The Armstrong Atlantic State University athletic department announced the hiring of Matt Schmidt today as the Lady Pirates’ new head women’s basketball coach. Schmidt joins AASU from defending DII national champion Northern Kentucky, where he has served as an assistant coach for the last four seasons, and becomes the seventh head women’s basketball coach in school history.

"I would like to thank President Jones, Dr. Eddie Aenchbacher and the search committee for selecting me as the next head coach for the Armstrong Atlantic State University women's basketball program," Schmidt said. "This is a great opportunity to build on the success that Roger Hodge has established the past eight years. I am looking forward to working with the students, faculty and administration at AASU."

Schmidt was instrumental in helping the Norse achieve its second NCAA Division II National Championship a season ago as Northern Kentucky went 28-8 and defeated South Dakota 63-58, in the national championship game. During his four seasons with the Norse, he assisted head coach Nancy Winstel in all aspects of the Northern Kentucky program, including recruiting, scouting, practice and game-day coaching, and helped the Norse to a 92-32 record during that span.

"The moment I walked on the AASU campus, I immediately felt at home," Schmidt said. "The AASU community made me feel welcome right away. This is an excellent academic institution located in a beautiful city with a great campus and fantastic facilities."

A native of Johnstown, Pa., Schmidt spent three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Findlay prior to joining the Northern Kentucky coaching staff. He also previously served as an assistant coach at both West Virginia University and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Schmidt takes over an AASU women’s basketball program that went 20-11 a season ago and advanced to the 2008 Peach Belt Conference Championship game, the third title game appearance in Lady Pirate basketball history. The Lady Pirates return 10 players from last season’s squad and add a trio of newcomers to the squad for 2008-09 as AASU searches for its first PBC title since 2002-03.

"The Peach Belt Conference is a great league for women's basketball at the Division II level," Schmidt said. "I look forward to competing against some of the top teams and coaches in the country. The PBC is a well-respected conference, and I expect the level of competition to mimic that of the Great Lakes Valley Conference."