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University of North Carolina Athletics
DiBitetto A Finalist For National Asst. Coach Of The Year
April 12, 2016 | Men's Golf
University of North Carolina associate head men's golf coach Andrew DiBitetto is one of four finalists for the Jan Strickland Assistant Coach of the Year Award, which the Golf Coaches Association of America presents to the country's top assistant coach.
The Strickland Award is presented to the NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA or NJCAA assistant coach that, among other things, has excelled in working with their student-athletes both on the course and in the classroom. TaylorMade-adidas Golf has sponsored the Strickland Award since its inception in 2003.
DiBitetto joins Ryan Blagg of Baylor, Jean-Paul Hebert of Texas and LSU's Garrett Runion as 2016 finalists.
DiBitetto and head coach Andrew Sapp are in their fifth year directing the Tar Heels' men's golf program. The Rochester, N.Y., native played collegiate golf at Charlotte, finishing ninth at the 2007 NCAA Championships, and later was the 49ers' assistant coach and interim head coach.
“Andrew does a wonderful job and has been instrumental in our climb in the rankings over the past five years,” says Sapp. “It's a great honor for him to be named a finalist for the Jan Strickland Assistant Coach of the Year Award, and I hope he is selected for that great award. Andrew is a fantastic recruiter and has helped us bring in top 20 players every year. He relates so well to our players in helping them develop once they arrive in Chapel Hill. I am fortunate to get to work with Andrew every day and working with him has made me a better head coach.”
The Tar Heels have won seven team titles and six different players have won medalist honors eight times in DiBitetto's five-year tenure. Ben Griffin won honorable mention All-America and All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors as a freshman in 2015 when he set the Tar Heels' single-season stroke average record. William Register, like Griffin, won two events as a freshman, and set Carolina all-time record for lowest score in a 54-hole event.
This season, junior Carter Jenkins shot a 63, which tied the lowest round ever in competition by a Tar Heel. Carolina has seven top-five team finishes in nine tournaments with a victory at the Primland Collegiate Invitational.
A dynamic recruiter, DiBitetto has helped bring outstanding students to UNC who have excelled both in the classroom and on the golf course. Five Tar Heels have been selected to the All-ACC Academic team on eight occasions since he joined the UNC staff. Last year, 10 of UNC's 11 players qualified for the ACC Academic Honor Roll. The Tar Heels have broken the team's grade point average record three times in the last four years.
“College golf is filled with tremendous coaches, both head coaches and assistants,” says DiBitetto. “To be recognized by peers and to be named a finalist for the Jan Strickland Award is truly an honor. However, this is a representation of our entire program and what has taken place in the five years that Coach Sapp and I have been at UNC. It's a credit to Coach Sapp, our administrators, support staff, and most certainly to our student-athletes who put in the time and effort each day to achieve individual goals and our team goals.”
The Tar Heels are currently in the top 25 in all the major collegiate golf polls after finishing the fall No. 6 in Golfweek's rankings. UNC was outside the top 70 nationally when Sapp and DiBitetto came to Chapel Hill prior to the 2011-12 season.
Carolina returns to action on April 22 at the 2016 ACC Championships at the Old North State Club in New London, N.C.
