Gerald Alan Mattinson (born November 6, 1958) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach. He was a longtime women's basketball coach at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

, first as an assistant coach from 2003 to 2019 and head coach from 2019 to 2022.

Early life and college career

A football and basketball player in high school, Mattinson graduated from Rock Springs High School in 1977. He then attended and played basketball for

Casper College Casper College is a Public college, public community college in Casper, Wyoming. It is one of the largest and most comprehensive community colleges in the region. Established in 1945 as Wyoming's first junior college and initially located on the ...

, earning All-American honors in his only season. In 1978, Mattinson transferred to

Weber State College Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy and earned its current name in 1991. As of fall 2023, the student population reached 30,536 students, cons ...

(now University) to play for Neil McCarthy. As a senior in 1980–81, Mattinson averaged 8.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists. Mattinson earned a bachelor of science degree in business education from Weber State in 1981.

Coaching career

Early coaching career (1981–1999)

Upon graduation, Mattinson served as a graduate assistant for Weber State for one season. He then returned to Rock Springs High in 1982 to become a business education teacher and boys' basketball head coach; he coached the boys' basketball team through 1987. From 1987 to 1999, Mattinson coached at

Western Wyoming Community College Western Wyoming Community College (Western) is a Public college, public community college in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Western offers certificates, associate degrees, and a bachelor's degree. The college students are known as the Mustangs. Histo ...

in many different capacities, starting as men's assistant coach from 1987 to 1990, men's head coach and assistant athletic director from 1991 to 1998, and women's basketball assistant coach from 1998 to 1999. In 1999, Mattinson paused his basketball coaching career to become principal at East Junior High School in Rock Springs.

Wyoming assistant and head coach (2003–2022)

In 2003, Mattinson became an assistant coach under new head coach

Joe Legerski Joseph Julius Legerski (born July 24, 1957) is the retired former head women's basketball coach at the University of Wyoming. Coaching career Legerski earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business education from the University of Wyoming in 1 ...

at the

. Mattinson stayed on the staff for the entire 16-year tenure of Legerski, during which Wyoming went 314–186 with eight

Women's National Invitation Tournament The Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) is a women's national college basketball tournament. It used to feature both a preseason and postseason version played every year, but the preseason tournament was last held in 2023. It is operate ...

appearances, including the 2007 title, and an appearance in the 2008 NCAA tournament. Following Legerski's retirement, Mattinson was promoted to head coach on May 7, 2019, with a three-year contract. Mattinson's debut season as head coach in 2019–20 was 17–12 overall including 12–6 in

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

games for a third place tie in conference standings. The following season in 2020–21, Wyoming finished 14–10 (8–8 Mountain West). Entering the Mountain West championship tournament as the no. 7 seed, Wyoming won the tournament with a 59–56 win over no. 4 Fresno State on March 10, 2021. Wyoming appeared in the 2021 NCAA tournament on March 22, the program's first appearance in the tournament since 2008. In 2021–22, Wyoming finished tied for third in Mountain West standings at 11–6 (15–12 overall). Wyoming advanced to the third round of the

2022 Women's National Invitation Tournament The 2022 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 NCAA Division I Women's college basketball teams that were not selected for the field of the 2022 Women's NCAA tournament. The tournament committee announ ...

, losing 82–81 to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in triple overtime at home on March 24, 2022. On March 25, Mattinson announced his retirement from coaching. Mattinson completed his tenure with a 48–35 overall record. Heather Ezell, a longtime Wyoming assistant under both Legerski and Mattinson, was promoted to head coach the same day.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattinson, Gerald 1958 births Living people Junior college women's basketball coaches in the United States Basketball coaches from Wyoming High school basketball coaches in the United States Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Sportspeople from Rock Springs, Wyoming Weber State Wildcats men's basketball players Wyoming Cowgirls basketball coaches American women's basketball coaches Basketball players from Wyoming