After 28 years as head coach golf, the 2010-11 season marked an
end of an era as Mike Phillips announced his retirement.
Phillips, a 10-time conference "Coach of the Year," took over
the duties as the school's first varsity golf coach, guiding the
program from infancy in the 1983-84 school year to national status.
Along the way, Phillips coached one NCAA individual national
champion while guiding the Eagles to 16 appearances to the NCAA
D-III team championship including nine consecutive berths to
nationals (2003-2011).
Phillips saw his last Emory squad rise to the challenge at the 2011
NCAAs, which were held at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, NC,
registering an eighth-place finish that marked the program's first
top-10 showing since 2006. Phillips saw a trio of Eagles
capture All-America acclaim, headlined by a second-team berth by
senior Charles Raindre. Junior Ryan Dagerman brought home his
second consecutive All-America nod with a third-team nod while
Johnathan Chen became the first freshman in school annals to earn
the coveted honor with a third-team spot.
In 2010, the Eagles tied for 15th place at the
NCAAs which were held at the Hershey Country Club in Hershey,
PA. Phillips saw a pair of his players, Ryan Dagerman and
Shane Miller earn All-America honors by virtue of their finsih at
the competitiion. Dagerman brough home second-team honors
after tying for 12th place while Miller landed third-team acclaim
after tying for 17th position.
The previous campaign, Emory recorded a 16th-place effort that came
on the heels of a 15th-place showing in 2008 when Emory co-hosted
the nationals at Chateau Elan in nearby Braselton. In 2006
Emory turned in an impressive ninth-place performance.
The team finished in the top 10 at the national championships four
consecutive years (1997-2000). The Eagles were fifth at the NCAA
championships in 1997, 10th in 1998, sixth in 1999, 10th in 2000
and fifth in 2004. All totaled, Emory registered a total of
eight top 10 efforts at the NCAA Championships during his tenure as
head coach.
In its 2007-08 edition, Golf Digest ranked Emory 29th in
the nation among all NCAA schools and was the second-ranked
Division III program in the "Balanced" ranking, which measures
students who place equal emphasis on academics and sports.
Categories that were taken into account in the "Balanced" ranking
included team adjusted scoring average, player growth, academics,
climate and facilities and coaching. Over 790 schools were
analyzed in this category with the top 400 earning a ranking.
According to Golf Digest, the "Balanced" ranking is the
best indicator for the majority of young men heading off to
college
Emory was ranked 23rd out of the 146 schools (all divisions)
surveyed in the "Academics First" ranking which applies to students
who are focused on education but still desire to play competitive
golf. Emory was the No. 3-ranked Division III program.
In its 2005-06 edition, Golf Digest named Emory the best
collegiate golf program in the country - all NCAA schools included
- for academics. The magazine's rankings were calculated with
academics counting for 70 percent, golf performance 20 percent and
coach/facilities and climate factoring five percent each.
In 2011, Emory claimed the University Athletic Association (UAA)
Championship for the 13th in 19 years, coming with a two-stroke win
over runner-up Rochester. The Eagles' second-day score of 284
at the UAAs was the team's second-low score of the 2010-11 campaign
and represented the lowest mark in school history at that
event.
The Eagles won a conference-record six consecutive UAA
championships from 1995-2000. Emory claimed the top five places in
the individual standings at the 1998 UAA tournament, a first in
conference history. Phillips has been voted UAA "Coach of the Year"
in 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997,1999, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008 and
2011.
Phillips came to Emory in 1975 as its first full-time intramurals director. He became the golf coach in 1983. Other duties at Emory have included facilities coordinator and assistant men's basketball coach.
As a long-time member of the Golf Coaches Association of America, Coach Phillips has served the GCAA in several capacities including terms on the National Advisory Board, Division III Representative, the At-Large Rep, the GCAA All-America Scholar Committee Chair, and Division III All-District Selection Committees. Phillips is a member of the United States Golf Association.
Phillips holds an undergraduate and master's degree from Colorado State University. Prior to Emory, he coached basketball for eight years in Colorado and Kansas and golf for two years in Kansas.
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