Matt Ward, MLS, M.A.

Education

B.S. in Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies from the University of Minnesota
PBACC in Innovation Studies from the University of Minnesota
MLS from the University of Minnesota
M.A. in Sport Management from Minnesota State University-Mankato

About Matt

Matt Ward was named the men’s and women’s golf coach in Spring 2022 when the University of New Haven announced the return of men’s golf and the beginning of women’s golf as the 19th and 20th varsity sports in program history.

Ward comes to West Haven with more than 20 years experience in the golf industry, including seven years as a collegiate head coach. He will make his east coast debut at New Haven after spending the last two seasons building a first time program at San Diego Christian College in Santee, Calif.

"I'm Excited," exclaimed Ward. "This is going to be a fun challenge to start both programs at New Haven. I look forward to getting in and hitting the ground running as we look to launch for the fall. I am thankful for Dr. Zenger, Jon (Mays) and the rest of the committee and honored that they chose me to take the reins."

Prior to SDCC, Ward spent the 2018-19 season at Texas A&M Commerce where he led the men's program to back-to-back tournament wins in the spring and the women's program to 20-straight Top-five tournament finishes as well as mentoring the Lone Star Conference Player of the Year – Sarah Wongsinth.

For four years prior to that, Ward was the head coach at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colo., where he placed the No. 1 player in the West/South Central Super Regional Tournament in back-to-back seasons. In his final three seasons at Colorado Mesa, he improved the team tournament stroke scoring by 48 strokes.

Matt earned his Bachelor of Science (’98) in Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies, Post-Baccalaureate Certificate (’05) in Innovation Studies, and Master of Liberal Studies (’06) from the University of Minnesota and has also earned a Master of Arts (’16) in Sport Management from Minnesota State University-Mankato.

Matt was a member of the faculty at Colorado Mesa University (’14-’18) and San Diego Christian College (’20-’22) prior to his time at the University of New Haven. His teaching experience includes courses in Sport Management, Kinesiology, and Business Management.