Football | December 10, 2023
LOS ANGELES—Matt Entz, a two-time FCS national championship winning head coach, has been named USC's assistant head coach for defense/linebackers coach, head coach
Lincoln Riley announced today (Dec. 10).
"Having a championship-caliber staff is instrumental to the success of our team," said Riley. "By welcoming Matt Entz, a championship-winning head coach and outstanding defensive mind, we are bolstering our defensive staff. He is going to be an excellent addition to the USC football program."
Entz posted a 60-10 overall record in his 5 years (2019-23) as the head coach at North Dakota State for an impressive .857 winning percentage. He led his team to 2 NCAA Division I FCS national championships, including in his first season as the head coach.
Throughout his time at NDSU, his Bison were 32-7 (.821) in league play and won two Missouri Valley Football Conference championships.
Entz was named the FCS National Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2021 by the American Football Coaches Association. He is a two-time finalist for the Stats Perform Eddie Robinson Award, presented to the FCS National Coach of the Year as selected by a national media panel, and he is a two-time recipient of the Bruce Craddock MVFC Coach of the Year award. Additionally, he was also named the 2019, 2020 and 2021 AFCA FCS Region 4 Coach of the Year.
Entz became the first Division I head football coach to go 16-0 in his first full season at the helm, defeating James Madison 28-20 to win the 2019 Division I FCS national Championship. The 2019 Bison became the first modern-era college football team in any division to finish a season 16-0, joining the 1894 Yale Bulldogs as the only 16-0 teams in college football history.
North Dakota State completed the 2019 season with an FCS-record 37-game winning streak (beginning in the 2017 season). The streak extended to 39 games in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is the third longest winning streak in Division I football history.
The 2020 Bison posted a 7-3 overall record and a 5-2 MVFC record, falling in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.
Entz led the 2021 squad to NDSU's ninth FCS national championship in program history by defeating Montana State 38-10 and recording a 14-1 overall season record.
In 2022, the Bison once again reached the FCS Division I national championship game, but fell to South Dakota State. They recorded a 12-3 overall record and a 7-1 MVFC record.
In 2023, Entz has led the Bison to an 11-3 overall record (5-3 in MVFC play). The team is currently slated to face Montana in the Division I FCS semifinal on Dec. 16. Entz will remain the head coach of NDSU as the team pursues its third national title with him at the helm.
As head coach of NDSU, Entz tutored 8 NFL draft picks, including the 2021 No. 3 overall pick, QB Trey Lance. He also had 20 players earn All-American honors between 2019-22.
Prior to being named head coach, Entz was NDSU's defensive coordinator for 5 seasons (2014-18). He was named the 2018 FCS Coordinator of the Year and was a finalist for the award 3 times. He led a Bison defense that allowed less than 14 points per game over his 5 seasons as the defensive coordinator and consistently ranked in the top 5 of FCS in scoring defense and total defense. NDSU had eight FCS All-American honorees on defense during his 5 seasons as defensive coordinator, including linebackers MJ Stumpf, Nick DeLuca and Jabril Cox.
Prior to arriving at NDSU, Entz served as the associate head coach, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Western Illinois in 2013. Under his tutelage, LB Kevin Kintzel still holds the program's all-time defensive scoring record with 18 INTs and 3 defensive TDs. The Leathernecks led the MVFC in passing defense (149.0) and opponent first downs (16.2).
Entz spent the previous 3 years (2010-12) at Northern Iowa. He was named defensive line coach in 2010 and assumed defensive coordinator duties in 2012. UNI placed first in the MVFC in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, DL Ben Boothby earned AP and AFCA FCS All-American First Team honors and was also a two-time All-MVFC First Team honoree (2010 and 2011).
Entz was the defensive coordinator from 2002 to 2009 at Winona State, where he was promoted to associate head coach in 2003 and was with the defensive line for 3 years before becoming linebackers coach in 2005. He was named the AFCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year in 2008.
Prior to that, Entz was the assistant head football coach and linebackers coach at Wayne (Neb.) State from 1999 to 2001 and the defensive coordinator at Illinois College in 1998. He holds certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association and served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach during his time at Wayne State.
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 (Neb.) State College in 1998.
He and his wife, Brenda, have two sons, Kellen and Konner.
Entz's hiring is contingent upon completion of a successful University background screening.
