Biography
he 2013 season will be Allegheny head football coach Mark Matlak's 12th at the helm of the Gator program. Matlak ranks second on Allegheny's career win list, with an overall record of 61-50, while his squads have posted a 45-30 (.600) mark against North Coast Athletic Conference foes.
The 2012 Gators finished 5-5 overall (4-3 NCAC), marking the 30th time in the past 33 seasons in which the club finished at or above the .500 mark. The 2012 season also saw a pair of landmark wins for the Gators. On September 22, Allegheny traveled to Wabash, a concensus top-10 team at the time, and handed the little Giants their first home defeat in nearly three seasons. The Gators also made history in the season finale, blanking Hiram 13-0 to become just the 35th program in NCAA Division III to win 500 games. Following the season, eight Allegheny players earned All-NCAC honors, including a pair of First Team selections in safety Colin Hartford and linebacker Bill Devlin.
In 2011, the Gators again finished with a 5-5 overall mark, while a number of players took home individual postseason honors. Senior tackle Sam Taylor earned Allegheny's first All-America honor in nine years at the end of the year, while two other players earned All-Region plaudits and a total of nine players were named to the NCAC All-Conference teams.
In 2010, Matlak maneuvered Allegheny to a 7-3 overall record with all three losses coming against teams ranked in the national polls. On homecoming, the Gators' endured an emotional three-point loss against nationally-ranked No. 5 Wittenberg while the team suffered another heartbreaker with a one-point overtime loss at No. 18 Case Western Reserve on a blocked extra point. Despite the setbacks, the team still enjoyed another strong season under Matlak's tutelage. The accolades for the campaign included an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, an ESPN First Team Academic All-America, two All-Region performers, and 11 All-Conference honors.
A new chapter in Allegheny College football began when Matlak was introduced as the Gators’ 33rd head football coach in 2002. Matlak mentored Allegheny to a 5-5 record in his first season before guiding the Gators to a 7-4 mark and the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship in 2003. In 2003, Matlak turned around a 0-3 start with a perfect 7-0 conference record and an appearance in the NCAA Playoffs. Matlak was named the NCAC Coach of the Year for his work in leading the Gators to their ninth conference title.
The Gators continued their success in 2004, powering to their 19th consecutive winning season in the conference. The following year, Allegheny’s streak was snapped despite out-scoring its opponents by an average of 11 points per game. In 2006, the squad rebounded with another winning season despite falling to two eventual NCAA Tournament teams. In 2007, the Gators continued their winning culture as the team finished .500 or better for the 24th time in the 27 seasons that Allegheny has been a member of the North Coast Athletic Conference.
Matlak made his coaching debut at Allegheny as an assistant under former head coach Sam Timer. He served for five seasons, from 1978-82, before accepting a position at the University of New Hampshire.
Matlak’s career with the Wildcats began as defensive ends coach, mentoring such players as Ilia Jarostchuk who played with the New England Patriots. Following his promotion to defensive coordinator, the Wildcats posted a 13-year record of 82-59-1, winning Yankee Conference Championships in 1991, 1994 and 1996. Matlak coached four All-Americans during his tenure and also landed two athletes on the Yankee Conference 50th anniversary all-time team in 1996. In 2000, Matlak was named the Assistant Coach of the Year by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston.
While at New Hampshire, Matlak coached five players and recruited four others who were drafted by an NFL team or were signed as rookie free agents, including Jerry Azumah, who won the 1998 Walter Payton Award, given annually to the best player in Division I-AA football.
Before beginning his legacy as one of the region’s top educators and coaches, Matlak was an outstanding competitor at the college level. The 1978 Allegheny graduate was a four-year letterwinner at fullback, earning first-team All-Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC) honors for three years while earning plaudits as the conference’s Offensive Most Valuable Player award in 1977. Matlak’s name was etched throughout Allegheny’s record books upon graduation, including as the second-leading career rusher in school history with 2,382 yards, a mark that currently ranks eighth. He was later recognized on the gridiron by being named to the All-Time PAC team as a fullback. At the close of his undergarduate career, Matlak also ranked second in career scoring (186 points) and third in rushing touchdowns (28). Matlak was also a four-year starter for Allegheny’s baseball team.
Matlak’s athletic prowess and contributions toward the development of the Gators’ intercollegiate program was fully recognized in 1989, when he was inducted into the Allegheny College Athletic Hall of Fame.
