The Drake Bulldogs have named Matt Walker as head coach. Walker spent 15 years as the head coach at NCAA Division III University of Wisconsin-River Falls, which culminated in a National Championship in 2025.
Walker played football and baseball at DePauw University in Indiana from 1997 through 1999. He joined DePauw’s staff in 2000 as the running backs and wide receivers coach for six seasons. In 2006, he was elevated to head coach at DePauw, leading the Tigers to a winning record in his three seasons. Walker went 22-8 overall and 13-7 in the SCAC from 2006 through 2008. In 2010, he took the tight ends coaching position at Butler.
In 2011, he was named head coach at UW-River Falls. It was a slow start for the Falcons under Walker, going a combined 6-34 in his first four seasons. From 2015 through 2017, UWRF went 4-6 each season, but fell to 3-7 in 2018 and 2-8 in 2019. The team did not compete during the 2020-21 COVID-impacted season, but the program turned around starting after that. In fall 2021, UWRF went 9-2 overall and won the Isthmus Bowl for its first winning season under Walker. The team went 7-4 in 2022 and won the Isthmus Bowl once again.
After a pair of 7-3 seasons in 2023 and 2024, the Falcons finally broke through in the WIAC. The Falcons won their first conference title since 1998 and their first outright title since 1985. The team had gone 1-2 in D-III playoff appearances in 1995 and 1996, but 2025 would turn out to be the best season in program history. The Falcons won the NCAA Division III Championship, defeating Johns Hopkins in the semifinals and D-III power North Central (Illinois) in the title game. Walker went 67-80 overall and 39-59 in WIAC games at UWRF. For his career, he is 89-88 overall and 52-66 in conference games. Walker’s final five years at UWRF produced a 44-13 overall record.
Walker will become the third head coach at Drake in as many years. Todd Stepsis led Drake from 2019 through 2024, winning the PFL title in 2023 and 2024. He departed after the 2024 season to take the job at Northern Iowa. In 2025, Joe Woodley joined Drake after winning a title with the NAIA’s Grand View Vikings. He continued Drake’s PFL dominance, leading the team to a third straight PFL title. Woodley departed to join Rutgers as an assistant coach. Walker will look extend Drake’s PFL conference title streak to four when it starts the 2026 season at home against NCAA Division II South Dakota Mines on Saturday, August 29.
Photo Credit to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Athletics
