Southern New Hampshire University

Matt Arvanitis was named head men's golf coach at Southern New Hampshire University in April 2005 and has developed the Penmen into one of the Northeast 10's most consistent championship programs.

Arvanitis has guided SNHU to four Northeast 10 Championships, 14 NCAA regional berths and two appearances at the NCAA Division II National Championship. He has been named Northeast 10 Coach of the Year three times and Golf Coaches Association of America East Region Coach of the Year three times.

Arvanitis' connection to the program's history extends well beyond his coaching tenure. He has been part of all six Northeast 10 championship teams in SNHU history, winning the first two as a Penmen student-athlete in 2001 and 2002 before coaching the program to titles in 2015, 2018, 2024 and 2025. He was also a member of SNHU's first NCAA regional team as a student-athlete in 2003 and has coached each of the program's ensuing 14 regional appearances.
 
The Penmen captured their second straight Northeast 10 Championship in 2025-26, becoming the first SNHU team to repeat as conference champion since Arvanitis and his teammates accomplished the feat in 2001 and 2002. Sophomore Andrew Surprenant won individual medalist honors, firing a program- and championship-record 6-under 65 in the final round and finishing at a championship-record 8-under 205. Surprenant went on to earn Northeast 10 First Team All-Conference and GCAA PING East All-Region honors as SNHU earned the program's 15th NCAA regional berth.
 
That championship followed an outstanding 2024-25 campaign in which the Penmen won four tournaments, recorded seven top-three finishes in 10 events and captured the Northeast 10 crown by 15 strokes. Arvanitis was voted Northeast 10 Coach of the Year for the third time in his career, while Jack Pepin and Surprenant earned First Team All-Conference honors and Sean Dully and Sam Maurice were selected to the Third Team. Pepin also earned GCAA PING East All-Region recognition and finished ninth at the NCAA Atlantic/East Regional Championship.
 
The recent success continued a lengthy run of NCAA postseason appearances. SNHU has earned an NCAA regional berth in every completed season since 2013-14. In 2021-22, Arvanitis guided the Penmen to four tournament victories and a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Atlantic/East Regional, narrowly missing a berth in the national championship. He was named both Northeast 10 Coach of the Year and GCAA East Region Coach of the Year, while AJ Cavotta was selected as the Northeast 10 Player of the Year and advanced to the NCAA National Championship as an individual. The following season, SNHU tied for 10th at the NCAA regional and placed three golfers — Matt Conti, Jeff Liss and Evan Rollins — on the GCAA PING East All-Region Team.
 
Two of Arvanitis' teams have advanced to the NCAA National Championship. The 2015-16 Penmen won the Northeast 10 Championship, finished second at the NCAA Atlantic/East Regional and placed 16th at the national championship. Three years later, SNHU won another Northeast 10 title before capturing the first NCAA Atlantic/East Regional Championship in program history and finishing 15th nationally.
 
Matt Paradis helped lead that historic 2018-19 team, winning individual medalist honors at the NCAA regional and becoming the first GCAA All-American in program history. Paradis, the 2019 Northeast 10 Player of the Year, also won back-to-back Northeast 10 individual championships in 2017 and 2018.
 
Arvanitis has coached a long list of conference and regional standouts, including Northeast 10 individual champions Shane Winslow, Jake Nutter, Paradis, Jeff Liss and Surprenant. Nutter and Paradis later joined Arvanitis in the SNHU Athletic Hall of Fame.
 
Before becoming the Penmen's head coach, Arvanitis enjoyed a standout career at SNHU. A two-time Northeast 10 First Team All-Conference selection, he captured the conference individual championship and was named Northeast 10 Player of the Year in 2001. He helped SNHU win back-to-back conference championships in 2001 and 2002 and reach its first NCAA Division II regional in the spring of 2003. Arvanitis finished his collegiate career with a 75.8 stroke average and was inducted into the SNHU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.
 
Arvanitis has also enjoyed considerable success in competitive golf. He competed in the 2005 U.S. Amateur Championship and qualified for U.S. Open sectional qualifying in 2001, as well as the U.S. Amateur Public Links and USGA State Team Championship in 2003. He won the Manchester City Championship in 2000 and 2004 and captured the Granite State Open in 1999.
 
As a professional, Arvanitis won the New Hampshire PGA Championship in 2011, 2018 and 2020. He had earned New Hampshire PGA Player of the Year honors five times by 2017 and added another Player of the Year award in 2020.
 
A Manchester, N.H., native and graduate of Pinkerton Academy, Arvanitis has also represented New Hampshire at the Tri-State Championships.
 
Arvanitis also served as the founding head coach of SNHU's women's golf program when it began competition in 2013-14.