Matt Cline has been named as the director of basketball operations at East Tennessee State University. He joins the ETSU staff after spending the past two years at Eastern Michigan University under Coach Rob Murphy.
While at EMU, the Eagles went 21-14 in 2014-2015, and appeared in the CBI post season tournament. In 2015-2016, EMU went 18-14, winning 8 out of their last 12 games. Cline coordinated the team’s travel, budget, community services programs, and other operational duties assigned by Coach Murphy.
Cline joined the EMU staff after a one-year stint at Northwest Florida State College where he served as an assistant coach. Cline helped the Raiders finish the season 22-6 and reach a ranking of No. 1 overall in the NJCAA. Northwest Florida State sent eight of its student-athletes to the NCAA Division I ranks following the successful season. During his time with the Raiders, he assisted in scouting, game preparations, guard play development, student-athlete academic programs and strength and conditioning.
Prior to his time as a coach with NWFSC, Cline spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Florida State University. In his first season working with the Seminoles, the Leonard Hamilton-coached squad won FSU’s first ever Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship, earning a No. 3-seed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Cline earned his graduate assistantship after graduating from the University of South Alabama where he was a one-year letter winner in basketball. From the 2007-11 seasons, the Binghamton, N.Y., native served as the head manager of the squad before earning a spot on the squad in his senior season.
In addition to his time at USA, Cline spent one season at Broome Community College, after being named as an all-metro and all-conference player at Seton Catholic Central High School in 2006.
On top of his career in collegiate and high school basketball, Cline has interned with a pair of player development organizations. In 2010, Cline worked with the BX Player Development group in New York under Rob Baxter in strength, speed and on court player development. During 2011, he worked under Mike Procopio, currently the Director of Player Development with the Dallas Mavericks, and Tim Grover at Attack Athletics in Chicago, Ill. Cline assisted in on court player development, the strength and conditioning program, and Nike Skills Academies.
Cline has volunteered with the Big Brothers/ Big Sisters program since 2012. He has also worked numerous college basketball summer camps including Cornell, Boston College, Binghamton University, Villanova, South Alabama, and Florida State. In the summer of 2011, Cline was part of Crossover International, a Christian faith-based organization that traveled to Europe to conduct basketball clinics for youth.
Cline graduated from South Alabama in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education before earning a master’s in sport management from Florida State in 2013.
