Central Washington University Athletics

Chris Fisk begins his seventh season as head football coach at Central Washington in 2025.

In Coach Fisks sixth season the Wildcats went 8-4 making the NCAA Division II Football Championships for the second-straight year. The Wildcats once again traveled to Gunnison, Colorado for the second-straight year in the opening round of the playoffs but fell in a tight 28-21 loss. The Wildcats saw an abundance of representation in the Lone Star Conference awards as Tyler Flanagan was named the Offensive Back of the Year for the second-straight season, Slade Edwards was tabbed the Offensive Lineman of the Year, Tanner Volk was named the J.V. Sikes Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season, and Mikaio Edward was the Defensive Freshman of the Year. 20 total Wildcats were honored with All-LSC honors while three more were tabbed to the LSC Football All-Academic Team. Regionally, Edwards and Volk were named to the First Team All-Super Region 4 while Flanagan was named to the Second Team. Nationally, Volk was tabbed AFCA, D2CCA, AP, and Don Hansen All-American while Edwards and Flanagan also were named Don Hansen All-Americans. Flanagan and Edwards were also CSC Academic All-Americans which is the second-straight year for Flanagan. Volk also was a nominee for the Cliff Harris Award and the Harlon Hill and was joined with Edwards in being named to the D2Football.com Elite 100. 

The Wildcats kept the good times rolling in season two as a member of the Lone Star Conference. The Wildcats finished with a 9-4 record starting out with 2 nonconference setbacks before rattling off seven-straight victories to open conference play including the programs first ever victory over then #9-ranked Angelo State before falling to #17 UTPB in the LSC championship game for a 7-1 LSC record. The crimson and black drew 2nd-seeded and #10-ranked Western Colorado in the opening round of the playoffs winning 16-13 in overtime to secure the 'Cats first playoff victory since 2009. CWU backed it up rattling off 21-straight points in a second round victory at #21 Bemidji State by a 21-17 score. The 'Cats tied things up with #1 Colorado School of Mines in the regional final but fell 38-14 in their first regional final since 2009.

Tanner Volk became the first Wildcat and junior to win the coveted Cliff Harris Award and was a Harlon Hill finalist. Volk also earned CCA Ron Lenz, Don Hansen, and D2Football.com National Defensive Player of the Year awards, respectively. Volk earned AFCA, AP, D2CCA, and D2Football.com First Team All-American honors. Volk earned First Team Don Hansen's All-American Honors while Slade Edwards and Brett McCalla each earned Don Hansen's Honorable Mention All-American honors. Volk was named the D2CCA Defensive Player of the Year while Edwards, McCalla, and Tyler Flanagan all were named to the All-Super Region 4 team. Edwards, Flanagan, McCalla, Patrick Rogers, and Dominic Wieburg all were named CoSIDA Academic All-District with Flanagan earning CoSIDA Academic All-American status. Flanagan was named the LSC Offensive Back of the Year while Volk was named the J.V. Sikes LSC Defensive Player of the Year and Wieburg was named the LSC Academic Player of the Year. The crimson and black had four First Team All-LSC, four Second Team All-LSC, and 6 Honorable Mention All-LSC members. Volk led the entire NCAA in interceptions with 13 and led NCAA Division II in total tackles with 124. 

The Wildcats made a lot of noise in their first year as a member of the LSC in 2022 as CWU finished second with a 6-3 record and a 6-4 overall record. 14 Wildcats earned All-LSC honors highlighted by Raymond Schalk, Scottland Vise, Christian Penny, Tanner Volk, and Colson Brunner all earning first-team nods. Redshirt Junior Patrick Rogers earned national attention earning First Team Defense AFCA All-American, Honorable Mention Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-American, D2Football.com Elite 100 list, as well as Second Team Defense All-LSC honors. The Wildcats had the second-best defense in the LSC only allowing 225 points (20.5 points per game). CWU also boasted the second best passing defense in the conference only allowing 2,019 yards (183.5 yards per game). The Wildcats also had the second best field goal unit (.813 field goal percentage), and punting unit (35.5 yards per punt). 

