The Dickinson State Coaching Tree: From Blue Hawk Linebacker to Newcastle Head Coach – Matt Conzelman ’01

Coaching Tree: Maps the relationships between a head coach and their former assistants or players who later became head coaches themselves. It’s similar to a family tree but applied to coaching..

As part of the 100 Years of DSU Football project, Dickinson State University is spotlighting coaches across the nation who’ve carried forward the traditions and values of legendary Blue Hawk leaders Hank Biesiot and Pete Stanton. Through a series of interviews conducted by students in Dr. Debora Dragseth’s Theodore Roosevelt Honors Leadership Program, the Blue Hawk Coaching Tree is coming to life—one story at a time.

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Matt Conzelman, a 2001 graduate of Dickinson State University, is one of those branches firmly rooted in the teachings of Coach Hank Biesiot and Coach Pete Stanton. A linebacker for the Blue Hawks from 1996 to 2001, Conzelman learned lessons in grit and perseverance that he still carries into his own program today.

Before every game, Coach Biesiot would tell the team, “Don’t Be Out Hit, Don’t Be Out Hustled.” That message became a personal mantra for Conzelman. “To me, it means if you get knocked down, you better get back up and keep fighting,” he explained. “And ‘Don’t Be Out Hustled’ is about giving relentless effort in everything you pursue.” It’s a phrase he repeats often to his own athletes at Newcastle High School, where he has served as head football coach since 2009.

Conzelman’s last year at DSU also gave him a season under Linebacker Coach Pete Stanton, whose passion and loyalty made a lasting impression. “The dedication he showed to Dickinson State and to his players was unwavering. In just a short time, I knew he was going to do great things for the program,” Conzelman said.

Like many former players, he smiles when recalling Biesiot’s quirky side—phrases like “dag gummit,” “gosh dangit,” or even “horse puckey.” And his fondest on-field memories still bring energy to his voice: a juggling interception against Black Hills State that earned him a helmet slap and a “Great catch Congo!” from Biesiot; the last-second win over the University of Mary where the team piled onto roommate Brian Mills in the end zone; and closing his career in the “Snow Bowl” against Dakota State, playing through six inches of snow.

Though Conzelman always had an interest in coaching, it was Biesiot’s personal connection with players that convinced him to make it his career. “He influenced us to be the best versions of ourselves, and that’s the kind of coach I strive to be.”

Today, Conzelman still runs many of the same drills he learned at DSU and has added traditions of his own, like watermelon relays after two-a-days and a postgame “Blue Hawk Celebration” victory chant. If Biesiot or Stanton were to watch him coach now, Conzelman hopes they’d see those shared philosophies alive in his style—and be proud of the way the Blue Hawk legacy continues in Newcastle, Wyoming.

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Interview conducted by Ameerah Rosin.

The Blue Hawk Coaching Tree is part of the Centennial Celebration of Dickinson State Football