%20(1).png&width=36&height=36&type=webp)
University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: UNC Athletic Communications
DiBitetto Agrees to 5-Year Extension to Lead Men's Golf
September 29, 2021 | Men's Golf
Three Straight NCAA Top-20 Finishes
University of North Carolina men's golf head coach Andrew DiBitetto has agreed to a five-year contract extension through 2026, Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham announced today.
"Andrew has done a great job with our men's golf program," says Cunningham. "He helped build a strong culture as an assistant coach but has taken us to a new level of performance and success on the course and the classroom in the four-plus years he's been the head coach. We believe we can win championships at Carolina. He's recruited outstanding players, has a strong partnership with assistant coach Matt Clark and is continuing to develop our program to where we are competing with the top programs on a weekly basis."
Carolina is one of six men's golf teams in the country to finish in the top 20 in the last three NCAA Championships. The Tar Heels tied for fifth place at the 2021 NCAA Championship, tied a program-best second place finish in an NCAA regional for the second consecutive time, won the 54-hole stroke play portion of the Atlantic Coast Conference, had a player earn first-team All-America honors for the first time in nearly 20 seasons and had three players selected All-ACC for only the fourth time in school history. The fifth-place finish was Carolina's best at an NCAA Championship in 28 seasons.
"I want to thank Chancellor Guskiewicz, the Board of Trustees and Bubba Cunningham for their belief in our program and in me by extending my contract," says DiBitetto. "I also want to thank my family. They are my biggest supporters and sacrifice so much so I can do what I love, which is to help and support our guys in any way possible. This extension is not about me; it's about our Carolina Golf program and family. It's about our entire support staff who work tirelessly behind the scenes to assist, mentor and motivate our young men. It's about our alumni and donors who have stepped up so significantly these past few years. It's about our amazing University community. And, of course, it's about Coach (Matt) Clark, our recent graduates and current student-athletes. I want to thank them for believing in a vision and then executing that plan every day. We have an amazing group of people, who do things the right way, for the right reasons and are relentless in their pursuit to get better."
The Tar Heels are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation (Golfweek) and have won their first two tournaments, their eighth and ninth titles in his tenure. UNC won the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational on September 19, beating 10 nationally-ranked opponents, including four other top-five ranked teams.
Fifth-year senior Ryan Gerard and junior Austin Greaser have won medalist honors this month at the Rod Myers Invitational at Duke and Olympia Fields, respectively. Gerard is third all-time in stroke average at Carolina, one of seven players DiBitetto has recruited or coached who rank among the top eight in career average in UNC history; Greaser was a finalist at the 2021 U.S. Amateur.
Last season, Peter Fountain became the first Tar Heel since 2003 to earn first-team All-America honors, the first Tar Heel ever named to the All-Jack Nicklaus team and UNC's only first-team All-America as a freshman. Fountain was medalist at the ACC Championship, the ACC Freshman of the Year and set UNC's single-season stroke average record at 69.68. It was the second consecutive season a Tar Heel broke the single-season school scoring record. Ryan Burnett accomplished that in 2020 en route to winning second-team All-America honors.
In his first four seasons as head coach, six players earned All-America honors (Josh Martin in 2018, Austin Hitt in 2019, Burnett and Gerard in 2020 and Fountain and Greaser in 2021), five earned All-ACC honors (Ben Griffin in 2018, Hitt in 2019 and Hitt, Fountain and Greaser in 2021).
Carolina won the stroke play portion of the 2021 ACC Championship in record-breaking fashion, setting the all-time tournament record with a 26-under-par 814.
In his four previous seasons as head coach the Tar Heels have earned eight Academic All-ACC and five Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar awards. Eighteen Tar Heels made the Academic All-ACC team and 10 earned All-America scholar honors in his 10 seasons in Chapel Hill.
Six of DiBitetto's current and former players were ranked in the Top 125 in the September 22 World Amateur Rankings (Greaser was 30th, Fountain 37th, freshman David Ford 41st, Burnett 101st, Gerard 106th and Hitt 112th.)
DiBitetto played collegiately at UNC Charlotte and joined the Tar Heel men's golf program as assistant coach in 2011.
