Steve Colnitis Position: Assistant Coach Alma Mater: Notre Dame '05

Steve Colnitis, a member of two BIG EAST Conference championship teams and two NCAA Central Regional qualifying squads at Notre Dame from 2001-05, recently completed his third year as an assistant coach for the Irish. Colnitis (pronounced coal-NIGHT-iss) aids in many of the day-to-day operations of the men's golf program, including recruiting, practice planning and travel scheduling.

In his three seasons on the Notre Dame staff, Colnitis helped guide the Irish to the 2006 BIG EAST Conference title and the corresponding NCAA regional berth as well as a 2007 BIG EAST runner-up finish. He also was instrumental in helping Notre Dame to the top three single-season stroke averages in school history (school-record 292.97 stroke in 2005-06, 295.71 in 2006-07 and 295.27 in 2007-08).

What's more, Colnitis already is putting his stamp on the Irish program as a recruiter. His latest success can be seen with the incoming freshman class of 2008-09, which includes a pair of Future Collegians World Tour (FCWT) first-team All-America selections in Max Scodro and Chris Walker, as well as British national Tom Usher.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed working with Steve these last three years," head coach Jim Kubinski said. "As he's grown within the job, he's added more and more to our program. I know we all respect him as a person. It's also especially helpful for me to be able to bounce ideas off Steve and know that he has a great pulse on our players and the college game. We're fortunate to have him."

"I am very excited to be a part of the Notre Dame community," Colnitis said. "I have had the pleasure of seeing our team improve tremendously during my playing career and I am thrilled to continue being a part of our team's success."

Colnitis joined the Irish coaching staff in 2005 following a four-year career on the Notre Dame men's golf team, earning a pair of monograms along the way. He competed in 13 tournaments during his career, posting a 77.86 stroke average, and served as a tri-captain for the Irish in 2004-05, helping Notre Dame earn its second consecutive BIG EAST title and a return trip to the NCAA Central Regional (where the Irish wound up only two shots shy of advancing to the NCAA finals).

Colnitis graduated from Notre Dame in May 2005, earning his bachelor's degree in marketing from the Mendoza College of Business. He also garnered Dean's List honors during the fall 2004 semester. Born September 15, 1982, in Baltimore, Md., Colnitis now resides in South Bend.