Northwestern State University of Louisana

After a year in the NFL working with the Miami Dolphins equipment staff, and with previous stops at Georgia State and Louisiana Tech, Dan Matthiesen is in his second year as the director of equipment operations for Northwestern State.
 
Matthiesen oversees all equipment orders and inventories, and directs student managers who are vital parts of each sport staff. He is particularly involved in management of football equipment and services.
 
Working with the Dolphins since May 2013, Matthiesen assisted with the day-to-day operations in the equipment room. Primary duties included preparing the practice field with gear and position-specific equipment, and assisting with all the aspects of game day preparations. Working with equipment staffs around the National Football League, Matthiesen gained first-hand insight how the best in the business maintain an effective equipment room operation.
 
While at Georgia State in 2012-13, his duties included overseeing nine student managers, properly fitting and maintaining all athletes’ equipment, assisting in the operations of the equipment room, and laundering the game uniforms. He was involved with purchasing, order forecasting, and maximizing budget resources
 
As a four-year student manager at Louisiana Tech, Matthiesen earned the title of head student manager.  In this position, he assisted the head coach and ensured practice ran smoothly.  Working with staffs run by Derek Dooley and Sonny Dykes, he was exposed to significantly different coaching styles, and functioning under and with different equipment managers, due to several staff changes.
 
He was part of two bowl teams at Louisiana Tech and the 2011 Western Athletic Conference championship squad for the Bulldogs under Dykes.
 
He earned the elite Eagle Scout status in the Boy Scouts of America. Matthiesen received his bachelor’s degree in business management and entrepreneurship from Louisiana Tech in 2012. He is a certified Athletic Equipment Manager by the Athletic Equipment Managers Association.
 
He was raised in Dallas, Texas, and graduated from Lake Highlands High School in 2008.