UT Permian Basin Athletics has announced the hiring of Kyle Wittenbach as the new Head Coach of the Men's and Women's Golf programs. Wittenbach previously served as the Head Golf Coach at national powerhouse Ferris State for four seasons, where he coached two NCAA Tournament teams and one individual NCAA Tournament competitor.
While at Ferris State, Wittenbach coached one of the most successful men's golf programs in the country, advancing to the Division II National Championships in 2017 and 2019. Wittenbach also coached Andrew Hammett as an NCAA Championship qualifier as an individual in 2018.
In his first year at the helm, Wittenbach led the Bulldogs to the national quarterfinals where they fell to eventual national champion Florida Southern. As a team, the Bulldog men were the only team outside the state of Florida or South Carolina to finish in the top seven in the country in stroke play. That season the men won four tournaments in the fall, cracked the top-10 in national rankings, and were runner-ups at the Super Regional Championships.
In 2019-20, Wittenbach's women's team had one of the best seasons in program history. The Bulldogs captured a team tournament title, two second place finishes, and tied the program record for the lowest combined round. Despite their hot start, the season was ended prematurely due to the COVID pandemic.
Wittenbach got his head coaching start at Northern Michigan where he led the men's program to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in nearly two decades in just his second season and ranked as high as No. 14 in the country. He also helped start the women's program at Northern Michigan and coached the team's inaugural season, where he coached Karissa Guthrie to a seventh place individual finish at the conference championships.
He was a decorated collegiate golfer at Ferris State where he claimed the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference individual championship in 2010. 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 Ferris State in 2012.
