Keye Matthews enters his sixth season as Head Cheer Coach at the University of Tennessee Southern in 2025–26, having joined the Firehawk staff in January 2020. Since taking over the program, Matthews has guided UT Southern Cheer to consistent growth and national prominence.
Under his leadership, the Firehawks have captured conference titles, earned multiple national podium finishes, and produced numerous All-Conference, All-American, and individual award winners.
Most recently, in the 2024–25 season, UT Southern placed second at both the SSAC Conference Championship and the NCA National Championship in Daytona. The program celebrated five SSAC All-Conference selections, four NAIA All-Americans, and saw Nakiya Mostella honored as SSAC Athlete of the Year.
In 2023–24, Matthews led the Firehawks to an SSAC Championship while being named SSAC Coach of the Year. That same season, UT Southern secured a runner-up finish at the NCA National Championship and placed five athletes on the SSAC All-Conference Team.
The 2022–23 campaign marked another milestone, with UT Southern finishing second at the Mid-South Conference Championship and eighth nationally at the NAIA Championship. The team produced six Mid-South All-Conference athletes, three NAIA All-Americans, the Mid-South Freshman of the Year, and Matthews was recognized as Mid-South Coach of the Year.
During his early seasons, Matthews laid the foundation for the program’s success. In 2021–22, he brought in a large and talented recruiting class that propelled the Firehawks to a second-place finish at the Mid-South Conference Championship. In his debut season of 2020–21, he took over midyear and guided a roster of just 12 athletes, setting the stage for the program’s rapid rise.
A native of Columbia, Tennessee, Matthews was a standout student-athlete at Martin Methodist College (now UT Southern) from 2014–2019. He helped lead the program to the 2016 NAIA National Championship and the 2018 SSAC Conference Championship. Individually, he was a four-time NAIA All-American, two-time All-Conference honoree, and a member of the Martin Methodist Athletic All-Sesquicentennial Team.
Matthews holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Management, which he earned from Martin Methodist College.
