Mat Clark (2024) - Hall of Fame

Mat Clark

Induction:
2024
Class:
2009

Known for both his prowess on the track as well as in the classroom, Mat Clark is the 2024 recipient of the Merlin Taylor Academic Award.

An Ames, Iowa native, Clark spent four years on UNI's track and field roster from 2006 to 2009, quickly becoming one of the program's most successful multi-event athletes. A seven-time All-MVC Team selection between indoor and outdoor competition, Clark burst onto the scene by qualifying for the World Junior Championships in Beijing, China after his freshman year in 2006 by placing second at the US Junior Championships. During the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships, Clark's first NCAA championship appearance, he earned All-American honors in the heptathlon with 5,613 points, the second-highest score in school history at the time.

In outdoor action, he reached the NCAA Championships twice, placing tenth in 2008 and ninth in 2009 in the decathlon. After winning the 2009 Drake Relays decathlon, Clark went on to win the event at the MVC Outdoor Championships and was named the meet's Most Outstanding Field Athlete after posting a 7,785-point performance – a score that was ranked third in the NCAA, a facility record and currently ranks third all-time in UNI history. During the summer of 2008, he competed in the decathlon at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon with a 17th place finish.

Clark was selected to the MVC's Scholar-Athlete Team three times during his Panther career (2007, 2008, 2009) and earned First Team Academic All-American honors from the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) in 2008 and 2009. He was also named a CoSIDA (now College Sports Communicators) First Team Academic All-American in 2008 and 2009 and is one of three Panther track and field athletes to earn multiple First-Team honors. He graduated from UNI with a bachelor's degree in biology in 2009.

After winning an NCAA postgraduate scholarship in 2009, Clark moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas and began his coaching career with the University of Arkansas, first as a volunteer assistant track coach with the Razorbacks and later the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the men's track and field/cross country teams. Clark earned his master's degree in physical education in 2019 from Arkansas and currently serves as the Director of Strength and Conditioning for the Razorbacks' men's and women's track and field/cross country teams. Clark currently resides in Fayetteville with his wife Abby, and his three children, Adeline, Ford, and Beau.