MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama Director of Athletics Dr. Joel Erdmann announced Thursday that Matt Luther has been named head women's golf coach.
Luther takes over the Jaguar program after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Oklahoma; he also brings experience as a head coach, a club professional, and as a player on both the collegiate and professional levels.
"Matt's professional experience and personal intangibles paved the way for him to take on the leadership role as our head coach," stated Erdmann. "He has demonstrated success as a coach, a recruiter and a teacher of the game. His strong energy and desire to develop student-athletes on and off the course makes us look forward to the future and the progression of the program."
"I'm very excited about this opportunity," Luther said. "The athletic department is absolutely moving in the right direction, and the men's team has had some success. I think the women's program is in just as good if not a better position to have a lot of long-term success."
In two seasons with the Sooners, Luther helped the team to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships — the program's best-ever result at the event — after claiming the Big XII championship in 2014 as well as a top-10 finish at the NCAA San Antonio Regional this spring. Three OU student-athletes earned honorable mention All-America distinction his first season with the team, while a total of four have picked up all-league honors including the 2014 Freshman of the Year.
Luther was the head men's and women's coach at St. Thomas (Texas) the previous two years. Taking over a program that had been dormant for 25 years, he guided the Celt men's squad to two titles including the Red River Athletic Conference championship as UST would go on to place 12th at the NAIA national championship. Three players from the women's squad would earn top-five finishes individually that spring as well.
While a volunteer at Houston Baptist during the 2010-11 campaign, Luther helped the Huskies' women's team claim the Great West Conference title with a wire-to-wire victory as four of the team's five players finished among the top eight individually. Following the season, seven members of the squad received first- or second-team all-conference accolades with the program having both the league's player and newcomer of the year.
Prior to entering the collegiate ranks, Luther served as the assistant golf professional at The Woodlands Country Club from 2006-08 and the Royal Oaks Country Club from 2008-11.
"I've seen college golf at every level, from the very top to the bottom where you are just trying to field a team. I've had the opportunity to see how the best players in the country look week to week," Luther commented. "I've been in charge and served as an assistant, so I've seen every side of the coin. Doing both will definitely have a positive effect on what I will do at South Alabama."
He was a two-year letterwinner at St. Edward's (Texas), serving as team captain his senior year as the Hilltoppers achieved a top-20 ranking in the NCAA Division II poll. Luther earned his business administration degree from the school in 2004, going on to compete in numerous tournaments professionally in the Southern Texas Section of the PGA of America.
Luther is a member of the Professional Golfers Association of America and is also a Titleist Performance Institute certified golf fitness instructor.
He takes over a program that earned its lone Sun Belt Conference title in 1997. Last season the Jaguars finished sixth at the league championship.
"My goal as a coach is to make players better every day, everything else takes care of itself," explained Luther. "I think we can win the Sun Belt Conference, though I don't know how quickly we can do it. I've started a program from scratch where we set out to make our players better every day, and two years later we won our conference. If I can make players better than we are going to be really successful; that's the way I approach things."
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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