North Central College announced the hiring of Ed Mathey '86 as the
new head baseball coach. Mathey's return to North Central is
his second stint with the Cardinal program, previously guiding the
team to three College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW)
Championships over his nine-year tenure from 1994-2002. The former
head coach, John Fitzgerald led the Cardinals
to a 27-15 record in 2014.
"We wanted to do what was best for the baseball program both in
the short term and in the long run," said North Central athletic
director Jim Miller. "Ed Mathey is an alum of North Central,
he played in the program, he was on the coaching staff of six of
our seven teams that have qualified for the Regional Championship
and was a three-time CCIW Coach of the Year.
"We all want to see the program be successful, we feel like we
have the right infrastructure as far as facilities and location to
be successful so bringing Ed aboard was a perfect match."
As a collegiate athlete, Mathey was a four-year member of the
North Central baseball program and earned First Team All-CCIW
accolades as a pitcher his junior season. After graduating in
1986 with a bachelor's degree in marketing and management, he later
completed his master's degree in athletic administration from the
University of Illinois in 1991.
Mathey has totaled 499 victories over his 21 years as a collegiate
head coach and returns to North Central after serving as head coach
at NCAA Division I Northern Illinois University for the past 12
seasons, guiding the Huskies to a Mid-American Conference (MAC)
West Division Championship in 2013, the first in program history,
while leaving his mark on the program as the all-time winningest
coach amassing 294 victories. Mathey holds the four
winningest seasons in program history and is the only head coach to
eclipse the 30-win plateau during a single season, doing so four
times throughout his tenure, including a pair of 34-win seasons in
2003 and 2007. Over his career, Mathey has produced 59
all-conference selections, 34 professional players, 20 all-region
selections, 11 Major League Baseball draft picks and eight
All-Americans.
"Having spent the last 12 years as a Division I coach at Northern
Illinois, he continually scheduled his non-conference games against
some of the nation's powerhouse programs," said Miller. "He
has had success in the MAC, he is the all-time winningest coach in
their program's history and we both feel he is a better coach now
than when he left in 2002."
Returning to the helm he held for nine seasons, Mathey remains
North Central's second-winningest head coach, totaling 205
victories while guiding the Cardinals to 20-win seasons in seven of
his nine campaigns. Mathey led the team to CCIW Championships
in 1994, 1996 and 1998 while finishing runner-up in each of the
1995 and 2001 seasons. He qualified his team for the NCAA
Central Regional twice, finishing runner-up in 1998 and finishing
15th in the final national rankings.
"It's probably the one school in the region that I could envision
myself being," said Mathey. "It's home to me and North
Central will always be in my blood. Having played here, becoming an
assistant and having my first head coaching opportunity here, it's
an exciting time. I'm anticipating getting to campus and
getting to work. Jim Miller, Sue Kane, Marty Sauer and
President Troy Hammond were outstanding throughout this entire
process. They are a group of quality individuals and I look
forward to the opportunity to work with them.
"My family has also been extremely supportive throughout this
process, especially my wife Colleen. My three children
Patrick, Michael and Juliet were all under the age of six when we
were here before and now they are in their own college searches,
but we are all excited about the transition back to North
Central."
With many years' experience in the CCIW, Mathey has always had a
passion for the conference, following from afar and staying in
touch with a few opposing head coaches. He is well aware of
the challenges that come with coaching in the CCIW and is looking
forward to getting to work immediately.
"The CCIW is a great conference and it's going to be a challenge,"
said Mathey. "There are some great teams and some great
coaches in the conference, but it will start with our team coming
to work every day and trying to improve as baseball players.
We're going to need to get out and recruit the right kinds of
student-athletes for our program and I'm looking forward to that
opportunity with my coaching staff."
Before his first tenure as head coach, Mathey spent five seasons
as pitching coach under North Central's all-time winningest coach,
the late Tom Purcell '74, from 1989-93. Prior to his role with
North Central, Mathey worked as a scout for the Cincinnati
Reds.