A member of Stony Brook’s senior management team, Larsen assists the Director of Athletics in establishing short and long term goals for the department, which includes strategic planning, policy development, revenue generation, sport oversight, and facilities and budget management. He has been a part of Stony Brook's rapid ascent in intercollegiate athletics from the department's transition to Division I to becoming one of the top athletics programs in the Northeast Region.
“Matt’s preparation both in terms of breadth and depth is truly exceptional. He knows our program inside-out as well, and demonstrated that during the interview process,” Bresciani said. “He’s well-known and well-respected in NCAA Division I circles, and has a personal reputation for integrity and ethics that is beyond reproach.”
Larsen replaces Gene Taylor, who resigned after 13 seasons to become the deputy athletic director at the University of Iowa. Dr. Jane Schuh, assistant dean of the NDSU College of Agriculture, Food Systems and Natural Resources, chaired the search committee which made a consensus recommendation to Bresciani.
“Jane stepped into this knowing that I wanted a fast, efficient process, but I also wanted the best possible candidates,” Bresciani said. “The committee was representative, it was comprehensive, and they carefully analyzed every candidate from the very start of the process and did an exceptional job, but didn’t let that become a belabored process you often see in university searches.”
“The Athletic Director search committee—Paul Bougie, Christian Dudzik, Colleen Heimstead, Emma Kusick, Jobey Lichtblau, Sam Markell and Jonal Uglem—made this process both enjoyable and seamless,” Schuh said. “In an incredibly short amount of time they checked and rechecked resumes and references, qualities and qualifications to make sure that our next AD would not only have the skills to manage NDSU's athletic program, but would be a person who would lead it.”
Larsen serves as the Stony Brook athletic department’s Chief Financial Officer and has direct oversight of the annual development and fiscal management of the department’s $24.5 million operating budget. He was instrumental in developing the department's five-year plan to incorporate football scholarships at the FCS level as well as numerous women's scholarship upgrades. He also has overseen $35 million worth of facility improvements and capital projects over the last 10 years, including direct management of the $22 million Stony Brook Arena renovation project.
Larsen also provides oversight to the Office of External Services, which consists of the advancement, communications, corporate sponsorship, marketing and ticketing departments. He is responsible for overseeing the development of annual plans for annual giving, major gifts and corporate sponsorships. He has played a key role in some of the largest donations to Stony Brook Athletics, including the $500,000 gift from MLB All-Star Joe Nathan that helped build the baseball program's Joe Nathan Field and the $4.5 million gift from Glenn Dubin that built the Dubin Family Athletic Performance Center.
He also successfully has developed new revenue streams for the department, including the basketball preferred seating program, football parking program, the planned implementation of the Stony Brook Athletics Fund, and the contact for outbound ticket sales that resulted in a 100 percent increase in ticket revenue and commensurate growth in attendance for football and men's basketball games.
In addition, Larsen is responsible for varsity sport program oversight for the football, baseball, men's lacrosse, women's soccer and men's and women's cross country/track and field programs. All of the sports have achieved a great amount of success, including baseball’s appearance in the 2012 College World Series, football’s four consecutive conference championships and two FCS playoff appearances, an NCAA quarterfinal appearance by men’s lacrosse, and the women’s cross country team’s six straight America East championships and a seventh-place NCAA finish.
Larsen also serves as the primary liaison with the Human Resources department and is directly responsible for all personnel related issues including search and hiring processes, as well as, performance reviews for all coaches and staff, and ensuring compliance with all state, university and union guidelines.
In addition to his daily responsibilities, Larsen has been active in committees not only on campus, but also at the conference level. He has served as chair for multiple coaching job searches, including the search for a men's lacrosse head coach in 2011, women's lacrosse head coach in 2005 and men's soccer head coaches in 2003 and 2011. He is actively serving on the Human Resource Services Quality Control Board and is a non-voting member on the Intercollegiate Athletics Board and was a six-year member on the President's Council on Diversity and Affirmative Action. He is currently on the America East Conference Athletics Directors Council and the Championship and Competition Cabinet and also is serving as a management consulting team member for Carr Sports Consulting Inc.
Larsen graduated from Stony Brook in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. He was a three-year starter at wide receiver for the football team and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors as a senior in 1995. He earned a Master of Arts & Liberal Studies degree from Stony Brook in 1998 while serving as a graduate assistant coach for the football program and athletic facilities, and also has participated in the Sports Management Institute's Executive Program.
Larsen and his wife, Kristen, have three children, Emily, Matthew and Rylee.
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