Men's Basketball

Matt Richards begins his 22nd season as Head Men's Basketball Coach at Southern Maine Community College. During that span he has amassed a 389-209 (.650) overall record which ranks him the all-time winningest coach in SMCC history.

Richards’ teams have qualified for 20 consecutive Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) playoff berths, captured five YSCC titles, and gained bids to 13 United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Tournaments, including back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2007 and 2008 and the College's first ever team National Championship in 2022. 

The four-time YSCC Coach of the Year (2004, 2007, 2015, 2022) achieved a top ranking in the national coaches' poll in 2008 and again in 2015, and has produced 32 All-Conference selections (three named Player of the Year) and 14 All-American selections (10 named first team). Following their term at SMCC, many alumni have found success playing at colleges and universities at the NCAA level and even professionally oversees. During his coaching tenure, five former players and one team have been inducted into the illustrious SMCC Athletics Hall of Fame. 

Richards has gained an outstanding reputation in the coaching ranks. He is a regular guest speaker at summer camps and coaching clinics throughout New England. Richards has also served on the USCAA Men's Basketball Coaches Poll.

Prior to arriving at SMCC, Richards worked at the University of New England (Biddeford, Maine) and coached at Biddeford High School (Biddeford, Maine). Before that, he served as basketball coach at South Portland High School (South Portland, Maine) and Kearsarge Regional High School (Sutton, N.H.).

Richards played as a four-year member of the Colby-Sawyer College men's basketball program from 1991-1994. While in high school, he excelled as the starting point guard at Scarborough under the coaching direction of Dan Costigan. During Richard's senior season, Scarborough qualified for the Western Maine Tournament ending a five-year drought of post-season play.

Richards received a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management from Colby-Sawyer (1995) and earned his master's in Sports Administration from the University of Northern Colorado (1997).

In addition to his duties on the basketball court, Richards also serves as Interim Chief of Institutional Advancement and Engagement- tasked with strengthening and expanding methods to engage students, alumni, and community partners while identifying opportunities to secure funding needed to support critical initiatives at the College.

A native of Scarborough, he and his wife Maureen reside in South Portland with their two children Ally and Emerald.

(Updated December 2024)