Coastal Carolina earns another national athletics award, this one in administration
The success of Coastal Carolina’s football team this past fall led to numerous national awards for head coach Jamey Chadwell and some of his players.
The national recognition has spread into the school’s athletics administration.
CCU Director of Athletics Matt Hogue has been named an Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
Hogue, who has been a CCU employee since 1997, was one of 28 winners across seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions, and Junior College/Community Colleges). He will be recognized in conjunction with the 2021 NACDA & Affiliates Virtual Convention from July 27-28.
The award highlights the efforts of ADs for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and their surrounding communities.
Hogue is one of four ADs to receive the award among schools with FBS football programs, along with BYU’s Tom Holmoe, West Virginia’s Shane Lyons and Oregon’s Rob Mullens.
Coastal had an exceptional fall athletics season during the COVID-19 pandemic and leads the Sun Belt Conference’s Vic Bubas Cup Standings, representing overall performance in athletics.
The Chanticleers won Sun Belt regular-season championships in football, volleyball and men’s soccer, and repeated as the Sun Belt tournament champions in men’s soccer.
At one point, the Chanticleers were one of just five schools nationwide to have both their football and volleyball teams ranked in the top 25 nationally, and those programs along with men’s soccer were ranked nationally for most of the fall season. The soccer team reached the No. 5 ranking.
The football team went 11-1 to become the highest-ranked football team in Sun Belt history. It finished the season ranked No. 14 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls, and No. 12 in the College Football Playoff Rankings, and reached the AP No. 9 ranking.
The Chants successfully navigated the coronavirus, as each of the fall and winter athletic teams completed their respective seasons.
CCU student-athletes have excelled in the classroom as well, as the department overall earned a 3.135-semester grade point average (GPA) in the fall and a 3.226 cumulative GPA.
The Coastal Carolina University Department of Athletics was also recently presented the Hidden Hero Award by the United Way of Horry County, which is awarded annually to an individual or organization that has gone above and beyond to help the non-profit in the community.
Since Hogue was named AD in February 2015, CCU teams have won 14 conference regular-season championships and 16 conference tournament championships. The baseball team also won the school’s first-ever NCAA national championship in 2016.
Hogue has served in several roles in athletics and communications over the past 24 years, including a 17-year stint as the “Voice of the Chanticleers” on the Chanticleer Sports Network.
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 3:23 PM.
