RIVER FALLS, Wis. — UW-River Falls football offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Joe Matheson has been named a finalist by FootballScoop for the Division III 2025 Coach of the Year Award, presented by TeamWorks.

Nominated by fellow coaches, the 2025 finalists are a group of 89 men chosen among a cast of thousands across the 729 football-playing institutions in the NCAA and NAIA. 

The other Division III finalists are Shane Dierking of North Central University, Colin Duling of Bethel University, Kole Heckendorf of St. John's University, Ryan McElwain of DePauw University, and Matt Tschetter of Wartburg College. Winners will be announced beginning Monday, Dec. 8, and will be honored in conjunction with the American Football Coaches Association convention beginning Jan. 12 in Charlotte. 

Matheson, also named the Wisconsin Football Coaches Assocation's (WFCA) WIAC Assistant Coach of the Year, has helped guide the Falcons to a record-breaking season, guiding the UWRF offense that has consistently this season led all of NCAA Division III in total offense and first downs.

Currently, the 11-win and NCAA Quarterfinal bound Falcons are the DIII leaders with 563.2 yards of total offense per game along with 367 total first downs. In addition, they rank among the top-five with 341.8 passing yards per game and 47.0 points per game. Under Matheson, quarterback Kaleb Blaha was named the WIAC Offensive Player of the Year, and eight Falcon offensive players were named to the All-WIAC Team.