Chip Hester
Head Coach

Chip Hester begins his fifth season as head coach of the Catawba College football program in 2006. He is the 20th head football coach at the College. In 2003, he guided the Tribe to a 9-2 record and a South Atlantic Conference Championship. Hester guided the Tribe to an 8-3 record in his rookie season at the helm and returned Catawba to the NCAA II playoffs for the fourth straight year.

Hester joined the Catawba football staff in 1995, serving under David Bennett for seven seasons. For three of those years, he was part of the South Atlantic Conference Coaching Staff of the Year. The Indians won back-to-back conference titles in 2000 and 2001 and have qualified for the NCAA II Playoffs for the past three seasons, advancing to the semifinals in 2001.

Hester came to Catawba from Guilford College. His duties prior to becoming head coach was to coordinate the passing game, coach the wide receivers and coordinate all football recruiting. In addition to his football duties, Hester also served as assistant athletic director for compliance and remains an advisor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes program.

For two seasons, 1996-98, Hester served as the head coach for the Catawba College men's golf program. As with football, he followed in the footsteps of Bennett, who led the golf team to the 1995 conference title and the NCAA II National Tournament. Hester guided the team to the 1998 South Atlantic Conference Championship and to NCAA II Regional berths in both seasons. He coached two All-Americans, a SAC Player of the Year and a SAC Freshman of the Year.

A 1992 graduate of Guilford College, Hester earned a bachelor's degree in business management. He completed a master's degree in sports management at Georgia Southern in 1993. While completing his master's degree, Hester worked as an intern at Catawba, assisting football, sports information and athletic operations. He graduated from Millbrook High School in Raleigh in 1988.

Hester was a standout athlete in football and track at Millbrook. He earned honorable mention all-conference honors in football. At Guilford, Hester was a four-year football letterman (wide receiver), earning the Golden Helmet Award and Leadership Award as a senior. He was also a member of the Varsity Athletic Council and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

He began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach at Millbrook High School, working with receivers. He followed as a graduate assistant coach (receivers) at Catawba in 1993.

Hester, born and reared in Raleigh, NC, resides in Salisbury with his wife, Trish. Trish is a mathematics teacher at North Rowan High School and coaches volleyball. They have two daughters, Morgan (8), and Tori (4). The Hesters are active members of First Baptist Church in Salisbury.

Matt Barrett begins his seventh season with the Catawba Indians in 2006. He will serve as the offensive coordinator and coach the quarterbacks.

Barrett came to Catawba as an offensive assistant in 2000. He coached the defensive scout team and was responsible for opponent scouting. He was the running back coach in 2001 and 2002 and coordinated the running game. Barrett coached the quarterbacks and coordinated the passing game in 2003 and 2004, while serving as the co-offensive coordinator.

Barrett began coaching at Orange County High School where he coached the defensive backs and special teams. He graduated from N.C. State in 1999 with a degree in business management and a minor in coaching education. He was active in Campus Crusade for Christ and Athletes in Action.

Barrett resides in Salisbury. He was born in Fayetteville, NC, where his family still resides.

D.J. Summers
Running Backs, Recruiting Coordinator

D.J. Summers is in his fifth season as a coach at Catawba College. He returned to his alma mater after coaching at West Iredell High School. His duties will be to coach the running backs and coordinate recruiting.

At West Iredell, Summers coached the wide receivers. He began coaching at Polk County High School in 1997. He coached the receivers and defensive backs from 1997-01 and also served as basketball coach.

Summers was a four-year performer at Catawba, earning All-SAC honors in 1995 and 1996. During his four years, Summers totaled 68 receptions for 1,284 yards and caught 15 touchdown passes. He stands 12th on Catawba’s all-time receiving leaders and is second in career yards per catch at 18.9 per reception. He graduated in 1997 with a degree in physical education.

In high school, at West Iredell, Summers started all four seasons and earned a spot in the East-West All-Star Game. As a wide receiver, quarterback and defensive back, he was a two-time all-conference performer and was team MVP as a senior. He resides in Salisbury.

John Fitz
Defensive Coordinator, Safeties

John Fitz begins his initial season as a coach with the Catawba football program. He comes to Catawba from New Hanover High School, where he spend the last six years. His duties at Catawba will include serving as defensive coordinator as well as coaching the safeties.

At New Hanover, Fitz served as head coach for the last four years. Prior to becoming head coach, he spent two seasons as defensive coordinator and strength coach. New Hanover qualified for the state playoff each season with Fitz.

Fitz spend 12 years as defensive coordinator and strength coordinator at J.F. Webb High School before moving to New Hanover. He began his coaching career as an assistant at High Point Central High School.

Fitz resides in Salisbury with his wife, Anne. They have a son, Jackson (5).

Calvin Hunter
Football Operations, Wide Receivers

Calvin Hunter is in his fifth season with the Catawba College program. He joined the staff from Guilford College, where he was an assistant. While at Guilford, he also served as an assistant women's basketball coach. His duties at Catawba are to coach the wide receivers.

