December 23, 2005
Release courtesy of Darren Miller, Cornell College sports information director

MOUNT VERNON , IOWA . . . Matt Dillon, who coached West Des Moines (Iowa) Dowling High School to the 2000 and 2001 Class 4A state football championships, has been named head football coach at Cornell College, his alma mater. Dillon replaces Ray Reasland, who resigned Nov. 23 with a four-year record of 12-28.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Coach Dillon back to the hilltop,” Cornell Athletics Director Tina Hill said. “His passion and enthusiasm for Cornell is contagious and his proven success as a head coach will serve us well. The students, staff, community and alumni are looking forward to working with Coach Dillon as we begin a new era of Ram football.”

Dillon graduated from Cornell in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and business. He received a master’s degree in physical education from Iowa State University in 1986. Dillon was inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993 and was selected as the quarterback on the Cornell all-century team in 1992. He was a team captain three times from 1978 to 1980 and was a team MVP in 1978 and 1980.

“This is a tremendous opportunity and I’m excited to take on the challenges of this job,” Dillon said. “This is the job I’ve dreamed of having since May of 1981 and thankfully it’s going to happen.”

In 24 years as a high school head coach, Dillon is best known for piloting Dowling to a 79-20 record from 1996-2005 and advancing to the state playoffs seven times. The Maroons won the championship twice and were runner-up in 1998. Last season Dillon was head coach at West Hall (Ga.) High School and won three regional games while starting two freshmen, nine sophomores and six juniors. From 1982-87 Dillon was head coach at North Polk (Iowa) High School and led the Comets to their first playoff appearance and first playoff victory in 1986. He then coached Bozeman (Mont.) High School from 1987-89 and led the team to its first winning season in more than a decade. From 1989-92 Dillon coached Lake Worth (Fla.) High School and helped lead it to the first back-to-back winning seasons in a decade. He coached at Wellington (Fla.) High School from 1992-96 and led the school to its first winning season in school history (8-2) and qualified for the state playoffs for the first time in school history.

Dillon, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., played at Cornell from 1977-80, where he became one of the most prolific passers in NCAA history. During that time the Rams compiled a record of 30-6 and won Midwest Conference Championships in 1978 and 1980. For his career, Dillon completed 307 of 568 passes for 4,877 yards and 49 touchdowns. He still shares a school record with five touchdown passes in a game, against Coe in 1978 and the University of Chicago in 1980.

“Cornell is a great place to go to school and get an education,” Dillon said. “I had an outstanding football experience here and some really positive things happened to me while I was at Cornell.”

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