ALLENDALE, Mich. – Grand Valley State University’s head football coach Matt Mitchell is leaving to join the staff of the Wisconsin Badgers.
The west Michigan D-2 football team has announced that their head coach has stepped down. The school made the announcement on Sunday night, saying that the now-former coach of the Lakers will be pursuing other coaching opportunities.
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According to senior ESPN reporter Pete Thamel, Mitchell was hired to be the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach at Wisconsin.
Sources: Wisconsin is hiring Grand Valley State head coach Matt Mitchell as the school’s new special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach. Mitchell has a career record of 117-31 in 12 seasons at Grand Valley, a Division II school in Michigan.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 15, 2023
Mitchell coached at GVSU for 19 years, helping guide the Lakers to the 2022 GLIAC Championship, and got the team to a No. 1 ranking in the AFCA and D2 football national polls.
He was head coach for 13 years and an assistant coach for six years. During his time in Allendale, he coached in three NCAA DII Championship games, six NCAA semifinals, and 11 NCAA quarterfinals.
“Grand Valley State is a special place, and I built so many wonderful relationships with our players, current and former, our coaching staff, the athletics administration, the football alumni, and within the University. It was an honor to recruit and lead the young men that put so much time and effort into the culture that is Grand Valley State football,” Mitchell said in a statement.
Before joining GVSU, Mitchell was an assistant coach at Wartburg College in Iowa for four years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and secondary education from Cornell College in Iowa and graduated in 1997.
Grand Valley State University will be looking for a new head coach for the Lakers immediately.
Below are a few tweets from Lakers football players showing appreciation for Mitchell and his leadership:
Couldn’t have asked for a better leader, better mentor, or better man as my head coach for the last 5 years. Will forever be grateful for the opportunity that I had to play for this man. https://t.co/KBJ4PbgGk3
— Seth Hoonhorst⚓️ (@seth_hoonhorst) January 15, 2023
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard”. Damn this one hurts but truly will forever be grateful for this man and the things he has instilled in me. Love you coach ❤️ https://t.co/MIE0irqUnM
— Kyler Blake-Jones (KBJ) (@blakejok) January 15, 2023
Learned many great LIFE lessons from @CoachMitchGVSU! Forever grateful To have him as my head football coach for the past 2 years. He has helped me transform into a much better football player and person! https://t.co/B1P8PXEEOW
— jimmy downs (@jimmydowns8) January 15, 2023
Beyond BLESSED to have @CoachMitchGVSU as my Head Coach for the past 4 years. Taught me so many things about the game and Life. Will ride or die for this man! Good luck coach! You deserve this! https://t.co/bHe8XxrDn6
— Matthew Centers (@CoachCenters) January 15, 2023