Wright State's Jefferson To Retire After 2009 Season

Sept. 4, 2008

FAIRBORN, Ohio - Wright State head golf coach Fred Jefferson has announced his intentions to retire after the spring 2009 season. Jefferson has been the head coach of the Raiders for 24 years and will retire with one of the most prolific records in WSU athletics.

"Fred's contributions to the university, the athletic department and specifically our golf program are immeasurable," said Wright State Director of Athletics Bob Grant. "What he has been able to accomplish here in 24 years in nothing short of remarkable. Fred is a consummate professional, a gracious gentleman and has been a great ambassador for Wright State."

The "dean" of Raider and Horizon League coaches, Jefferson looks to continue to add to his coaching resume of five NCAA appearances and six conference titles. He has been named coach of the year five times during his tenure.

"It's hard for me to believe that is has been almost 25 years since I started at Wright State," Jefferson said. "It started as something I thought would be a short-term commitment and it turned into a labor of love. I couldn't start to thank everyone I have worked with, worked for or coached. It has been a great opportunity that I would never have traded."

It started before the Raiders went to Division I, WSU Hall of Famer John Traugh competed as an individual at the 1986 Division II NCAA Nationals. In 1987, the team qualified for the Division II Nationals and finished in 11th place.

The program continued to grow after Wright State moved to Division I. In 1989, current PGA tour member Frank Lickliter became the first individual to make an appearance for the Raiders in a NCAA D-I tournament. The following year, the Raiders as a team made their first Division I NCAA tournament appearance. Wright State has made three more trips to NCAA regional tournaments since--2000 in Fresno, California; 2003 in Manhattan, Kansas; and 2004 in Sunriver, Oregon.

The Raiders have won conference championships in six of the last 13 years. WSU first performed the feat in the Mid-Continent Conference in 1993 before moving to the Horizon League (formerly the Midwestern Collegiate Conference) and winning the title five times in 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2004.

Coach Jefferson has also been named the WSU Coach of the Year four times in 1987, 1988, 1997 and 2003.

Jefferson Superlatives

High Conference Finishes
Mid-Continent
1993 First (Coach of the Year)
1994 Second

MCC/Horizon League
1995 Second
1996 First (Coach of the Year)
1997 First (Coach of the Year)
1999 Second
2000 First (Coach of the Year)
2002 Second
2003 First (Coach of the Year)
2004 First
2005 Second

Department Coach of the Year: 1987, 1988, 1997 and 2003

Player Highlights in Pros
Frank Lickliter: 1989 NCAA Tournament participant; currently on PGA Tour Matt Sharkey: Played professionally on Nike Tour; Greensboro Open of PGA Tour Heath Wassen: Honda Classic of PGA Tour Jimmy Henderson: US Open of PGA Tour Sam Arnold: PGA Championship Tournament

HL Conference Newcomer of the Year: 1995-Jon Eggleton; 1996-Scott Hailes; 1997-Joe Osmon; 2000-John Schones; 2003-Marty Miller; 2004-Brandon Knutson

Mid-Continent Player of the Year: 1993-Sam Arnold

HL Player of the Year (started in 2002): 2002-John Schones; 2003-Jesse Hutchins

HL Medalists: 1996-Scott Hailes; 1997-Pete Samborsky; 2000-Billy Day; 2002-Jesse Hutchins; 2006-Brandon Knutson

Mid-Continent All Conference Players: 1993-Sam Arnold, Kevin Jones, Joe Moore; 1994-Derek Beaulieu, Sam Arnold

HL All-Conference: 1995-Jon Eggleton, Kevin Jones; 1996-ScottHailes, Joe Moore, Jon Eggleton, Pete Samborsky; 1997-Pete Samborsky,Jon Eggleton, Scott Belair, Joe Osmon; 1998-Junichi Hayashi; 1999-JoeOsmon, Jim Henderson; 2000-Billy Day, John Schones, Joe Osmon;2001-Jesse Hutchins, John Schones; 2002- John Schones, Jesse Hutchins;2003-Jesse Hutchins, John Schones; 2004-Brandon Knutson, Marty Miller;2005-none; 2006-Tyler Miskell; 2007-Brandon Knutson; 2008-Tyler Miskell

HL All-Tournament (started in 2001): 2001-Jesse Hutchins;2002-Jesse Hutchins, Andrew Lewis; 2003-Jesse Hutchins, John Schones,Marty Miller, Jason Williams; 2004-Tate Prows; 2005-Brandon Judy, BenGrandy; 2006-Brandon Knutson; 2007-Brandon Knutson; 2008-none

League Records:
Lowest Team Score: 850, Wright State in 2000 Lowest Individual Score: 210 by Billy Day in 2000 and Brandon Knutson in 2002 (4-way tie) Lowest Team Round: 277, Wright State in 2000 Lowest Individual Score: 66 by Billy Day in 2000 (3-way tie)

Wright State Highlights:
Low Round: 201 (-12) Jesse Hutchins (68-69-64) in 2002 Low Score: 64 (-7) Jesse Hutchins in 2002 and 65 (-7) Brandon Knutson in 2006

Dr. Carl Benner Scholar Athlete Awards:
1987: Matt Sharkey; 1988: Rom Kamm; 1998 and 1999: Steve Ray

Don Mohr Athlete of the Year Awards:
1979: Tim O'Neal; 1990: Frank Lickliter; 2003: Jesse Hutchins

-- story provided by the Wright State Sports Information office