Hired on July 17, 2007, Matt Roe enters his 17th year at the helm of Butler’s Track and Field and Cross Country programs. A 12-time conference coach of the year and finalist for NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year in 2013 for Women’s Cross Country, Roe’s leadership is evident in the Bulldogs dramatic academic and athletic success at the conference, regional, and national levels.
At the national level, Roe has mentored 40 NCAA individual finalists and 42 All-Americans. Under Roe, the Bulldogs have earned their best all-time NCAA Division I finishes in school history in Men’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Women’s Cross Country, while producing its first three NCAA Qualifiers in Women’s Indoor Track and Field. The Women’s stunning 3rd place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2013 was the best ever NCAA finish by a Butler women’s team. The Bulldogs NCAA podium finish is only eclipsed in Butler history by Men’s Basketball NCAA Final runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2011.
In addition to success at the NCAA finals, Roe has produced an impressive 84 NCAA first round individual qualifiers and 41 Great All-Great Lakes Region Cross Country Athlete honorees. In 2021, a school-record 12 Bulldogs qualified for the NCAA Regional with four advancing to the NCAA Championships in Eugene. Four individuals have won regional crowns under Roe’s watch. Callum Hawkins won the 2011 Great Lakes Regional Cross Country title and Erik Peterson won the East Regional 10,000 meters on the track in 2017. The Bulldogs went back-to-back in terms of Great Lakes Regional cross country champions in 2021 (Simon Bedard) and 2022 (Barry Keane); Butler also had placed a Bulldog in the runner-up spot in both of those years). As a team, Butler’s 2013 women had the best Great Lakes Regional finish (2nd) in school history. The men tied the best all-time mark in 2009 with a 3rd place finish.
During Roe’s tenure, the Bulldogs have risen to become one of the top performing Division I programs in the nation in the classroom. Since 2010 Butler has been recognized NCAA Top 10% in APR an impressive 19 times. In 2009, Butler led the nation in combined GPA in Track and Field outdistancing Yale for the top spot. In 2016, the Bulldogs repeated as the top combined program nationally in team GPA. The Bulldogs were aided by the men earning the highest GPA in the nation. Butler was the only Division I school to lead the nation in combined GPA twice during a seven-year window from 2009-2016. One of the most coveted individual academic awards in the NCAA, the Elite 90, bestowed on the top academic performer at the NCAA Championships found its way to Butler’s campus as well. Former Butler All-American Mara Olson won the award (then the elite 89) twice. Olson is one of the only Division I track and field/cross country athletes to win the award multiple times. Along with a consistent annual team academic and individual recognitions, Butler has garnered 10 academic All-Americans during Roe’s tenure.
At the conference level, Butler athletes have achieved at remarkable rates. From 2007-2012, as a member of the Horizon League, Roe’s athletes were nothing short of dominant. In just five years, Roe’s athletes achieved a staggering 171 All Horizon League honors, 66 individual and relay titles, 16 Athletes of the Year, 14 Horizon League Championship records, nine cross country team titles, and eight Newcomer of the Year awards. While furthering conference dominance in Cross Country, significant strides were made on the Track. At the 2010 Indoor Championships, the program had its best combined finish in school history with a pair of runner-up finishes. For the women, it was the best team finish in school history, while ranking second all-time for the men.
Butler’s lone year in the Atlantic 10 (2012-2013) was a rousing success under Roe. In 2012, the Bulldog Cross Country program brought Butler athletics its only two A10 team titles in dramatic fashion. The men’s 83-point margin of victory was the largest in conference history. Not to be outdone, Roe’s women, led by individual champion Katie Clark, unseated defending champ La Salle by a 33-point spread. During the indoor and outdoor campaigns Butler proved dominant on the track. The Bulldogs collected eight A10 individual titles, one relay title, and two championship records. In total, Butler athletes earned 26 All-A10 honors, three Rookie of the Year awards, and one Athlete of the Year recognition in 2012-2013.
Since joining the BIG EAST in the fall of 2013, the Bulldogs have continued to gain momentum. Under Roe’s direction, Butler athletes have earned 134 All-BIG EAST honors and 23 individual conference crowns. Four times, Butler athletes have been named outstanding performers at a conference championship. Nicole Hudec was named Outstanding Field Event Athlete at the 2014 BIG EAST Outdoor Championships and Angelina Ellis was the Most Outstanding Track Performer at the 2023 outdoor championships. Erik Peterson was named Outstanding Track Athlete at the BIG EAST in Indoor Championships in 2017, while Wade Walder was named Outstanding Field Performer and High Point Performer at the 2018 BIG EAST Outdoor Championships. In cross country, Butler's women (2019) and men (both spring 2021 and fall 2021) have captured the team titles. Euan Makepeace captured the 2019 BIG EAST Men's Cross Country individual title, a feat matched by Simon Bedard in 2021 and Barry Keane in 2022.
