Buckeyes. From 2004-2017, he called the shots for Ohio State’s men’s basketball program, posting a 337-123 record overall and a 150-78 record in Big Ten play.
Ohio State missed the NCAA Tournament each of the past two years, but they made it to March Madness nine times under Matta’s guidance, including a trip to the National Championship in 2007 and the Final Four in 2012. Matta won five Big Ten regular-season titles and four Big Ten conference championships, which will give Ohio State some extremely big shoes to fill.