"Andrew has done a great job with our men's golf program," says Cunningham. "He helped build a strong culture as an assistant coach but has taken us to a new level of performance and success on the course and the classroom in the four-plus years he's been the head coach. We believe we can win championships at Carolina. He's recruited outstanding players, has a strong partnership with assistant coach Matt Clark and is continuing to develop our program to where we are competing with the top programs on a weekly basis."
Carolina is one of six men's golf teams in the country to finish in the top 20 in the last three NCAA Championships. The Tar Heels tied for fifth place at the 2021 NCAA Championship, tied a program-best second place finish in an NCAA regional for the second consecutive time, won the 54-hole stroke play portion of the Atlantic Coast Conference, had a player earn first-team All-America honors for the first time in nearly 20 seasons and had three players selected All-ACC for only the fourth time in school history. The fifth-place finish was Carolina's best at an NCAA Championship in 28 seasons.
"I want to thank Chancellor Guskiewicz, the Board of Trustees and Bubba Cunningham for their belief in our program and in me by extending my contract," says DiBitetto. "I also want to thank my family. They are my biggest supporters and sacrifice so much so I can do what I love, which is to help and support our guys in any way possible. This extension is not about me; it's about our Carolina Golf program and family. It's about our entire support staff who work tirelessly behind the scenes to assist, mentor and motivate our young men. It's about our alumni and donors who have stepped up so significantly these past few years. It's about our amazing University community. And, of course, it's about Coach (Matt) Clark, our recent graduates and current student-athletes. I want to thank them for believing in a vision and then executing that plan every day. We have an amazing group of people, who do things the right way, for the right reasons and are relentless in their pursuit to get better."
The Tar Heels are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation (Golfweek) and have won their first two tournaments, their eighth and ninth titles in his tenure. UNC won the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational on September 19, beating 10 nationally-ranked opponents, including four other top-five ranked teams.
Fifth-year senior Ryan Gerard and junior Austin Greaser have won medalist honors this month at the Rod Myers Invitational at Duke and Olympia Fields, respectively. Gerard is third all-time in stroke average at Carolina, one of seven players DiBitetto has recruited or coached who rank among the top eight in career average in UNC history; Greaser was a finalist at the 2021 U.S. Amateur.
Last season, Peter Fountain became the first Tar Heel since 2003 to earn first-team All-America honors, the first Tar Heel ever named to the All-Jack Nicklaus team and UNC's only first-team All-America as a freshman. Fountain was medalist at the ACC Championship, the ACC Freshman of the Year and set UNC's single-season stroke average record at 69.68. It was the second consecutive season a Tar Heel broke the single-season school scoring record. Ryan Burnett accomplished that in 2020 en route to winning second-team All-America honors.
In his first four seasons as head coach, six players earned All-America honors (Josh Martin in 2018, Austin Hitt in 2019, Burnett and Gerard in 2020 and Fountain and Greaser in 2021), five earned All-ACC honors (Ben Griffin in 2018, Hitt in 2019 and Hitt, Fountain and Greaser in 2021).
Carolina won the stroke play portion of the 2021 ACC Championship in record-breaking fashion, setting the all-time tournament record with a 26-under-par 814.
In his four previous seasons as head coach the Tar Heels have earned eight Academic All-ACC and five Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar awards. Eighteen Tar Heels made the Academic All-ACC team and 10 earned All-America scholar honors in his 10 seasons in Chapel Hill.
Six of DiBitetto's current and former players were ranked in the Top 125 in the September 22 World Amateur Rankings (Greaser was 30th, Fountain 37th, freshman David Ford 41st, Burnett 101st, Gerard 106th and Hitt 112th.)
DiBitetto played collegiately at UNC Charlotte and joined the Tar Heel men's golf program as assistant coach in 2011.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
Hubert Davis Pre-Kansas Press Conference
Thursday, November 06
UNC Field Hockey: Tar Heels Drop Duke, 5-2, for Spot in ACC Final
Thursday, November 06
UNC Men's Soccer: Tar Heels Down Irish, 3-1, to Advance in ACCT
Thursday, November 06
Coach's Corner with Bill Belichick - Episode 9 - November 5, 2025
Wednesday, November 05