Matt Dunn joined the IUPUI coaching staff in July 2018 after spending five years as an assistant coach at Northern Arizona. Dunn, a native of Olathe, Kan., will work primarily with the Jaguars' big men, while assisting in recruiting and practice planning.
In his first season on the Jaguars' sidelines, IUPUI's 16 wins were the program's most since a 19-win campaign in 2010-11. Included in the wins was a benchmark road win at ACC foe Boston College and a win of the Niagara Regional of the Fort Myers Tip-Off Classic during non-conference play. The Jaguars were later selected to play in the 2019 CIT, earning the program's third postseason appearance in the Division I era.
He later coached in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) during the summer of 2019, piloting the Memphis-based Team Bluff City in the sixth annual event.
Dunn was part of one of the most successful seasons in NAU history, helping the Lumberjacks register a school record 23 wins in 2014-15, including advancing to the championship game of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. That year, he was instrumental in coaching forward Jordyn Martin to Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year honors, marking the third time in school history a Lumberjack had won the award.
The year prior, Dunn helped NAU forward Max Jacobsen to Big Sky Conference Honorable Mention accolades. He also saw center Len Springs emerge as one of the best shot blockers in the Big Sky and in NAU history, registering 58 rejections on the year. Collectively, NAU led the league in rebounding defense (29.8) and was second in the conference in rebounding margin (+3.2).
Dunn worked on Josh Pastner’s staff for two seasons as the recruiting coordinator and assistant director of operations. He oversaw the Tigers’ basketball web site, www.insidememphisbasketball.com. The site provided inside glimpses into the Memphis hoops program, along with behind-the-scenes footage and messages from Pastner. Dunn also was involved with other areas of the program’s operations side.
He originally started at Memphis as the Larry O. Finch Center operations director in 2009-10.
Dunn was a member of Pastner’s staff that posted a 75-29 record with three consecutive 20-win seasons from 2009-12. During his tenure, Memphis earned made two NCAA Tournament appearances, earned an NIT berth and won a Conference USA regular season title and two Conference USA Tournament Championships.
In 2011-12, the Tigers advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, losing to St. Louis in the second round. Memphis was the only team among the top-10 rated leagues in the nation to win its conference regular season title outright and also claim the league’s tournament crown, finishing with a 26-9 overall mark.
Memphis also advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2010-11, dropping a 77-75 decision to Arizona in the second round to finish with a 25-10 record. In Dunn’s first season, the Tigers advanced to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and advanced to the second round.
Dunn began his coaching career at Miami Dade College as an assistant. In 2008-09, Dunn helped the Sharks to a 26-3 overall record and a perfect 12-0 Southern Conference mark. Miami Dade, the Southern Conference champion, reached the No. 1 spot in the state of Florida junior college rankings and finished the 2008-09 season ranked No. 3 in the national junior college poll.
While at Miami Dade, Dunn worked with the team’s post players and oversaw the team’s strength and conditioning program. Off that 2008-09 squad, seven players transferred to NCAA Division I schools, including Will Coleman (Memphis) and Trevor Mbakwe (Minnesota).
Prior to Miami Dade, Dunn worked at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa. He served as an assistant coach for the Spartans and helped lead the team to an 18-win season and a spot in the national polls.
Prior to joining the junior college ranks, Dunn coached four seasons at the high school level with two seasons each at Hays High School and Perry-LeCompton High School. While at Hays working under Coach Rick Keltner, Dunn helped lead the Indians to back-to-back sub state finals appearances and a conference crown.
Before his high school coaching career, Dunn was head coach and director of operations for the Kansas Storm Basketball Club, an AAU program aimed at assisting underprivileged student-athletes develop on the court and in the classroom.
Dunn’s past work experience includes stints with the MLS Kansas City Wizards and ABA Kansas City Knights. For the Wizards, Dunn served as an assistant to the organization’s public relations director. He was the assistant director of basketball operations and a scout for the Knights.
Dunn earned his bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Fort Hays State in 2007 and will earn his master’s degree from Concordia University Irvine in 2019.