In 2022, the Wildcats -- along with former Great Northwest Athletic Conference foes Simon Fraser and Western Oregon -- begin play in the mighty Lone Star Conference. After years of cobbling together a conference schedule out of two or three opponents, Fisk and the Wildcats will be able to test themselves against the top teams in one of America’s toughest conferences.

If CWU’s GNAC swan song is any indication, the Wildcats are more than ready for the task at hand. In his third season at the helm, Fisk guided the Wildcats to an 8-3 record and the program’s 11th GNAC championship. More importantly, Central returned to the Division II playoffs for the first time in five years.

In 2021, the Wildcats produced one All-American (LB Donte Hamilton), three All-Region selections (Hamilton, K Patrick Hegarty, DE Zach Stecklein) and a whopping 21 first-team all-conference picks. Among those honored by the GNAC were redshirt freshman Quincy Glasper (Offensive Player of the Year), redshirt freshman wide receiver Darius Morrison (Freshman of the Year), Hamilton (Defensive Player of the Year), Stecklein (Defensive Lineman of the Year), and junior center Scottland Vise (Offensive Lineman of the Year). Junior running back Rashaad Boddie was selected as Newcomer of the Year.

And for good measure, Fisk was an easy choice as GNAC Coach of the Year.
 
Fisk originally joined the Wildcat football program in spring 2016 as offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator. He was promoted to head coach on February 25, 2019.
 
As a rookie head coach in 2019, Fisk guided the Wildcats to the program’s third straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship, posting a 5-1 mark in league play and a 7-4 record overall.
 
The Wildcats closed the 2019 season with six consecutive victories, including season-ending wins against Southwest Baptist and Simon Fraser by a combined score of 123-31.
 
When the postseason awards rolled in, Fisk and the Wildcats were again at the top of the heap. Fisk and Central produced two All-Americans, three All-Region picks, the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive Lineman of the Year, and 20 all-GNAC selections.
 
In his first season on staff in 2016, the Wildcat offense jumped nearly 50 spots in the national rankings in total offense, averaging 433.1 yards per game.

In 2017, under Fisk’s tutelage, the CWU offensive line was regarded among the best in the nation, giving up just 14 sacks on the season and produced the nation’s 11th best rushing offense, which was a 100 spot improvement from 2015.

The CWU offense exploded in 2017 to rank 15th in total offense, producing 10 all-conference selections from that side of the ball.

Individually, offensive lineman James Moore and Nicholas Streubel were named first-team All-GNAC under Fisk, with both being named D2CCA First-Team All-West Region honors, with Moore advancing to be named a D2CCA All-American.

Prior to CWU, Fisk coached at Southern Oregon from 2011-2015, where he served as the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the Raiders.
 
in 2015, Fisk helped guide SOU to an 11-3 record and had the 11th ranked scoring offense in the nation averaging 39.4 points a game. The Raiders ranked seventh in total passing offense and eighth in total rushing after totaling 3003 yards on the ground.
 
During SOU’s championship run in 2014, Fisk’s offense ranked first in the nation with 5,745 passing yards and was second in the nation with a 48-percent conversion rate on third down. In 2014 the Raiders set school records for total offense, passing offense and scoring.
 
Prior to arriving in Ashland, Ore. Fisk spent nine seasons at NCAA Division II University of Mary. In his first five years he served as the offensive line coach and the final four years as the offensive coordinator.
 
Fisk hails from Pocatello, Idaho and played collegiately at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota, and Southwestern College in Kansas.

FISK’S YEAR-BY-YEAR COACHING RECORD AT CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY:

	OVERALL			CONFERENCE				Home	Away
YEAR	W	L	PCT	W	L	PCT	PLACE	W-L	W-L
2019	7	4	.636	5	1	.833	T-1st	3-2	4-2
2020	0	1	.000	0	0	.---	n/a	0-0	0-1
2021	8	3	.727	4	0	1.000	1st	4-1	4-2
2022	6	4	.600	6	3	.667	2nd	4-1	2-3
2023	9	4	.692	7	1	.875	2nd	3-1	6-3
2024	8	4	.667	7	2	.778	2nd	4-1	4-3
TOTALS	38	20	.655	29	7	.805		18-6	20-14