Monday, July 2, 2012

Countdown to Kickoff: 59 Days - Jeff Pitman

It's now 59 days until kickoff of Catamount football at Western Carolina's E.J. Whitmire Stadium. The Catamounts open the season on Thursday, August 30, 2012 against Mars Hill College.

To help pass those long summer days until football season starts, and hopefully get the Catamount faithful more excited about the upcoming season, we'll continue the 100 day football countdown.

#59 not assigned, we'll highlight another football assistant. 

Jeff Pitman 





Hometown: Melba, Idaho
High School: Melba HS
Position: Strength & Conditioning Coordinator
Alma Mater: Boise State



Jeff Pitman joined the Western Carolina staff as the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator in January of 2010, coming to Cullowhee after spending five years as the director of speed-strength and conditioning at Colorado. He worked directly on a day-to-day basis with the CU football program, while overseeing the speed, strength and conditioning needs of all 16 of the Buffaloes' varsity programs.

Pitman is certified as a strength and conditioning specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NCSA), and was certified as a level one club coach by USA Weightlifting in 1994. He has developed a coaching regimen and techniques that include a no frills and no nonsense approach.

In 2006, he made the move to Colorado from Boise State, his alma mater, where he spent seven years as the head strength and conditioning coach. He played an integral role in the Broncos emerging as the dominant school in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), winning six league championships in that span.

His first full-time strength and coaching position was as an assistant at Montana State University, as he was with the Bobcats from 1995 to 1997. Pitman was in charge of the programs specifically for football, women's skiing and women's track.

He then moved on to San Jose State University in the fall of 1997, where he supervised the training programs for all 16 of the Spartan sport teams for the next two years before returning to his alma mater.

A three-year letterman at center for Boise State from 1990-92, Pitman originally walked on to the team in 1988, eventually earning a scholarship and becoming a two-year starter at center. He was a member of the Broncos' 1990 team that finished 10-4, advancing to the semifinals of the Division I-AA playoffs, where the Broncos went down fighting in three overtimes to Nevada.

Dedicated to hard work in the weight room, Pitman was recognized as an NCSA Strength and Conditioning All-America in 1992, one of 10 BSU players in history to win the award.

He graduated from Boise State with a degree in health promotion in 1993, and immediately went to work as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach for the University of Minnesota. While coaching for the Gophers, he earned his master's degree in education in the spring of 1995.

Born in Melba, Idaho, Pitman grew up on a dairy farm near the Snake River and graduated from Melba High School, where he lettered in football, basketball and track (throws). He is married to the former Gina Muralt, and the couple has two sons, Nicholai and Jacob, and a daughter, Isabelle.

Courtesy WCU Sports Information

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