Matt Jacobs begins his first season on Head Coach Jimmy Rogers’ staff as the head football strength and conditioning coach, a familiar role having worked on Rogers staff previous at South Dakota State.
Jacobs arrived in Pullman having spent the previous three years at SDSU, where he was the director of strength and conditioning for Jackrabbit football. In his three seasons, the Jackrabbits won consecutive Division I Football Championship Subdivision national championships in 2022 and 2023, and reached the FCS Championship semifinals in 2024.
Jacobs arrived at SDSU from Temple University, where he spent three years working with the Owls' football program, highlighted by berth in the 2019 Military Bowl. Prior to that, he served two seasons as the director of strength and conditioning at Western Illinois University, which included qualifying for the FCS playoffs in 2017.
Prior to his stop in Macomb, Jacobs served six years at Northern Illinois as the associate director of sports performance. He assisted in coordinating all phases of the football strength and conditioning programs and oversaw all training for men's basketball and wrestling. During his career with the Huskies, he also worked with baseball, softball, and golf, managed the interns and graduate assistants, and handled equipment maintenance and training room scheduling. The football team played in five MAC Championship games, winning three times. NIU also competed in five bowl games during his tenure, including the 2013 Orange Bowl.
He worked at Western Carolina prior to joining NIU, serving as the assistant strength and conditioning coordinator, and also interned at North Dakota State University in the strength and conditioning department.
For two years he served as a graduate assistant at SDSU in strength and conditioning. Jacobs oversaw the programs for wrestling, swimming and diving, tennis, golf, and equestrian. During his time, he also assisted in the strength and conditioning for football, baseball, volleyball, soccer, and both basketball programs.
Jacobs earned the distinction of Master Strength and Conditioning Coach through the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCA) in 2023, which is the highest honor that can be achieved as a strength & conditioning coach. It represents professionalism, knowledge, experience, expertise, as well as longevity in the field. Jacobs also is certified as a USA W Level 1 Sports Performance Coach.
A native of Parker, South Dakota, he graduated from SDSU with a bachelor's degree in health promotion and a master's degree in exercise science. He and his wife, Erin, have two children, Decker and Letty.
