Football
- Title:
- Associate A.D./Football Player Personnel
- Email:
- fbrecruiting@msstate.edu
- Phone:
- 325-3470
Matt Dudek, who is in his 17th season in college football, enters his second year at Mississippi State and his first as the Associate Athletic Director for Football Player Personnel. He spent the 2021 season as the Senior Executive Director of Recruiting and Director of Recruiting.
In his current role, Dudek’s primary responsibility is the management of the team’s roster and scholarship allocations, as well as the hiring of recruiting staff and coaches. He also coordinates and directs the staff in the identification, evaluation, and recruitment of prospective student-athletes while managing the logistics of all official and unofficial visits of prospective student-athletes.
Prior to his arrival in Starkville, he spent four years at the University of Michigan as the program's Director of Recruiting. In addition to being responsible to all aspects of the recruiting process, he assisted in all matters of the program and was heavily involved in the identification, interviewing, hiring of coaches and support staff. He also worked as a liaison for numerous external units both within the athletic department and on campus.
His classes ranked #22 nationally (3rd in the Big10) in 2017, #10 (1st) in 2018, #12 (2nd) in 2019, #13 (2nd) in 2020 and featured numerous NFL Draft picks and All-Americans.
Dudek spent five seasons at the University of Arizona before arriving at Michigan, where he served as the on-campus Recruiting Coordinator and Director of Player Personnel (2011-2015) before being elevated to the position of General Manager and Director of Player Personnel in his last year with the Wildcats (2016). He was college football's first G.M.
Between his time in Tucson and at his tenure at the University of Pittsburgh, Dudek helped assemble five top-25 ESPN-ranked recruiting classes on National Signing Day, including the No. 23-ranked class in 2014 at Arizona. He was later recognized by FootballScoop.com as a finalist for the 2014 Director of Player Personnel of the Year.
Prior to joining the staff at Arizona, Dudek was Director of Football Branding and Events at Rutgers University for the 2011 season. He previously held a number of different positions at his alma mater, University of Pittsburgh, including the Assistant Director of Football Operations and Recruiting (2010). He was an academic counselor (2008-2009) with football, women's tennis and the gymnastics teams, where he also served in the role of Disability Resource Services Liaison and as the Continuing Eligibility Certification representative. He began his time as a video graduate assistant (2006-2007).
Dudek graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2003 and earned his Master's in Education in Instruction and Learning in 2008, graduating summa cum laude. One year earlier, he had earned his Pennsylvania Instructional Certification in Secondary Social Studies Education. A native of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, Dudek is a graduate of South Allegheny High School. He and his wife, Lindsay, have three daughters: Abby and twins, Giuliana and Camella and a bulldog named Vegas.
