Courtesy of Rob Bentley, Ferris State Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University has brought back one of its own to lead the Bulldog men's and women's golf programs as former FSU standout Kyle Wittenbach was tabbed today (Aug. 5) as the school's new head coach.
A 2012 Ferris State alum, Wittenbach has served as the head coach at fellow Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) member Northern Michigan University since 2014. He fills the void left by the departure of his collegiate coach and former FSU head coach Mike Mignano, who accepted another position as the youth program director for The First Tee of Northern Michigan earlier this summer.
Along with coaching both the men's and women's teams at Ferris State, Wittenbach will also work closely with the school's Professional Golf Management (PGM) program and FSU's Katke Golf Course. Both Aaron Waltz, who serves as Ferris State's PGM Golf Management Director, along with Katke Golf Course Head Professional & Manger Ian Ziska actively participated in the search process with FSU Athletics.
"We're thrilled to welcome back Kyle Wittenbach as our head coach along with his family," said FSU Athletics Director Perk Weisenburger. "He had an outstanding collegiate career as a Bulldog student-athlete and has quickly had success in his coaching career. He possesses the necessary ability, work ethic and dedication to lead our men's and women's programs to new heights while carrying on a championship tradition of success. Kyle's passion and vision were very prominent qualities that stood out during the interview process.
"We're thankful for the strong working relationship between the PGM program, Katke Golf Course and the intercollegiate golf teams at Ferris State and have no doubts that collaboration will be greatly enhanced with Kyle at the helm," he added.
During his tenure at Northern Michigan, Wittenbach guided the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999 in his second campaign this past year. The Wildcats, who placed in the top five overall at five different tournaments, were ranked as high as 14th in the country in the national GolfStat rankings during the 2015-16 season and achieved a number one regional ranking during the year.
Along with leading the NMU men's program the past two years, Wittenbach also took over duties building a new women's program this past year and was the PGA Teaching Professional at Marquette Golf Club. He organized and managed the operations of both NCAA Division II squads while also maintaining and building relationships with alumni, community members and supporters. His men's team posted a 3.24 overall cumulative grade point average this past campaign and has vaulted up more than 100 places in the GolfStat Rankings since his arrival.
"I'm extremely excited to be returning to coach at my alma mater," Wittenbach said. "It's a tremendous opportunity for my family and it feels good to be coming home. Ferris State has had traditionally strong programs with a lot of accomplishments and I'm looking forward to building on that rich history while bringing championships to Big Rapids.
"By incorporating Katke Golf Course, the PGA Golf Management Program and the Bulldog Men's and Women's Golf programs together, we'll be able to build a winning culture for years to come," he added.
Wittenbach began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant on the Bulldog staff under Mignano in 2012. He then played professionally on the eGolf Pro Tour in 2013 where he competed in a full schedule of 15 events before taking over the NMU program. During his time in Marquette, he also served as the Northern Michigan Junior Golf Camp instructor.
A Professional Golf Association (PGA) member, Wittenbach claimed the 2010 GLIAC individual title while helping FSU to the team championship during a memorable collegiate golf career. He also qualified as an individual for the 2012 NCAA Division II National Golf Championships and was a two-time Cleveland Golf/Srixon and Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-America Scholar-Athlete.
Wittenbach earned first-team All-GLIAC accolades in his collegiate career and was the squad's Most Valuable Player award winner in 2011. The four-year letterwinner also claimed GLIAC Commissioner's Award recognition and was both a Ferris State President's Academic Award recipient and a Dean's List honoree for the Bulldogs. He received his bachelor's degree as a Professional Golf Management program graduate from FSU in 2012.
A native of Lowell, Wittenbach completed PGA internships as a golf assistant at several prestigious clubs, including the Classic Club (Palm Desert, Calif.), Montreux Golf & Country Club (Reno, Nev.) and Tullymore Golf Resort (Stanwood, Mich.). His many duties in those roles included teaching a variety of students of all ages along with managerial and operational duties at the respective clubs. He also spent six years working as a member of the outside services staff at West Michigan's Pilgrim's Run Golf Club from 2004-09.
In addition to his various roles as a golf coach, Wittenbach has also been highly active attending teaching seminars across the country, including notable ones at locations such as Thousand Oaks, the Dave Kendall Academy, a Stack and Tilt Seminar filmed for The Golf Channel and more.
Wittenbach will begin his duties at Ferris State on Aug. 22 and be joined in Big Rapids by his wife, Heather, along with his daughter, Darbi.
The Ferris State men's and women's golf programs have a long history of success, which includes a current 14-year NCAA Championship appearance streak in men's golf that ranks as one of the longest active stretches in the country. The women's golf program has advanced to the NCAA regional championships 13 of the past 15 years.
