Jeff Groff - Head Coach

Contact: jeff.groff@allegheny.edu
814-332-2811

Jeff Groff is entering his 24th year at Allegheny and eighth as the head golf coach. He led his Gator men to the NCAA Division III Championship appearances in each of his first five seasons -- part of a 30-year streak by the program.

Groff has also guided the Allegheny women to three consecutive showings at Nationals in the first three years of the program’s existence. Allegheny’s women’s squad has also received national recognition in the form of a top 20 regular season ranking by the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

In 2007-08, the Gator men finished second at the NCAC Championships for the second straight year. They had three players named to the all-conference team including Christian Goetz, Kyle Jastromb and Mike Wolfe. Each golfer was selected to the PING All-Mid-Atlantic Regional Team.
   
The women’s squad earned its NCAA bid in 2007-08 after a solid regular season featuring five tournament wins and four other top-three finishes against highly competitive teams throughout the region. At Nationals, the Gators placed ninth out of the 20-team field.
   
“Any time a team gets a bid to the national playoffs, it is a testament to the program and what the players have done throughout the year,” Groff said. “...I’ll be honest, this was never the plan coming in. Our primary focus was on building a program. It has been an exiciting story to say the least.”
   
Over the last six seasons, six athletes have earned All-America honors under Groff, including four-time winner Ben Rathfon, who was also the recipient of the Frank Fuhrer III Award as Western Pennsylvania’s top collegiate player in 2005. In 2006, freshman Chris Moore picked up the Phil Mickelson Award as the top freshman in all of NCAA Division III.
   
In 2004, Groff was named the Eaton Golf Pride Mid-Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year (men) as he led the Gators to wins at both the fall and spring Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournaments. The following season, he picked up his first NCAC Coach of the Year honor as the squad won six events and captured runner-up at the conference championship. In 2008, Groff was also the National Golf Coaches Association East Region Coach of the Year (women).       
   
Groff is a 1983 graduate of Millersville (Pa.) University, where he played baseball and was an Academic All-American outfielder as a senior. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from his alma mater and went on to earn his master’s in sports administration from Kent State University in 1985.
   
Groff is a member of the NGCA Division III Awards Committee, the NGCA East Region Advisory Committee and the Golf Coaches Association of America Mid-Atlantic Regional Committee, where he serves as the chairperson, and is also a voting member of the Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches Poll.
   
A native of Lancaster, Pa., Groff attended Penn Manor High School, where he played varsity soccer, basketball and baseball. He also is an avid golfer and a student of the game.
   
Groff is married to the former Chris Binnie, a 1989 Allegheny graduate.