Perhaps the most telling mark of Roe’s coaching impact has been in the Butler record books. With a commitment to improve Butler’s program across the board, no less than 51 school records have been broken during Roe’s tenure spanning every area on the track and in the field. Building on an already strong distance running foundation set by former coach Joe Franklin, Butler’s distance records now rank among the NCAA elite. Roe’s athletes own 16 of the 20 school records set at NCAA contested distances.
Notable recent records include Erik Peterson’s 10,000 meter run (28:11.02), the fastest time ever by an Indiana collegiate athlete. Third at the NCAA Championships at 10,000 meters in 2017, Peterson, a six time All-American, was one of the youngest men in US history to run in an Olympic Trials 10,000 meter final, finishing 18th in 2016.
Prior to taking the reigns at Butler, Roe engineered one of the top turnarounds in Division I distance running at Long Beach State from 2004-2007. With their finishes at the Big West Conference meet, the 2006 cross country squad completed the best two-year run in school history. The women’s 2nd place conference finish in 2006 was best in school history. In 2005, both cross country teams jumped from 6th to 3rd at the Big West Conference meet, marking the best 49er finish in 17 years. At the West Regional meet, the women vaulted from 20th in 2004, to 10th in 2005. The men climbed from 15th to 10th place, matching the women’s team finish. Collectively, Roe’s squads combined conference and regional improvements were unmatched by any competitive Division I school in the country from 2004-2005.
On the track, the 49er’s were equally successful under Roe. Roe’s men played a vital role in the first conference track title in 30 years. At the 2006 Big West Championships, Roe’s men tallied an all-time 49er distance best of 34 points to help secure the conference crown. Not to be outdone, the women recorded 33 points at the Big West meet, also an all-time 49er best. The women’s distance contribution helped guide the team to a 3rd place finish and the best two year conference run in school history.
At LBSU, Roe’s athletes did more than improve; they did so at impressive rates. Most notably, Jim Grabow became the first male distance runner in school history to earn All-American honors, finishing 11th at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships. Grabow, a 14:50 5,000 meter junior college transfer in 2004, clocked personal bests of 13:44.04 in the 5,000 meters and 7:59.40 at 3,000 meters in his final season under Roe’s guidance. Grabow ended 2007 ranked 6th on the U.S. indoor list at 5,000 meters.
In less than three years at The Beach, Roe’s runners recorded 51 all-time top 10 marks, 14 All-Big West Selections, 12 school records, four NCAA National Qualifying marks, a Big West Conference Champion, one All-American, and one Academic All-American.
Prior to his appointment at The Beach, Roe made Western Illinois one of the most improved Division I distance programs in the nation from 2001-2004. In his first year, Roe also helped the Leatherneck men gain their 2nd Conference Outdoor Track title in school history in 2002, coaching the first individual male conference distance champion in a decade. At the 2003 Mid Con Outdoor Championships, Roe’s men and women continued to gain momentum, combining for a school record 98 distance points. Their collective performance stood in stark contrast to the 27 total distance points in the 2001 Outdoor Championships, just months before Roe’s hire.
As the Head Cross Country Coach at Western, Roe led both the men’s and the women’s program from the bottom to near the top of the Mid Continent Conference. In only his second season, Roe’s women went from sixth to second at the Conference Championships, establishing one of the top one-year turnarounds in Division I from 2001-2002. The women’s finish was best in school history. Roe’s men improved dramatically at the conference meet, jumping from seventh in 2001, to fourth in 2002, to third in 2003. All tolled in Roe’s three years at Western, he produced 24 All-Mid Continent athletes, nine runner-up conference finisher, three conference champions, and two school records.
Prior to coaching at Western Illinois, Roe served as an Assistant Track and Cross Country Coach at the University of Montana from 1999-2001. Roe helped guide the Grizzlies to 11 individual Big Sky titles, eight NCAA appearances, and two All-American honors. Roe assisted the 2000 Lady Grizzlies to their best all-time Big Sky (second) and Mountain Regional (fifth) cross country finishes. The 2000 season was capped off by Sabrina Monro’s runner-up finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
A standout runner on the track and trail for Division I national distance power University of Portland, Roe was a three-time All West Coast Conference harrier. A three-time WCC scholar athlete honoree, Roe earned degrees in English (1997) and History (1998) from Portland. A USATF Level II certified coach, Roe earned his M.S. in Physical Education (Sport Psychology) from Western Illinois in 2003.
