Sports Hall of Fame - Northern Magazine

Longtime coach Troy Mattson '86 BS, '94 MA retired in June after 17 years as leader of the Wildcat women's basketball program and nearly 40 years with NMU Athletics. He is the second-winningest coach in program history. The retirement did not last long, however, as he is back as the head golf coach for the men's and women's teams.

In addition to leading the women's basketball program, Mattson was the associate head coach of the NMU men's basketball program from 1994-2005 and was a part of that program's coaching staff since 1988. Mattson also guided the women's tennis team from 1994 to 2003. He was a point guard for the Wildcats from 1982-85. During his junior and senior years, Mattson helped lead the Wildcats to the NCAA II playoffs. His squads have made three NCAA appearances and qualified for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament for the last 11 straight seasons.

A Milwaukee, Wis., native who grew up in Ishpeming, Mattson is a 1981 Westwood High School graduate. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1986 and his master's degree in 1992, both from NMU.

"I would like to thank Northern Michigan University, Marquette, and the surrounding area," Mattson said. "For over 55 years, it has been my home and truthfully the only place I have ever wanted to be. Second only to my family, NMU has been the most important aspect of my life.

"Over the past 34 years, I have had the opportunity to coach some amazing student-athletes,” he said. “To see them grow as people and go out into the world and be incredible parents, successful people in their professional life, and to be great ambassadors to NMU is probably the most inspirational aspect of my job.”

Casey Thousand is the new women's basketball head coach. Thousand returns to the NMU sideline after serving as assistant coach from 2016-18 and associate head coach in 2018-19. She was also an adjunct professor in Northern's School of Health and Human Performance. For the past three seasons, Thousand served as the head women's basketball coach at the University of Illinois -Springfield, where she led the team to an improved record each season and had numerous students win All-GLVC Academic All-Conference recognition. She previously coached in Wisconsin at Edgewood College in Madison and Carthage College in Kenosha, and at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill. She has a bachelor’s in Sports and Facility Management from Lakeland College, a master’s of education with an emphasis in leadership from Carthage College and a Women in Leadership Certification from Cornell University.

“I cannot wait to reconnect with so many great people in the Marquette area, the alumni, and the NMU community. I am thrilled to be back in the Berry and to start working with the team,” she said.

Alex Fatovic is the new head men's soccer coach, the second in program history. He joins the Wildcats from Division I Columbia University in New York City, where he has been an assistant coach with the men's soccer team since 2019.

Before Columbia, Fatovic spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at Division I Marshall University in Huntington, W.V., where the team made the Conference USA Tournament five times. In 2020, Fatovic created the Xcel Keeper Club LLC in New York City, with a vision of developing goalkeepers of all levels in and around the NYC metropolitan area.

A native of Falls Church, Va., Fatovic is a graduate of Long Island University. His coaching education includes numerous United State Soccer Federation (USSF) Licenses and an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma.

"I'm excited to bring a distinct style of play to NMU where the demands and standards will be high every day with the goal of creating championship teams and exceptional characters who can represent the values and mission of this great university," he said.