Matt Dempsey of USMMA women’s basketball exhibits what it means to love your job
KINGS POINT, N.Y. — Coming out of high school, some people might not know what the next chapter holds in their life. However, head coach Matt Dempsey of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) women’s basketball team knew right away what he wanted to pursue in college.
“I went to college basically saying I want to go coach and I want to be a physical education teacher,” Dempsey said.
Dempsey attended Castleton State College and played on the men’s basketball team during his four years at the school. Along with his high school basketball coach, Dempsey had high praise for the college coaches he played under during his time at Castleton State.
“When I was in college, I actually played for some really amazing coaches including Stan Van Gundy from the Orlando Magic and most recently the Detroit Pistons,” Dempsey said. “He was one big influence on me as well as another guy named Matt Kilcullen who is the athletic director at Mercy College.”
Once he graduated from Castleton State in 1984, Dempsey quickly started to gain experience as a coach and physical education teacher. Despite achieving both of his college goals, Dempsey’s focus shifted towards strictly coaching.
“Right out of college I got a physical education job and was involved in coaching at a local college nearby,” Dempsey said. “After being a physical education teacher for a few years, I really wanted to just focus on coaching and that’s what I’ve been doing for the last 25 years.”
Before arriving at USMMA, Dempsey’s previous experience included a 13-year stint as head coach at Green Mountain College and five years as an assistant coach at the United States Naval Academy. Both positions have impacted Dempsey, but his time at the Naval Academy made the biggest difference.
“It’s a big influence on why I wanted to stay involved in coaching high level student-athletes,” Dempsey said. “I enjoyed that time there, but I really wanted to get back as a head coach.”
His desire was later fulfilled in Aug. 2008 as Dempsey would be named head coach of the women’s basketball team at USMMA.
“I was really happy to be back as a head coach,” Dempsey said. “The kids are a big reason why I took the job because I know that I’d be dealing with some high caliber, motivated leaders.”
Since taking the job at USMMA, Dempsey is the all-time winningest coach in USMMA women’s basketball with 145 victories. The Skyline Conference Coach of the Year in 2019, has most recently coached the Mariners to back-to-back Skyline Conference championships.
“Watching our student athletes grow over the course of my tenure here as a coach and to win two championships in a row has been a very rewarding feeling,” Dempsey said.
Although he’s been coaching college basketball since 1986, Dempsey gives full credit for the team’s most recent success to his student athletes and what they endure off the basketball court.
“I’m very fortunate to have people that are motivated, that are leaders and have high energy,” Dempsey said. “To get into the academy is very difficult, to stay in the academy is very difficult, so I really appreciate the student athletes’ time management skills.”
Like most schools around the country, college sports programs are still feeling the effects of COVID-19. Under normal circumstances, Dempsey’s team would be preparing to start their season next month, but are continuing to wait and see what’s next.
“Everything’s really up in the air and everything’s been changing week by week,” Dempsey said. “As much as we’d like to have a plan about playing X-amount of games, there’s a lot of work to be done.”
