Recruiting Areas: NYS Section 3, QBs from out of state
Curt Fitzpatrick was named SUNY Cortland’s football head coach in February 2020 and enters his fifth year at the school and fourth season on the field in 2024. Through three seasons, Fitzpatrick's teams are a combined 34-4 (.895), highlighted by a 14-1 season and a storybook run to the 2023 NCAA Division III title. Fitzpatrick was named both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and the D3football.com Division III National Coach of the Year, and the AFCA Region 1 and D3football.com Region 2 Coach of the Year, as the Red Dragons won five straight playoff games, capped by a 38-37 win over defending national champion North Central (Ill.) in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Virginia.
Fitzpatrick has led Cortland to three Empire 8 titles from 2021-23, each with a 6-0 regular-season record. He and his assistants were named the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year in each of those three seasons. Fitzpatrick is also 2-1 in the annual Cortaca Jug rivalry game versus Ithaca College.
In 2021, Fitzpatrick's squad posted the program's first 10-0 regular-season record since 1988. The Red Dragons won their NCAA playoff opener and finished the season 11-1. Cortland averaged a then school-record 41.4 points per game. In 2022, Cortland finished 9-1 in the regular season and 9-2 overall, qualifying for the NCAA tournament and setting school records, at the time, of 45.1 points and 499.6 offensive yards per game.
In 2023, Cortland set school records with 14 total wins as well as 12 consecutive victories after a 2-1 start. The Red Dragons eclipsed schools records with 46.2 points and 509.2 offensive yards per game, as well as school marks for total passing yards (4,265) and rushing yards (3,373). Cortland ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense, total offense, pass completion percentage and team passing efficiency.
Fitzpatrick came to Cortland from Morrisville State, where he served as head coach for seven seasons from 2013-19. He guided the Mustangs to four winning seasons (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019), including one conference championship title and three postseason ECAC bowl appearances.
In 2014, Morrisville finished with a 9-2 mark – its best record since becoming an NCAA Division III member – and claimed a share of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) crown with a 6-1 league mark. The Mustangs earned a berth to the ECAC North Central Bowl, where they captured the college’s first postseason championship title as an NCAA Division III member. Fitzpatrick was voted the NJAC Co-Coach of the Year by his peers and was named the D3football.com East Region Coach of the Year.
In 2019 he led the Mustangs to a 6-5 record, including a 4-2 Empire 8 mark, and an ECAC postseason bowl berth. Morrisville handed Empire 8 co-champion Brockport its lone league loss.
During his time at Morrisville, Fitzpatrick’s high-powered offense averaged 31.5 points and 438 yards per game, making it one of the most potent offenses annually in the Empire 8. Under his guidance, Mustang quarterbacks were voted as the conference Offensive Player of the Year three times. A total of 49 Mustang student-athletes earned Empire 8 or NJAC all-conference recognition and 61 were named to the athletic director honor roll for their outstanding academic performance during his tenure.
Prior to Morrisville, Fitzpatrick served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Utica College from 2008-12. In his time with the Pioneers, his balanced, no-huddle offense was one of the best in the Empire 8, gained national attention and set numerous school records.
In 2012 the Pioneers featured the Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Year and three D3football.com All-East offensive performers. The team was ranked in the top 25 nationally in six major offensive categories, including points (34.2) and yards (465) per game, and set 10 school records. Throughout his tenure at Utica, Fitzpatrick coached 16 all-league offensive performers, and off the field he developed an accountability program for the football program centering on academic and community success, in addition to administering the off-season strength and conditioning program.
A native of Fulton, N.Y., Fitzpatrick graduated from St. John Fisher College in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in management. A standout quarterback for the Cardinals, Fitzpatrick served as a team captain and was a four-year letterman. In his final season, he earned Empire 8 all-conference honors and set school passing records in touchdowns (30) and yards (2,366) while leading the program to a 10-2 overall record and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
Upon graduation, Fitzpatrick returned to his hometown in 2005 to coach quarterbacks and wide receivers at Fulton High School, which captured the OHSL Class A league championship. He returned to St. John Fisher as a quarterbacks coach for two seasons from 2006-07. The Cardinals amassed a combined 23-4 record, won two Empire 8 crowns and were the top-ranked team in New York State each season. Fisher advanced to the NCAA semifinals in 2006 and the quarterfinals in 2007, and for the two seasons combined recorded more than 5,300 passing yards and 55 touchdowns.
Since 2006, Fitzpatrick has been actively involved in camps and clinics as both a coach and director. He also has served as guest speaker at numerous clinics throughout New York State and New England.
In addition to his bachelor’s degree from St. John Fisher, Fitzpatrick earned a Master of Science in athletic administration from Ohio University in 2012. He currently resides in Tully, N.Y., with his wife, Molly, and three children, Collins, Oliver and Cooper.
