University of Tennessee at Martin head men’s basketball coach Anthony Stewart has announced the addition of Matt McCumber as an assistant coach for the Skyhawk program.

McCumber joins the UT Martin staff after four seasons as the men’s basketball director of student-athlete development for head coach Bruce Weber at Kansas State University. He also boasts previous administrative/coaching experiences at Southern Illinois University (2010-12), Northern Illinois University (2006-07) and Texas A&M University (2005-06).

“Matt is a perfect fit for our coaching staff,” Stewart said. “I worked with him at Southern Illinois and I saw firsthand his commitment to student-athletes. He is a tireless worker who brings vital experience at many levels to our program.”

At Kansas State, McCumber’s responsibilities included basketball-related matters for the nationally ranked Wildcat program, handling special projects for the staff and assisting with community service projects and the Life Skills program. He also oversaw the student-athlete’s academic development and counseling in career planning and goal setting.

McCumber’s tutelage allowed Kansas State to compile 10 Academic All-Big 12 honorees, including a school-record five selections in 2017. The Wildcat men’s basketball program also developed 46 Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll recipients and a pair of CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 first team picks. That included Austin Budke, who was the only Big 12 men’s basketball player to earn the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award – the league’s highest academic honor – in 2017.

“I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity that Coach Stewart has given me at UT Martin,” McCumber said. “It has been a goal of mine ever since I got into coaching to be an assistant coach at the Division-I level. I’m excited to be able to finally live out that dream as a Skyhawk. I would also like to thank Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber and associate head coach Chris Lowery for their support and mentorship to help me get to this point in my career. I’m ready to hit the ground running as a Skyhawk and continue the high level of success that has already been built at UT Martin under Coach Stewart.”

Before his stint at Kansas State, McCumber was a graduate assistant coach and director of basketball operations under head coach Chris Lowery at Southern Illinois. Working alongside Stewart during the 2011-12 season, McCumber coordinated the Salukis’ team travel and film exchange while preparing scouting reports and monitoring the team’s academic progress.

McCumber spent the 2006-07 campaign at Northern Illinois, where he worked as the director of basketball operations under head coach Rob Judson. McCumber managed all aspects of the office, including organization of team travel and coordination of film exchange for scouting and editing purposes.

McCumber’s first collegiate job came as a director of basketball operations under Billy Gillispie at Texas A&M, where helped lead the Aggies to a 22-9 record and the school’s first NCAA Tournament victory in 26 years. Among McCumber’s duties were structuring a recruiting database, preparing scouting reports for the staff, coordinating monthly schedules for practice times and establishing a film exchange system.

A Tuscola, Ill. native, McCumber was a four-year student manager at the University of Illinois under Weber. McCumber was part of one of the most successful eras in the history of Fighting Illini basketball history, as the program went 114-25 with three Big Ten Conference regular season championships while finishing in the top-15 in all four seasons. He was part of a staff that made four NCAA Tournament appearances (three of which advancing to the Sweet 16 round) and a spot in the 2005 national championship game against North Carolina.

While he was at Illinois, McCumber was also selected to manage the U.S. Youth Development Festival for USA Basketball.

McCumber earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Illinois in 2005. He also completed his Master’s Degree in business administration with honors from Southern Illinois in 2012.

http://www.utmsports.com/fullstory.cfm?id=9809&sport=men%27s%20basketball