Minot State University Athletic Director Rick Hedberg introduced Matt Murken as Minot State’s head men’s basketball coach Wednesday during a press conference at the Beaver Dam in the MSU Student Center.
Murken, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is an 11-year veteran of the collegiate coaching ranks and has been the head coach at Jamestown College for the past two seasons.
Murken was named the Dakota Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2011-12 after leading the Jimmies to a No. 11 national ranking and the NAIA Division II national tournament. He was 46-16 in two seasons at JC, coaching three NAIA All-Americans, the DAC Most Valuable Player and five All-DAC performers.
Minot State received over 80 applications before narrowing down to four on-campus interviews conducted last week. The hiring procedure was pushed forward quickly due to the timing of the open coaching position, but Hedberg was pleased with how the university handled the process.
In 2003, Murken began as a graduate assistant at Wayne State College in Wayne, Neb., and while pursuing a master’s degree from WSC. Murken was promoted to assistant coach at WSC in 2004 and served as the team’s recruiting and academic coordinator. During his time at WSC he successfully recruited the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Freshman of the Year and five NSIC All Conference players in four years. As academic coordinator, his teams had a cumulative GPA of 3.0-plus over a four year span.
Murken spent one season at Des Moines Area Community College, finishing with a 22-7 record in 2009-10 before taking the Jamestown College coaching position.
He holds a Masters of Science in education from Wayne State College and a Bachelor of Science in secondary education from Concordia University in Seward, Neb. Murken played basketball for Concordia University, twice being named to the NAIA Academic All-American team.
Along with getting familiar with his new program, Murken has three assistant coaching positions to fill including two graduate assistants and a full-time assistant.
Minot State University (Minot, N.D.) is a first-year NCAA Division II institution and will begin competing in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference this season.
