Sean Curtis enters his fifth season as the head women’s golf coach and 13th year as director of intramurals and club sports at Washington University in St. Louis. Curtis oversees the department and also handles other duties as assigned by the director of athletics.
Curtis was named the University’s first head women’s golf coach on Feb. 8, 2008. He is in his first season serving on the National Golf Coaches Association Award Committee, and is a voter in the NFCA Top-25 Coaches' Poll for the second-consecutive season.
Curtis was recognized by his peers this past season, earning the 2012 Division III Eaton Pride NGCA National Coach of the Year and the Division III Eaton Pride NGCA Central Region Coach of the Year.
The fourth season as a varsity program brought overwhelming success for Curtis and the Bears, posting a school-record 313.00 scoring average, which ranked second in all of NCAA Division III. Washington U. finished the regular season ranked No. 4 in the Division III head-to-head rankings.
The Bears also made their third-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship finishing 13th, and was ranked No. 2 in the Golf World/NGCA top-25 poll. The Bears placed in the top-five in nine of 12 tournaments they competed in, and won a Division III-best six tournaments in 2011-12.
He also mentored a pair of NGCA first team All-America selections in freshman Olivia Lugar and junior Hannah Buck. Lugar was named NGCA National Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in her rookie campaign at Washington U.
In 2011, Curtis guided Washington University back to NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year and recorded a program-best eighth place finish. Buck earned All-America accolades for the second-straight year, picking up first-team honors.
Curtis and the Bears' made history in 2010, qualifying for the the school's first-ever NCAA Division III Championship in just its second season as a varsity sport placing 19th. He also mentored Buck, who became the first All-American in school history after earning second-team NGCA All-America accolades.
The Bears' inaugural season was a success as Washington University ended the season ranked 38th in the NCAA Division III head-to-head rankings. The Bears placed in the top five in seven of 10 events, and won the McKendree Fall Invitational.
Curtis, who served as the assistant intramurals director for three years at Washington University before being appointed to the head position, has worked in the athletics field his entire post-collegiate life.
In 1997-98, he served as the assistant men’s basketball coach at McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill. He also was the assistant coach at John A. Logan College from 1995-97, and held the same position at Carterville High School (1994-95) and Carbondale Community High School (1989-93).
A native of Carbondale, Ill., Curtis worked for the Prairie State Games from 1989-94, serving as the director of special events and assistant site coordinator.
Before his arrival on the Danforth Campus, Curtis spent two years working as an outside supervisor at Stonewolf Golf Course from 1997-98 and a year at Gateway National Golf Links as a pre-apprentice assistant in 1998.
Curtis graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in recreation administration. He earned his master’s degree in physical education, specializing in sports management, from SIUC in 1998.
A graduate of Carbondale Community High School, Curtis and his wife, Christina, have three children: Andrew (17), Maggie (13), and Lexie (10).