The Little Miami athletic department opened a new era in July 2020 by hiring Warren County native Matt Louis, as the Panthers' seventh athletic director. The 23-year veteran of professional, collegiate, and high school athletics took the reins of the Little Miami program after spending the previous four years with Middletown City Schools.
Since July 2020, Louis has worked tirelessly to install and execute a strategic operational plan for Little Miami Schools which will position Panther Athletics for long-term success in the rugged Eastern Cincinnati Conference. Currently, Louis' duties include items such as overseeing a roughly $1.5 million operational budget and spearheading the design and maintenance of the Panther sports information platform with littlemiamipanthers.com. He also takes a lead role in student-athlete and HR compliance, along with managing game operations and future scheduling for 26 varsity programs and 77 teams which service nearly 2000 athletes and 125 staff members. Additionally, Louis has led a modernization movement to build the best coaching staff in southwest Ohio high school athletics. During his time at LMHS, the Panthers have continued to develop veteran coaches while also adding newcomers such as Rob Mason as the assistant AD, Sean Sherman as the director of strength and conditioning, Carrie Ottopal as an athletic trainer, Christina McCluer, Lexi Dowers and Kelly Cathcart to revitalize the spirit squads, and Jim and Lynn Brant to set the bar at a state-level standard in cross country and track. He brought in Robert T. Rothermund to continue the Panthers' vertical assent in boys' golf, supported Meredith Ruesher in reestablishing the girls' lacrosse program, and assisted LMHS teachers Gabe Olivencia and Paul Winker in maintaining successful baseball and wrestling programs. In bowling, Louis and The Department pulled a rabbit out of the hat when hiring LMHS councilor Ashley Brown and former Panthers head coach Rick Lake to lead the Alley Cats. And lastly, Louis led a monumental effort to partner with two of southwest Ohio's best-known coaches in their respective sports, as Little Miami made history with the hiring of boys' soccer head coach Andy Schur away from Mason, and boys' basketball coach Scott Kerr away from Colerain in 2023.
From 2016-2020, Louis served as the district’s assistant athletic director and special teams coordinator on the varsity football staff. While coaching the Middies on the gridiron, Louis played an integral role in the evolution of the Middies' specials teams development, while also helping Middies LB Cameron Junior (UC) and RB/KR Josh Bryant (Akron) achieve D-I football scholarships.
Louis worked as the athletic director for Springboro Schools from 2013-2016 and his achievements there were impressive; He successful restructured and implemented practices to effectively manage a $1.4 million annual operating budget, installed a program design with philosophy and structure as the cornerstones which supported over 1200 student-athletes, 28 varsity sports and nearly 200 coaches. Springboro claimed the prestigious Greater Western Ohio Conference All-Sports Trophy each school year during his leadership. Also, Louis’ Panthers football teams were an impressive 27-7, while also qualifying for the OHSAA postseason each season during his tenure.
“In my 16-year career as a high school coach, Matt has done the most impressive job I’ve ever seen combining fundamental business practices into a school athletic setting,” said Springboro High School head coach Eric Detmer. “He is a leader that is focused on motivating and supporting his staff, while also making economical decisions to better the entire organization.”
Louis’ first opportunity as an athletic director came in 2012 where he led the Xenia Community Schools athletic program. The Buccaneers saw instant improvement as he led a campaign which featured a $1 million commitment from Premier Health and instantly inhaled new life into the program.
Prior to his position with Xenia, Louis spent three seasons (2009-11) at his alma mater Muskingum University as the team’s linebackers coach and director of strength and conditioning.
While at Muskingum, Louis mentored a sensational group of student-athletes that many coaches throughout the powerful Ohio Athletic Conference referred to as the best linebacking unit in NCAA D-III college football. Ethan Wetzel and Alex Thomas earned All-OAC accolades, while Thomas was also named an All-American.
Preceding his stop at Muskingum, Louis spent the 2008 season as the outside linebackers coach at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and two years at the University of Cincinnati (2006-07) as the assistant to the head coach in addition to his responsibilities of supporting the defensive backs unit.
Following the 2007 season, Louis’ chief advisor Brian Kelly was named the Home Depot Coach of the Year, and three Bearcats were NFL draft picks: second-team All-American and UC career interception leader Mike Mickens (Dallas Cowboys), 2007 NCAA interception leader DeAngelo Smith (Dallas Cowboys) and All-BIG EAST performer Brandon Underwood (Green Bay Packers). Safety Haruki Nakamura also spent a number of years in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens. In 2007, the Bearcats led the nation with 26 interceptions.
Former UC head coach Mark Dantonio hired Louis away from the University at Buffalo where he was a graduate assistant cornerbacks coach under Nebraska legend Turner Gill, following the 2004 season where he was as an intern in public relations with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals’ public relations staff was awarded the NFL’s prestigious Rozelle Award for being the League’s most helpful staff while also winning the AFC North in 2004. In total, Louis has been an independent contractor for the Cincinnati Bengals for 17 years.
During college, Louis was a member of the Muskingum College football team from 1999-2002. He completed his playing career having earned four varsity letters while starting three seasons at cornerback for the Fighting Muskies. He complied 14 total interceptions and 140 total tackles enroot to being named the team’s 2002 MVP, first-team All-Ohio Athletic Conference, and a second-team Don Hansen’s Football Gazette All-North Region honoree which makes up the annual All-America Team. He still currently resides in the Top 3 all-time regarding interception records (Career/Season/Game) within the Muskingum Football record book.
In 1999, Louis graduated from Mason High School and enjoyed a decorated prep career. He amassed eight varsity letters (Track-four, Football-three, and Basketball-one). He was named first-team All-Fort Ancient Valley Conference on the track all four years in high school, while also posting six track and field school records upon graduation. Louis also captained both the MHS varsity track and basketball teams. In 1996, he was also named the game MVP of the Comets' first playoff football game in school history by the Comet Chronicle and local TV.
Louis holds a bachelor's of arts in business from Muskingum College (2003), and a master's of education in sport administration from Xavier University (2005).
Year: Organization (Position)
2004-05: Cincinnati Bengals (Public Relations Intern)
2005: University at Buffalo (Graduate Assistant/Corners)
2006-07: University of Cincinnati (Football Operations/Asst. to the Head Coach/Asst. Corners)
2008: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Outside Linebackers)
2009-2011: Muskingum University (Linebackers/Dir. of Strength and Conditioning)
2012: Xenia Community Schools (Athletic Director)
2013-16: Springboro Community Schools (Athletic Director)
2016-20: Middletown City Schools (Asst. Athletic Director/Special Teams Coordinator)
2020-present: Little Miami Schools (Athletic Director)
