OSHAWA, Ont. – After 16 seasons, Mike Duggan is retiring as the head coach of the Durham College varsity golf coach program.

"I would like to thank all of the student-athletes that I have had the opportunity to coach over the past 16 years," said Duggan. "I have enjoyed every minute of coaching such great individuals and will cherish the memories. It is great to leave the game after our team winning a national bronze medal and hosting a successful Canadian championship."

"There is not much that Mike Duggan hasn't accomplished in his tenure as head coach of the golf program," said Ken Babcock, Durham College athletic director. "Ontario championships, national titles, coach of the year honours provincially and nationally, representing Canada at world events and so much more. In addition, his dedication and efforts with respect to post secondary golf as a coach and as a convenor both provincially and nationally have raised the bar for student-athletes not only in Ontario but across Canada. A simply outstanding coaching career is now in the books and it is one that will be incredibly difficult to match in the future."

Duggan became head coach of the golf program after helping the college re-introduce the program in the 1997-98 season. Durham golfers have had consistent success on the provincial and national level under Duggan's leadership.

The Barrie native led Durham College to back-to-back CCAA national titles in women's golf in 2010 and 2011. The team has won five CCAA national medals and six OCAA provincial medals over the past two seasons. The men's team has also won back-to-back OCAA medals winning silver in 2010 and bronze in 2011.

For his accomplishments, Duggan was named the 2010 CCAA and OCAA coach of the year, the year the award was established.

This past season, the Lords men's team won the CCAA national bronze medal at the national championship, hosted by the college at the Oshawa Golf and Curling Club. Shea Varty also earned an individual bronze medal.

The Lords have won five overall provincial team titles (men's in 2004 and 2005, women's in 2005, 2010 and 2011), with the men's team earning a medal in six straight OCAA championships from 2001-2006. The Lords also participated in 13 straight CCAA national championships with the men's team winning three consecutive silver medals from 2004-2006 and the women's team winning medals in 2004 (bronze), 2005 (silver), 2010 (gold) and 2011 (gold).

Lords golfers have also had plenty of individual success under Duggan's support. Tyler Martin won provincial titles in 2004 and 2006 and a national title in 2005 while Will Mitchell won a provincial title in 2005 and a national title in 2006. Both golfers also played on the Canadian professional tour. Stephanie Brown (2005), Kayleigh Kraemer (2010) and Tiffany Albath (2011, 2012) all won individual OCAA gold medals for Durham College.

Duggan also coached team Canada at the World FISU games. He was on the Team Canada coaching staff in 2010 (Spain) and 2008 (South Africa) as an assistant coach and was the head coach in 2012 (Czech Republic).

Duggan was also instrumental in raising the profile of collegiate golf across Canada. He spent over 10 years as the national and provincial convenor, while the College hosted the national championship three times.

Source: Durham College