A 1992 graduate of Guilford, Hunter earned a bachelor of science degree in sports management. He played four years at Guilford as a quarterback, earning ODAC Offensive Player of the Year honors. He helped the Quakers to the 1991 ODAC Championship. He earned a masters degree at Georgia Southern University in 1994.

Hunter served as wide receivers coach at Lenoir-Rhyne College for two years before returning to Guilford in 1997. Hunter has served as Event Services Coordinator for the Greensboro College Complex and was Sector Coordinator and assisted the Venue Manager at the Georgia International Horse Park for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA.

A native of Greenville, NC, Hunter resides in Salisbury with his wife, Tiffany, and their son, Logan (7). Tiffany is an early childhood education instructor at Rowan Cabarrus Community College.

Todd McComb
Linebackers

Todd McComb begins his first season with the Catawba Indians in 2006. He will coach the linebackers. McComb joins his alma mater after spending two years with Coastal Carolina University. At CCU, McComb was a Graduate Assistant where he coached the Inside Linebackers. McComb was a Graduate Assistant last season at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill from May 2005 to February 2006.    

Born in Frankfurt, Germany, McComb was a three-sport standout at Thomasville (NC) Senior High School, earning letters in football, basketball, and baseball and graduating in 1999. A two-time All-Conference selection in football, he was the player of the Year in his conference as a senior. He was selected to the All-Northwest team and was part of a state title during his career. He also was a part of a state title in basketball and a two-time All-Conference honoree in baseball.

McComb is a 2003 graduate of Catawba, where he played football for current CCU head coach David Bennett for three years. A two-time All-American at inside linebacker, he ranks second all-time in career tackles for the Indians with 401. As a senior, he was named Catawba's Kirkland Award winner for the top senior male athlete after earning All-Region and All-Conference honors to go with his All-American awards for the second straight year. He was selected to play in the East Coast Bowl and the Cactus Bowl All-Star games following his senior year. He was also named to the SAC Honor Roll and Academic All-District all four years, as well as making the Dean's List twice.

McComb earned his bachelor's of arts in mathematics with a minor in secondary education from Catawba in May 2003. He earned his master's degree in education from CCU in May 2005.

Bob Lancaster
Cornerbacks, Special Teams

Bob Lancaster is entering his ninth season at Catawba. He joined the staff in 1998 from North Mecklenburg High School. His duties this year will be to coach the defensive backs and handle the duties of special teams coordinator. He coached running backs and offensive line at Catawba in the past.

A 1994 graduate of the University of Alberta, Lancaster earned a degree in business education. While at Alberta, he was quarterback of the football team. He was captain and helped Alberta advance to the Canada West Championship Game.

Lancaster began coaching at North Mecklenburg High School in 1996 and served as offensive coordinator. He has helped coach the running backs at the CFL Hamilton TigerCats pre-season camp.

Lancaster was born and reared in Regina, Saskatchewan, and currently resides in Charlotte with his wife, Kimberly. She is a nurse at Mercy Hospital in Charlotte. They have a daughter, Alexus (3). Lancaster's father is the his the Senior Director of football operations for the CFL Hamilton TigerCats and his brother, R.D., serves as the offensive coordinator for the Edmonton Eskimos.

Ben Hepler
Offensive Line

Ben Hepler begins his second season with the Catawba College football program in 2006. He returns to his alma mater after serving as offensive line coach at New Hanover High School for the past four years. Hepler is a 2001 graduate of Catawba, earning a degree in biology.

Hepler played four seasons at Catawba and was a South Atlantic Conference Honor Roll student each year. He helped the Tribe to a conference title and a pair of NCAA II playoff appearances. He was a standout at South Stokes High School, earning all conference honors in both football and track.

At New Hanover High School, Hepler coached the offensive line and was head JV Coach. He helped New Hanover to the playoffs in 2003 and 2004. Hepler also served as head track and field coach last year after three years as an assistant.

Khanis Hubbard
Defensive Line

Khanis Hubbard enters his third season as an assistant with the Catawba football program in 2006. Hubbard will serve as defensive line coach. He is a 2004 Catawba graduate with a degree in communications.

While at Catawba, Hubbard was a two-time All-SAC and all-region selection and earned All-America honors as a senior. Over his four seasons, he was credited with 169 tackles, including 19.5 sacks and 50 stops for losses. Hubbard had 12 sacks and 24 tackles for loss during his senior season. He was a standout at Enloe High School in Raleigh, NC, where he was an all-conference performer.

Al Hooker
Outside Linebackers

This marks Al Hooker's fourth season at Catawba. Hooker has over 25 years of coaching experience at the high school football level, first in New Jersey and then in North Carolina as both an assistant and head coach.

His hometown is Staten Island, NY, where he graduated from Monsignor Farrell High School. He earned a bachelor of science degree from Wagner College and a master's degree in political science from the New York School for Social Research. In addition to coaching at Catawba, Hooker teaches history at Davie County High School.

He resides in Advance, NC, with his wife Maureen. They have two sons, Tommy, a graduate of UNC-Wilmington, resides in Wilmington with his wife Lisa. Brian, a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, is currently in nursing school at UNC.

Other Assistants

Jonus Scott - Student Assistant

- Bios done by goindiansgo.com