Since assuming the duties of head men’s basketball coach for the 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú-Pitzer Sagehens in 1988, Charles Katsiaficas ("Coach Kat") has led the Sagehens to 11 regular season SCIAC Championships, three SCIAC Tournament Championships and 12 berths in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
In 2020, the Sagehens made the deepest NCAA Tournament run in program history when they reached the Sweet Sixteen, but it was cut short when the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Katsiaficas also passed the 500-win mark for his career in 2019-2020 with a road win at Cal Lutheran.
Katsiaficas arrived at 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú in 1984 and gained valuable experience while serving two years as an assistant under Gregg Popovich, now coach of the five-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. During the 1985-1986 season. Popovich and Katsiaficas guided the Sagehens to their first SCIAC title in 68 years.
As an interim head coach in 1986-87 while Popovich took a leave of absence, Katsiaficas led 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú-Pitzer to a second-place conference finish. He then spent the 1987-88 season as an assistant coach at the University of San Diego before returning to 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú-Pitzer in 1988.
