Matt Walker and UW-River Fall's run to capture the national title this season was one of the best stories in college football.
It capped an incredible build led by Walker and his staff that started with a few seasons that were thin on wins. After being hired to lead the program in 2011, Walker won just three games in his first three seasons. He went 1-9, then 2-8, and struggled through an 0-10 campaign in year three. A lot of administrations would have pulled the plug and started over after a winless third season, but UW-River Falls stood by Walker, and it would end up paying off in a big way.
After winning 3 games in 2014, the Falcons would hover between 2 and 4 wins through the 2019 season, but after the COVID season of 2020, everything changed for the program.
2021 saw Walker lead the River Falls program to a breakout 9-win season, and the Falcons would become a mainstay near the top of the WIAC - regarded as one of the toughest Division III leagues in the country - ever since. They would finish with 7-wins in 2022, 2023, and 2024 before a 14-1 run and national title this past fall as well as the school's first WIAC title since 1998.
Since that 2021 season, Walker posted an overall record of 44-13, ranking among the top four teams in all of Division III in total offense three times during that span. The Falcons averaged over 42 points per game over the last five seasons.
If you're lucky as a head coach, you get to leave a program better than you found it...and leave on your own terms.
Over the weekend, Walker announced he was doing both of those things.
Finishing atop all of Division III, and after developing the 2025 Gagliardi winner in quarterback Kaleb Blaha, Walker announced his resignation from the UW-River Falls head coaching job after an incredible 15-year run over the weekend.
"I'm not sure there are words to properly explain how much I love River Falls and how much I appreciate everything it has given me and my family," Walker shared in the school's release. "I've given everything I had to UWRF and feel good about leaving it in a better place than we found it. None of this could have happened without great administrative leadership, my incredible coaching staff, and obviously our student-athletes. We have truly created a family here."
Shortly after that announcement, Walker was announced as the new head coach at Drake (FCS - IA).
“I am extremely honored and feel blessed to be given the opportunity to become a part of the Drake family. I look forward to building upon the amazing tradition of Drake football and Bulldog athletics. My family and I are excited to get to know everyone and get to work."
"My heart goes out to these players having to go through another coaching change," Walker shared in Drake's release. "It’s not the journey anyone signs up for but I’m determined to make this transition smooth for them, get to know them, roll up our sleeves together and get on a mission to win another conference title.”
At Drake, Walker takes over for Joe Woodley, who led the team to an 8-4 mark in his first and only season leading the program. Woodley left Drake after leading the program to a Pioneer League title and 7-1 mark to join the major college ranks of the Big Ten at Rutgers.
UW-River Falls has named defensive coordinator Jake Wissing their interim head coach for at least the time being. Wisconsin has some unique state requirements around posting jobs like these, as well as the search to fill the role, so the timing of how this has played out likely allows the school to postpone the search and paves the way for Wissing to move forward without cause for concern for now, Frank Rossi points out.
Rossi adds that most of the offensive staff from River Falls is likely to join Walker at Drake.
The video UWRF shared thanking Walker for his impact with the program is definitely worth a few minutes of your time this morning.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
Thank you for everything, Coach Walker ❤️ pic.twitter.com/gG8mDeYFCO
— Falcon Football (@UWRFFootball) February 23, 2026