Matthew Botsford Position: Assistant Coach Alma Mater: Tri-State '98

Matthew Botsford joined the Irish coaching staff in the spring of 2008. Botsford is an assistant coach at Notre Dame after serving in a similar role at the University of Miami since the 2004 season. During his four-year tenure with the Hurricanes, Botsford's primary coaching responsibilities dealt with the development of the outside hitters and middle blockers, and the coordination of off-campus recruiting and scouting.

In 2004, Botsford and the Hurricanes surged to a second-place finish in the regular season standings after the team's first full season as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Botsford developed a reputation for not only attracting, but also developing highly talented players for the program at Miami. In fact, he tutored a trio of All-Americans in Val Tipiana (Miami's all-time kills leader and the first Hurrican to ever reach the 1,000-kill plateau), Frannie Savage (all-ACC and all- AVCA Region honoree) and Karla Johnson (ACC kills leader in 2005). He also spearheaded the recruiting efforts to help bring Arielle Cook, Miami's first-ever Fab 50 recruit, to the Coral Gables campus.

Botsford made his way to Miami courtesy of IUPUI, where he spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the Jaguars. As part of the IUPUI coaching staff,Botsford helped lead a number of players to success on the court, including two-time Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year Rebekah Pallikan.

Prior to his three-year stay at IUPUI, Botsford served as the interim head coach for both the men's and women's teams from 1998-99 at his alma mater, Tri- State University. He then ventured to the University of Indianapolis where he was an assistant coach during the 1999 season. He has also spent time as a coach with Circle City Volleyball Club (Ind.) and Prairie Heights High School (Ind.).

In the spring of 2003 he enjoyed a professional volleyball career with the Vingaker Volleyball Club of Sweden. He displayed his all-around skills by emerging as one of the team's most prolific player, leading the squad in blocks and hitting percentage throughout the playoffs. Botsford helped guide Vingaker to the finals of the Swedish Elite Series and a berth in the European CEV Cup for the first time in the team's 30-year history.

He competed on the Midwest Professional Volleyball Association (MPVA) beach volleyball tour from 1998- 2003 and was named to the 2001 MPVA "Dream Team", which was comprised of the tour's top six players. Botsford also spent time on the Extreme Volleyball Professionals (EVP) Amstel Light Tour and was named the EVP Rookie of the Year in 2000. In 2002 as a member of the Surf City Volleyball Club, he won a bronze medal at the USAV Open Championships in Dallas, Texas, and was named to the all-tournament team.

Botsford served on the coaching staff of the USA Volleyball Girls Select A1 Team for the 2007 USA Volleyball High Performance Championships in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.He returned to help lead the program's 2008 session in Tucson, Ariz.

Botsford graduated from Tri-State University in 1998 with a degree in social studies education. As a studentathlete for the Thunder, he led the school to its first NAIA/MIVA Championship in 1998. In each of his four-years at Tri-State, Botsford was an all-conference and academic all-conference selection. He finished his collegiate career as the school's all-time leader in kills, blocks, and digs.Tri-State inducted him into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.

He received his master's degree in business administration from the University of Indianapolis in 2004.