Matthew Driscoll resigns as University of North Florida basketball coach after 16 seasons

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Driscoll established a national identity at UNF for a fast-pace offense structured around the 3-point shot

• After 16 seasons, Matthew Driscoll resigned from his position as head basketball coach for the University of North Florida to join Kansas State’s coaching staff.
• UNF associate head coach Bobby Kennen will serve as interim coach for the 2025-26 season.
• Driscoll led the Ospreys to three regular-season ASUN titles, one ASUN tournament championship, and an NCAA tournament appearance.

Matthew Driscoll, who guided the University of North Florida basketball program for 16 years, has resigned to join Jerome Tang’s staff at Kansas State. 

UNF announced the resignation May 22. Bobby Kennen, who was on Driscoll’s staff during his entire tenure and has been the associate head coach since 2012, will be the interim coach for the 2025-26 season while the university conducts a nationwide search. 

UNF will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. on May 23 at the Herbert University Center with Driscoll, Kennen and athletic director Nick Morrow.

Driscoll, 60 and a native of Pittsburgh, was on the Baylor staff with Tang from 2003-09 and is Godfather to Tang’s daughter.

Driscoll, who was recently offered a two-year contract extension at UNF that would have carried him to 64 years old, said the the circumstances lined up for him to make the move, including a chance to mentor a young staff at Kansas State.

“Any time in life when you are called to lead, I think it’s important to do a complete deep dive into what’s being placed in front of you,” Driscoll told the Times-Union. “I could have, based on my skill set and timing, gone to a lot of places. This has been a very exact, very purposeful move. I have peace in my heart about what I’m doing.”

“Coach Driscoll has made a profound and lasting impact on the University of North Florida since he took over the men’s basketball program in 2009,” Morrow said in a statement. “Under his leadership, the program rose from a transitional Division I team to a perennial contender. His teams set records, captured titles and competed on college basketball’s biggest stages. More importantly, Coach Driscoll and his family have impacted countless lives beyond the court. He consistently championed character development and community engagement. He embodied what it truly means to be a servant leader. 

Rival coach, ASUN Commissioner praise Matthew Driscoll

Driscoll’s main ASUN rival, Jacksonville University coach Jordan Mincy, said Driscoll has had “a legendary career” at UNF. 

“He took a very hard job there and from day one did an amazing job,” Mincy said. “He had the ability to identify and develop talent at an elite level. He took players who were not highly recruited and made them all-league. We’re going to miss him in the ASUN. I’m going to miss seeing him on the sideline at games. This really is a loss for the ASUN.” 

ASUN Commissioner Greg Bacon said in a statement emailed to the Times-Union that Driscoll’s legacy in the conference goes beyond victories.

“Coach Driscoll is and will always be a legendary figure in the history of the Atlantic Sun Conference,” Bacon said.

Coach Driscoll is and will always be a legendary figure in the history of the Atlantic Sun Conference. “While his career records and statistics are a testament to his achievements, what stands out even more, in my short time getting to know him, is that he is an exceptional person. His dedication and care for his student-athletes, the University of North Florida, the Conference and everyone around him are truly remarkable.”

Driscoll said he will keep his home in Jacksonville and will maintain ties to the First Coast and to UNF.

“I’ve lived in Jacksonville a quarter of my life,” he noted. “UNF gave me my first opportunity to be a head coach and it’s hard to put into words the impact that will have in my heart. Jacksonville is one of the greatest places in the world to live and I’ve lived in a lot of great places. Jacksonville, UNF and the people will have an incredible grasp on my heart for a long time.”

Matthew Driscoll started ‘Birds of Trey’ mystique  

Driscoll came to UNF in 2009 after NCAA Division I assistant coaching stints at Baylor, Clemson and Wyoming. The Ospreys went 13-18 in his first season but he quickly established the “Birds to Trey” identity, with a fast-paced offense predicated on the 3-point shot. 

With players like Dallas Moore, Beau Beech, Parker Smith, Trent Mackey, Aaron Bodager and Ivan Gandia-Rosa, UNF rained in 3-pointers and won games. 

The Ospreys led the ASUN in scoring average three times, in 3-pointer attempts per game seven times, 3-point percentage four times and collected three regular-season ASUN titles and the 2015 ASUN Tournament Championship in 2015, leading to the team’s only NCAA Tournament appearance. 

Driscoll coached 13 of 18 players who have scored 1,000 career points for UNF. 

Driscoll also willingly played anyone, anywhere during the non-conference season. UNF played teams in the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 throughout his tenure, and pulled off the occasional upset. 

Last year, UNF beat South Carolina and Georgia Tech on the road. They also have road victories against Purdue and Illinois.  

Matt Driscoll developed players’ skills and character 

Player development was a huge part of Driscoll’s reign at UNF, but in his later years it was almost a detriment. Once the NCAA relaxed its transfer rules and NIL payments began to mushroom, Driscoll frequently lost to bigger programs players he and his staff had developed. 

UNF’s two leading scorers in the last two seasons, Chaz Lanier and Jasai Miles, left for Power Four programs, Lanier to Tennessee (where he led the Vols in scoring on their way to the NCAA Elite eight) and Miles to Indiana. 

Also going to Indiana is Josh Harris, a freshman who led UNF in rebounding. 

But Driscoll’s emphasis also was on academics and character. UNF had 120 basketball players make the ASUN’s Academic Honor roll during his time and

“The bottom line is that Matt impacted our family and our life tremendously while Beau was at UNF and he has continued to do so,” said Bud Beech, the former Nease and Ponte Vedra High coach. “Beau played for four years but the relationship has carried on with Matt in so many ways. Matt and all the former players are such a tight-knit group, with the love and affection they have for each other, the character-building and the example he leads by, on and off the court.”  

Who is Bobby Kennen? 

A native of Ocala who played four years at Palm Beach Atlantic, Kennen was Driscoll’s first hire when he came to UNF in 2009 and was elevated to associate head coach in 2012. 

Kennen was a high school coach in Florida at Santaluces and Williston, was an assistant at Central Florida Community College, and then coached for five years for Hugh Durham at Jacksonville University. 

Kennen then coached at Campbell for four years before coming to UNF. 

“Bobby deserves this opportunity,” Mincy said. “I think it will be a great move for UNF.” 

“We are incredibly fortunate to have a high-caliber coach in Bobby Kennen,” Morrow said. “For the past 16 years, he has been a vital part of the program’s success, and I have every confidence in his ability to lead us forward.”