A former college head coach with nearly 500 combined wins at the Division I and JUCO levels, Philip Mathews will be in his third season working the Husker bench alongside Coach Doc Sadler in 2008-09.

Mathews returned to the Division I level in 2006-07 as an assistant coach on Sadler’s first staff at Nebraska. It was Mathews’ first time at the NCAA’s highest level since serving as head coach at San Francisco for nine years.

Mathews’ experience was vital for the Huskers in 2007-08 as he helped Nebraska post the programs’ 12th
20-win season in history while earning a bid to the postseason National Invitation Tournament. The Huskers won 20 games despite breaking in a freshman point guard, but Mathews’ work with Cookie Miller helped the rookie quickly adapt. Miller finished the season second on the NU freshman charts for assists (109) and steals (57) as he was the only freshman in the Big 12 Conference to rank in the top nine in assists per game, assist:turnover ratio and steals per game. Miller even led the Big 12 in steals during conference-only games.

In his first season with the Huskers, Mathews’ veteran knowledge benefited the team as a whole, but his coaching specifically influenced the play of record-setting point guard Charles Richardson Jr. On the season, Richardson ranked second in the Big 12 and 14th nationally in assists per game (5.77) and his 179 assists ranked third on the Nebraska single-season chart.

Mathews’ contacts around the nation helped the Huskers make significant strides on the recruiting trail. Nebraska’s eight-man recruiting class for 2007 was ranked among the top 25 in the nation by at least three major recruiting analysts, including ESPN.com’s Bob Gibbons (21st), CSTV.com’s Van Coleman (12th) and HoopScoopOnline.com’s Clark Francis (5th).

In his last stint at the Division I level, Mathews guided the San Francisco Dons program from 1995-96 to 2003-04. His team won at least 16 games in each of his first three seasons and among the early highlights was a 19-11 mark in 1997-98 that led to San Francisco’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 16 years.

Two years later, Mathews again led USF to another 19-win season. Two of his last three squads posted winning overall records and all three finished in the top four in the West Coast Conference standings. He finished his career with a 139-123 record in nine seasons at San Francisco.

Like Sadler, Mathews honed his coaching skills in the junior college ranks. Mathews compiled a combined 349-73 record in 12 years as head coach at the junior college level and his squads won a conference title 11 times during his tenure.

Mathews’ first stint as head coach at the junior college level came at Ventura College, where he spent 10 seasons (1986-95) compiling a 298-56 record. His teams won 10 straight Western States Conference titles. Before his arrival, Ventura had not won a league championship in 17 seasons.

All but one of his teams earned at least 20 victories and six times – including each of his last five years in charge – his teams won at least 30 contests. During the 1994-95 campaign, Ventura went 37-1 and ranked second nationally while winning the second California state junior college title under Mathews. Eleven players recruited to Ventura for that season earned Division I scholarships.

Following his stint at San Francisco, Mathews spent the next two seasons as the head coach at San Bernardino Valley College, where he helped the Wolverines to an impressive 51-17 record. In his first season in 2004-05, San Bernardino went 27-5 and won the conference title with a 13-1 record. Mathews’ first San Bernardino Valley team saw every player on the roster move on to a four-year school with a scholarship.

Mathews entered the coaching ranks as an assistant at UC Irvine for the 1973 season. He spent the next year at the high school level before returning to Irvine for four years (1975-78). Mathews then served as head coach at Santa Ana Valley High School, where he won two league titles in three years.

Following the 1980-81 campaign, Mathews returned to the college level where he was an assistant for four years at Cal State Fullerton (1982-85) before taking over the reins at Ventura College.

A two-year basketball letterwinner at UC Irvine, Mathews earned his bachelors degree in comparative cultures in 1972 and added a masters degree in education in 1975. Mathews is married to the former Margie Holland. He has four children, Sabrina (38), Akilah (31), Jordan (14) and Jonah (10).