Chris Fite enters his eighth season on the IUP coaching staff after helping guide the Crimson Hawks to a fourth consecutive PSAC regular season title and a fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament in 2012-13.
Fite was an integral part in helping the Hawks finish with a record of 26-6 (17-5) and a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament.
Fite also continued his success with the Crimson Hawks defense which finished third in the PSAC in scoring defense and third in rebound margin for the 2012-13 season.
Fite helped guide an IUP defense that ranked first in the PSAC in scoring defense and second in defensive rebounding during the 2011-12 season. He has played an integral role in leading the Crimson Hawks back to the top of the PSAC and among the national elite.
In 2009-10 Fite helped IUP post a school-record 33 wins against only three losses, PSAC and Atlantic Region titles, and a berth in the Division II national championship game for the first time in school history and the first time for a PSAC school in over 30 years.
The former University of Rochester standout came to IUP in 2006-07 after wrapping up an 11-year professional career in Europe in 2003. After his playing career, Fite spent the 2005-06 season as an assistant coach at his alma mater of Rochester and the 2004-05 season on the staff at St. Vincent in his hometown of Latrobe, PA, where he helped the Bearcats reach the NAIA Division II Sweet 16.
Fite is Rochester's all-time leading scorer (2,066) and shot blocker (179), second in rebounding (1,023) and field goals made (731), third in free throw percentage (.824), fourth in field goal percentage (.547) and eighth in assists (371).
A 6-foot-9 forward, he earned NABC All-America honors as a junior and senior and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1990 Final Four as a sophomore when he led Rochester to the Division III title.
Fite was also named to the Final Four all-tournament team in 1992 when the Yellow Jackets again reached the championship game. He was inducted into the Rochester Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.
After graduating in 1992 with a degree in integrated sciences, he embarked on his professional playing career in Europe. Over a span of seven years, Fite played for three teams in the British Basketball League, the top professional league in England. He was selected to the league's all-star team four times while spending time with teams in Manchester, London and New Castle.
From there he moved to the Bundesliga, Germany's premier league, where he was named to the All-Bosman second team during his only year in the league. Fite spent his final three seasons in the top division of the Belgian National League.
After ending his playing career in 2003, Fite started an investment property business in Orlando, FL, with his wife Susan, whom he met while playing in England. He and Susan have continued their business and reside in Indiana.
Updated on 5/28/13
