Recently, Ursinus College officially unveiled the newly dedicated Dave Matey Linebacker Lounge, honoring Matey’s legacy as an outstanding player and friend to the community.
David Matey was an Ursinus graduate of the class of 1991. While he attended Ursinus, he was a proud member of the Ursinus Football Team, studied Communications, and made a lifetime of memories. Tragically in 2021, Dave lost his battle to Small Cell Lung cancer, leaving a hole in the Ursinus community.
“He was everyone’s friend. He loved football. He was competitive. He was a great husband, a great father, and a great friend,” his wife Coleen said.
Coleen and Dave met at Ursinus through their roommates. Not long after, they began dating in their senior year and eventually got married in 1995. It was also during his time at Ursinus that Dave formed strong friendships with his fellow football teammates.
“That [football] program creates lifelong friends,” Coleen said. “They truly had a brotherhood around that [football program] and we have stayed very good friends with all of our college friends since we went to school there.”
The Dave Matey Lounge project was orchestrated by Dave’s good friend and Ursinus Alum John Eitzen. The goal for the lounge was to create a better and more impressionable experience for prospective football players. The lounge, which now includes updated furniture and modern refurbishing, helps the coaches better showcase the program to visiting prospects and their families. The room also includes a picture of Dave which proudly hangs on the wall, serving as a perfect symbol of the brotherhood and character that Ursinus’s football program creates.
Initially, there were limited resources to fund the renovations, so Eitzen gathered former alumni and friends of Dave to help raise the money. Some donors noted by Coleen include John Mason and Chris Chipman, as well as Ursinus trustees Scott Flannery and David Kovach, who were all life-long friends of Dave’s. Eitzen’s goal was to raise exactly twenty-two thousand dollars – twenty-two to honor Dave’s Ursinus football number. Many of Dave’s friends and former teammates helped Eitzen get to this goal and were there to celebrate the opening of the lounge with Coleen.
“I didn’t have really anything to do with it until the ribbon cutting ceremony, where my daughters and our friends and family came. And it was a great day…. [Dave’s friends] spoke some great words about Dave during it, and it was just very well done,” said Coleen.
When asked about what the lounge means to her, Coleen expressed her gratitude and excitement about the lounge helping new recruits get the same incredible experience that her husband had at Ursinus.
“For them to give back to that lounge and help Coach [Gallagher] create similar memories for new recruits and kids that are looking at the football program felt pretty good.”
Ultimately, Coleen is grateful for all the work that went into Dave’s lounge, and although Dave is no longer with us, she could not be prouder of her husband and the influence he had on those around him.
“It makes me happy that Dave’s friends loved him that much to do something in his memory like that, and proud of Dave for making such an impact on that school and the program. I love that it is a room that will always be in his memory and keep up his legacy for his family and his daughters.”