CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – With the resignation of Govs basketball coach Matt Figger, Austin Peay State University has already begun looking for its third head coach in two years, and with somewhat of a new philosophy in mind.
The Govs already have new head coaches for football and women’s basketball, and with the next hiring under way, Athletics Director Gerald Harrison is again touting “the Total Gov concept.”
“It’s important that we get someone who’s energetic and passionate about the student-athlete experience,” Harrison told Clarksville Now, adding the approach will be very similar to the men’s basketball search and the women’s basketball search.
Those searches led to Govs football coach Scotty Walden and Lady Govs basketball coach Brittany Young.
“The Total Gov concept that Gerald (Harrison) talked about immediately won me over,” Young said when her hiring was announced earlier this month. “That is my mission in life to help young people develop athletically, academically, in the community and help set them on a track to achieve all of the goals they have for their future.”
Walden has demonstrated a similar student-athlete focus.
“I grew up in a single-parent home,” Walden said when he was introduced in November. “The coaches in my life were my father figures. That’s the bottom line. My coaches played several roles in my life and I wanted to emulate those men.”
He later added, “We’re going to put a staff around these young men that love football and make sure that they have every resource to be successful on and off the field. That’s my job first and foremost.”
Harrison has also stressed, “it’s important to be part of the Clarksville community,” with the twin goals of getting back to in-person games, and of the coming move into the under-construction Multi-Purpose Event Center, where Govs basketball will be the primary tenant.
About Matt Figger
Figger, who spent the last four seasons as Govs basketball head coach, resigned to assume the same position at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, APSU Sports Information confirmed.
During Figger’s tenure, the Govs had a 76-51 record, with three appearances in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinals. With Figger at the helm, Terry Taylor earned four straight All-OVC honors and two OVC Player of the Year nods.
“We thank Matt Figger for his years of service at Austin Peay State University and wish him, his wife Katrina and their son Vince all the best as they embark on this new opportunity in Texas,” said Harrison said in an APSU news release. “Our men’s basketball program is one of the flagship programs at Austin Peay and historically one of the best in the OVC; we look forward to filling this role with all expediency and identifying the best fit to lead us forward.”