Butler hires Thad Matta as new head basketball coach

Thad Matta has not coached since he was with Ohio State in 2017, but he has officially landed a new job.

Butler has named Matta its new head basketball coach. The school announced the news on Sunday.

Matta has a long history with Butler. He played for the Bulldogs from 1987-90. He then spent two separate stints as an assistant coach with the program before a lone season as head coach in 2000-01. Matta led Butler to the second round of the NCAA Tournament that year before leaving to take the head coaching job at Xavier.

Matta, 54, was most recently the head coach at Ohio State from 2004-17. He was linked to the Indiana job last year in what turned into a bit of a bizarre situation.

Butler has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2018. Former head coach LaVall Jordan was fired after a 10-15 season this year.