June 24, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Chris Whitten, a former member of the University of Notre Dame men’s golf team, has been named the head men’s golf coach at the University of Michigan, it was announced by Michigan Director of Athletics Dave Brandon on Thursday.
The Rockford, Mich., native graduated from Notre Dame in 2002 with a degree in English. During his time with the Irish program, Whitten was named a Cleveland Golf/GCAA All-America Scholar, earned Notre Dame’s Varsity Monogram Award, as well as the Knute Rockne Scholar Athlete Award in 2002, while helping Notre Dame to two runner-up finishes at the BIG EAST Championship in ’99 and ’02. The 2002 Monogram winner accumulated 23 rounds for the Irish with a 77.43 stroke average during his Irish career.
For the past five years, Whitten has served as an assistant coach for the Wolverines, being named a finalist for the Jan Strickland Award each of the past two seasons, given to the top assistant coach in all NCAA Divisions. During Whitten’s tenure, Michigan has posted eight tournament wins and five Wolverines have won eight medalist honors.
Before joining Michigan’s staff in May 2006, Whitten worked as an assistant golf professional at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, where he focused on membership instructional programs, clinics, and group lessons. He also assisted with tournament operations for over 90 summer golf events.
Whitten got his start in coaching with the Irish, serving as the first-ever assistant men’s golf coach at Notre Dame for two seasons from 2003-05, helping the Irish capture the 2004 BIG EAST Championship. He also oversaw recruiting duties along with other general assistant duties, including serving as the assistant tournament director for the 2003 and 2004 BIG EAST Men’s Golf Championships. Whitten also was fundamental in establishing the formation of the Irish Golf School in 2004.