Concordia University Chicago appoints Matt Beisel as head track and field coach
RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- Concordia University Chicago is pleased to announce that Matt Beisel has accepted the position of head coach for track and field, effective January 1, 2008. Beisel succeeds Dave Risch who will continue at Concordia as the Cougars’ cross-country coach.

“I am very happy to have been given the opportunity to work with Concordia’s track and field program,” states Beisel. “I believe that this is an exciting time to come to Concordia, given the campus community’s desire to see all of their athletic programs progress. In addition, I feel that this is a great opportunity for me to work at the collegiate level in an area such as Chicago, and I am confident that I can lead the track program in the direction that the people at Concordia envision.”

Beisel has coached track and cross-country and taught science for the past seven years at Lutheran High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. During that time, the school has won three state championships in cross-country, placed as high as third in the state track championships, earned numerous all-state honors and produced individual state champions in the high jump and long jump.

Beisel brings with him a solid reputation for recruiting, and he believes that his philosophy will mesh perfectly with Concordia’s mission and values. “It is very natural and easy to speak with passion and conviction about something when I believe in it,” notes Beisel. “Concordia is committed to spreading the word of Jesus Christ through preparing its students for a life of service to others, and that philosophy is one that I share whole-heartedly. The people I have spoken with at Concordia, both in athletics and administration, are committed to moving in the right direction, and I am elated that I will get to join in their efforts.”

Beisel’s work in Little Rock included developing a “feeder” program for fifth through eighth grades at the local elementary and middle schools, and he plans to create similar opportunities for young athletes in the Oak Park-River Forest area. Beisel recalls, “The collegiate coaches in Arkansas reached out to me in much the same way that I was able to reach out to our grade-school coaches, and I am looking forward to building similar relationships with coaches in the Chicago area by serving them in any way I am able. One of my long-range goals is to develop summer camps for coaches and athletes, building upon the past work of Coach Risch, and help spread our name in that fashion while providing a great resource for area coaches and athletes.”

Beisel was a standout track and cross-country athlete at Concordia College in Seward, Nebraska, earning all-conference, all-district, and NAIA national qualifier status as a distance runner. He graduated in 1992 with degrees in biology and art. He earned a Master’s degree in science education from the University of Iowa in 1997.

Beisel and his wife Jill have a 3 ˝ year-old daughter, Keegan.

Courtesy of Concordia University Chicago, Sports Information Department, September 17, 2007.