RICHMOND, Ky. – Men's golf coach Mike Whitson will resign his position at the end of July to pursue professional opportunities outside of college coaching.
 
Whitson, the former EKU women's golf coach (2010-18) and a former Colonel golfer (1994-98), served four seasons as the head coach of the men's program.
 
"I want to thank EKU for the opportunity to coach here for the past 12 years," said Whitson.  "It has been an honor to have coached the men's team the last four years and also coach the women's team prior to that.  Overall I have spent 17 years of my life with an EKU uniform on, both as a player and coach, and I have so many great memories that I will always look back on.  
 
I especially want to thank every player that I have coached.  Teams are only as good as the work ethic and character of the players, and I have been so lucky to coach so many players that represent EKU so well.  I am proud to have been your coach.
 
I am very appreciative of the people I have worked with at EKU.  This is a first-class school and EKU Athletics is a first-class operation.  I have worked with countless people that work tirelessly behind the scenes in academics, media relations, athletic training, strength and conditioning, marketing, compliance, fund raising and many more. 
 
Moving forward, I have accepted an opportunity away from coaching that will allow me to spend more time with my family and open up my schedule at different times of the year.  I'll still be around town, playing some golf, and attending EKU games and events.  I will always be an EKU fan and Go Colonels!!"
 
"We certainly appreciate Mike and all of his efforts leading the men's golf program recently, but also for his outstanding record as our women's golf coach and as a student-athlete," Vice President and Director of Athletics Matt Roan said.  "Mike has always prioritized the student-athlete experience, as well as the development and academic success of his student-athletes.  Even more, Mike is a friend and just a terrific person who will take what has made him successful in coaching and apply it to this new opportunity.  We wish Mike and his family nothing but the best in the future and can't wait to see them on campus and on the golf course as fans."
 
In his first season, Whitson led the Colonels to nine top-10 finishes, including eight in the top-5, in 11 total events.  His team posted the sixth lowest single season scoring average in program history.
 
Under Whitson's tutelage in 2018-19, Erik Lindwall was chosen as the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and picked to the All-OVC team.  He led the conference with a program record 71.66 stroke average.
 
Whitson guided the Colonels to four top-10 performances in six events during the 2019-20 season.  Eastern's 54-hole round score of 832 at the Marshall Invitational tied for the fourth lowest three-round score in program history.  The team's season scoring average of 291.29 was the fifth-best by a Colonel team.  Individually, Billy Basham's season stroke average of 72.14 tied for the third lowest on record for an EKU golfer.
 
In 2020-21, his third season as head coach, Whitson led EKU to five top-10 finishes in seven events.  This past season, the Colonels had seven top-10 finishes.  Eastern Kentucky's round of 272 at the EKU Intercollegiate tied for the fourth lowest score for the program since 1997.  Senior Willis Gaer became the first Colonel to earn a spot on the ASUN Conference Men's Golf All-Academic Team.

Under Whitson's guidance, the women's team finished among the top three teams at the Ohio Valley Conference Championship five straight times, won the league title three times, made three NCAA Championships appearances and sent the first EKU women's golfer – Elsa Moberly – to the NCAA Championships as an individual.  Whitson was chosen as the OVC Women's Golf Coach of the Year in 2013, 2015 and 2016. 
 
It didn't take long for Whitson to turn the Colonels into the premier program in the conference.  In just his third season as head coach, the Colonels won the 2013 OVC Championship and made the program's first NCAA Regional appearance.  Whitson had EKU back on top of the league and making a second NCAA Regional appearance in 2015.  The team made it back-to-back championships by winning in record fashion in 2016.
 
Eastern Kentucky captured the 2016 league title by 18 shots and broke conference records for 54-hole total (888) and team tournament scoring average (296.0).  EKU's remarkable 2015 season ended with the best performance ever by an OVC team at the NCAA Regional, placing 15th at the South Bend Regional.  The Colonels finished just one shot behind North Carolina and three shots in front of 45th ranked San Jose State.

Whitson was a four-year letter winner for the Colonels from 1994 to 1998, helping the team to a second-place conference finish and capturing All-OVC honors in 1998.  As a senior, the Paris, Kentucky native fired a second round score of 64 at the OVC Tournament and finished tied for third with a three-round total of 214, two shots under par.