Matt Thome

Matt Thome, MS, CSCS, is in his third year as Director of the Nebraska Athletic Performance Laboratory (NAPL) and fourth year in the Nebraska Athletic Department. In his role at Nebraska, Thome oversees the direction of the Applied Sport Science Team by working with coaching and performance staff members on the integration of sport technologies, training strategies and return-to-play processes to promote athlete development and health with the goal of optimizing performance.

Prior to joining the NAPL, he worked as a Sport Scientist for Olympic-level sprinters at ALTIS Training in Phoenix, Ariz. He was responsible for the organization of a monitoring framework for elite track and field sprinters. Thome managed daily monitoring data, conducting research in an applied sport setting as well as programing and coaching strength training in the 100-meters and 110-meter hurdles.

Thome worked as a Head Strength & Conditioning Coach and Lecturer at Michigan Tech from 2012 to 2018. He directed strength and conditioning programs for all 14 sports while also teaching within the Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology Department. He began his coaching career as an Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University of Richmond from 2011-12.

Thome earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Grand Valley State University in 2008, followed by a master’s degree in exercise physiology from Indiana University in 2011. He completed his PhD in Sport Science at Edith Cowan University in 2024, where his research focused on monitoring training load and training effects in elite sprinters.

Matt and his wife, Amber, have two children, Luna and Milo.