Matthew John Entz (born October 9, 1972) is an American college football coach. He is the head coach at Fresno State. He was the head football coach at North Dakota State University from 2019 to 2023. Entz took over from the departing Chris Klieman after Klieman led the 2018 North Dakota State Bison football team to the program's seventh NCAA Division I Football Championship in eight seasons. Entz was the defensive coordinator for the Bison from 2014 until his promotion following the 2018 season. He was the linebackers coach and assistant head coach for defense at the University of Southern California for the 2024 season.
 Entz in 2019 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Fresno State |
| Conference | MW |
| Record | 0–0 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | October 9, 1972 Waterloo, Iowa, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Wartburg College (1995) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1998 | Illinois College (DC) |
| 1999–2001 | Wayne State (NE) (AHC/LB) |
| 2002–2009 | Winona State (AHC/DC/LB) |
| 2010–2011 | Northern Iowa (DL) |
| 2012 | Northern Iowa (DC) |
| 2013 | Western Illinois (AHC/DC/DL) |
| 2014–2018 | North Dakota State (DC/LB) |
| 2019–2023 | North Dakota State |
| 2024 | USC (AHC/LB) |
| 2025–present | Fresno State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 60–11 |
| Tournaments | 15–3 (NCAA D-I playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 NCAA Division I (2019, 2021) 2 MVFC (2019, 2021) | |
| Awards | |
| 2× MVFC Coach of the Year (2019, 2021) 2x AFCA FCS Coach of the Year (2019, 2021) 3× AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year (2019–2021) | |
Coaching career
editNorth Dakota State
editIn 2014, Entz left Western Illinois to join Chris Klieman at North Dakota State University as defensive coordinator, a position he held for five seasons. In 2018, Klieman was hired as head coach of Kansas State and Entz was named the new head coach to replace him. During his five-season tenure at head coach at North Dakota State, Entz led the football program to the playoffs in all five years, ending in two national championships, a runner-up finish, along with a semifinal and quarterfinal appearances. His overall record was 60–11 with a 15–3 playoff record.
USC
editOn December 10, 2023, Entz was named assistant head coach for defense and linebackers coach at the University of Southern California (USC).[1] He remained at NDSU for the remainder of the 2023 playoff run which ended the next Saturday at Montana in the FCS semifinals.
Fresno State
editOn December 4, 2024, Entz was named head coach at Fresno State.[2]
Personal life
editEntz and his wife, Brenda, have two sons: Kellen and Konner.[3] Entz is a Christian.[4]
Entz earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Wartburg College in 1995 and a master's degree in education and exercise science from Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska in 1998.[3]
Head coaching record
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | STATS# | Coaches° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State Bison (Missouri Valley Football Conference) (2019–2023) | |||||||||
| 2019 | North Dakota State | 16–0 | 8–0 | 1st | W NCAA Division I Championship | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | North Dakota State | 7–3 | 5–2 | 4th | L NCAA Division I Quarterfinal | 6 | 7 | ||
| 2021 | North Dakota State | 14–1 | 7–1 | 1st | W NCAA Division I Championship | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2022 | North Dakota State | 12–3 | 7–1 | 2nd | L NCAA Division I Championship | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2023 | North Dakota State | 11–4 | 5–3 | T–3rd | L NCAA Division I Semifinal | 3 | 3 | ||
| North Dakota State: | 60–11 | 32–7 | |||||||
| Fresno State Bulldogs (Mountain West Conference) (2025–present) | |||||||||
| 2025 | Fresno State | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Fresno State: | 0–0 | 0–0 | |||||||
| Total: | 60–11 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Matt Entz Named USC Football Assistant Head Coach for Defense / Linebackers Coach".
- ^ https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/42776662/sources-fresno-state-working-hiring-usc-matt-entz
- ^ a b "MATT ENTZ". Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ Entz, Matt; Hager, Tom. "Keep Swinging". Athletes For God. Retrieved November 15, 2020.