Mic Potter Position: Head Coach Experience: 23rd Year At Furman Alma Mater: Cortland State (1977)

Now in his 23rd year as coach of the women¹s golf team at Furman, Mic Potter has acquired a reputation as one of the finest college coaches in the country.

Since becoming women's golf coach in 1982, Potter has stocked the LPGA tour with Dottie Pepper, Joan Delk, Denise Baldwin-Killeen, Sara Anne McGetrick, Ashli Price-Bunch, Caroline Blaylock, Jen Hanna, Diana D'Alessio and Maggie Will, all of whom attended and graduated Furman under Potter¹s watchful eye.

Pepper, a National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) All-American and second-place finisher at the 1985 NCAA Championship, was the 1992 LPGA Rolex Player-of-the Year, leading money winner and Vare Trophy winner. Pepper also set an LPGA record with $290,000 in winnings at the 1995 LPGA Skins Game, and in her LPGA media guide biography credits Potter as one of the people who most influenced her career.

In addition to praise from former and current Lady Paladins, Potter has received recognition from colleagues throughout the coaching world. In 1993 he was named the South Region Coach of the Year and in 1994 he was Furman's J. Lyles Alley Coach of the Year. He is a seven-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year and was inducted into the National Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame at the 1994 NCGA Awards Banquet.

Along with his coaching duties, Potter served as head professional at the Furman Golf Course from 1979 to 1995. In the spring of 1995 he was named director of intercollegiate golf at Furman, and he now oversees the men¹s and women's programs. In the summer of 1996 he hired Todd Satterfield to coach the men's golf team and was quickly rewarded with the Paladins¹ first-ever trip to the NCAA Regionals.

Potter is also known as one of golf's top ambassadors. He hosts a number of summer camps with the purpose of introducing young people to the important fundamentals of the game. In an attempt to introduce golf to more and more people, he also teaches continuing education classes and is one of a handful of professionals who teach the game to the physically disabled.

The REK Center for Intercollegiate Golf is a direct result of Potter's perseverance. He had long hoped for such a state-of-the-art practice facility, and he assisted in raising funds for the building and worked with the architect and designers.

While at Furman, Potter has directed his squads to six national top 10 showings and a 1987 runner-up finish at the NCAA National Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. His teams have won 33 tournament championships, posted 180 tournament top 10 finishes, and witnessed eight seasons (1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1992-93, 1994-95, 1996-97, and 1997-98) in which the team has placed in the top 10 in every regular-season event.

A 1977 graduate of Cortland State University, Potter majored in physical education while earning four varsity letters: three in soccer and one in golf. He is married to the former Kim O¹Branski of Ithaca, N.Y., and the couple has two children: Ryan, 22, who is a junior on the Furman men¹s golf team, and Corey, 20, a sophomore at Furman.

Potter Honors

1993 South Region Coach of the Year

1994 Furman J. Lyles Alley Coach of the Year

1994 Southern Conference Coach of the Year

1995 Southern Conference Coach of the Year

1996 Southern Conference Coach of the Year

1997 Southern Conference Coach of the Year

1998 Southern Conference Coach of the Year

1999 Southern Conference Coach of the Year

2000 Southern Conference Coach of the Year

2001 Southern Conference Coach of the Year

1994 National Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame

Furman in the Postseason

NCAA Regionals: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003

NCAA Championships: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999