DiBitetto Recipient of Jan Strickland Award presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf

NORMAN, Okla. – North Carolina’s Andrew DiBitetto was named recipient of the 2016 Jan Strickland Award presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf as selected by the GCAA. 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.

“I’m grateful and humbled to win this award,” said DiBitetto. “To be recognized and selected by my respected colleagues and peers means a great deal to me. Although this award is given to an individual, in this case, it is absolutely a team honor. Our program has made great strides in a short period of time, both on and off the golf course. This is due to the effort of many people affiliated with Carolina Golf, especially our student-athletes. Coach (Andrew) Sapp and I have been fortunate to be surrounded by excellent, hardworking young men. We still have many goals left to accomplish and I look forward to doing everything possible to help our guys prepare for the upcoming NCAA Regionals, as well as their future endeavors.”

DiBitetto is in his fifth year at North Carolina and his second as the associate head coach. The Tar Heels have won six team titles and six different players have won medalist honors eight times in DiBitetto’s four years in Chapel Hill. Ben Griffin earned honorable mention PING All-America and All-ACC honors in 2015. Griffin and William Register each won two tournaments in their first collegiate seasons. UNC played last year with a lineup that included two sophomores and two freshmen and won three events for the first time in 16 years. This season the Tar Heels have one tournament victory and seven additional top-five finishes in nine events.

“I am thrilled that Andrew has won the Jan Strickland Award,” stated North Carolina Head Men’s Golf Coach Andrew Sapp. “His contributions to our golf program have been invaluable and for the selection committee made up of our peer coaches to recognize his work is an incredible honor. Working with Andrew every day has made me a better head coach and I have definitely seen our players benefit from his teaching and seen our program grow in the past five years. His competitiveness and his dedication to our players are two traits that really stand out. UNC is fortunate to have him as a coach and mentor to our golfers.”

The Strickland Award recipient will have the opportunity to further his professional development by receiving an invitation to the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Kingdom in Carlsbad, Calif.

TaylorMade-adidas Golf has sponsored the Strickland Award since its inception in 2003.