Matt Doherty

Matt Doherty (born February 25, 1962)

Teams coached: Notre Dame Fighting Irish, North Carolina Tar Heels, Florida Atlantic Owls, SMU Mustangs
Notre Dame record: 22-15 (.595)
North Carolina record: 53-43 (.552)
Florida Atlantic record: 15-13 (.536)
SMU record: 80-109 (.423)
Overall record: 170-180 (.486)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  1  (2001)
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0  (Runner-up in 2000)
  • NIT Appearances:  2  (2000, 2003)
  • CIT Appearances:  1  (2011)
  • ACC Regular Season Champion:  (2001)

Awards:

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

2006-2012 SMU
2005-2006 Florida Atlantic
2000-2003 North Carolina
1999-2000 Notre Dame
1992-1999 Kansas (asst)
1989-1992 Davidson (asst)

Matt Doherty Facts

  • Matthew Francis Doherty
  • Born February 25, 1962
  • Hometown: East Meadow, NY
  • Alma Mater: University of North Carolina (BS, 1984)
  • Played four years at North Carolina for legendary head coach Dean Smith
    • Was a member of the 1982 NCAA Champion Tar Heels team
    • Selected 119th overall in the 1984 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers but did not play in the league
  • After several years outside of basketball, Doherty got into coaching at the AAU level in Charlotte
  • First full-time coaching job was an assistant to Bob McKillop at Davidson
  • Spent seven seasons as an assistant to fellow UNC alum Roy Williams at Kansas before getting hired at Notre Dame
  • Was head coach at Notre Dame for just one season, going 22-15 and finishing as the Runner-Up in the 2000 NIT
  • Hired as the head coach at alma mater North Carolina, replacing his former coach Smith
    • Went 53-43 in three years, making just one NCAA Tournament before getting fired in 2003 and replaced by Williams
  • Went 15-13 in one season as the head coach at Florida Atlantic before taking over at SMU in 2006
    • Was just 80-109 during his six-year tenure at SMU, leading the Mustangs to one postseason appearance (2011 CIT)
  • After being fired from SMU in March 2012, Doherty became a television analyst at ESPNU
  • Hired in August 2017 by the Atlantic 10 Conference as associate commissioner for men’s basketball
  • Along with his wife, Kelly, has one son and one daughter

Matt Doherty Coaching Tree

  • Mike Balado (Arkansas State)
  • Lance Irvin (Chicago State)
  • Steve Lutz (Western Kentucky, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)
  • Bob MacKinnon Jr. (Texas Legends, LA D-Fenders, Springfield Armor, Idaho Stampede, Colorado 14ers)
  • Rex Walters (San Francisco, Florida Atlantic)
  • Doug Wojcik (College of Charleston, Tulsa)