North Carolina A&T Director of Athletics Earl M. Hilton III officially made Loritz “Scooter” Clark the second-ever director of golf when he announced Clark’s hiring on August 21, 2023.
The position came open during the spring of 2023, when Richard Watkins, the head coach who pioneered both the men’s and women’s golf programs starting in 2016 with the women’s program, retired after spending 32 years of service at A&T in various capacities and 45 years in public education.
Clark comes to A&T after working for the PGA of America as the Director of Collegiate Championships. Clark also has collegiate coaching experience at the Division I level as Bethune-Cookman University’s Director of Intercollegiate Golf from 2010-2016.
During his time working as the Director of Collegiate Championships, Clark worked closely with Strategic Advisory and Coaches Advisory groups to ensure that the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship delivered on the long-term goals and objectives for all stakeholders, including the student-athletes, coaches, partners and golf industry employers.
As a collegiate coach for the B-CU Wildcats, Clark had tremendous success. In 2013, he led the B-CU men to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship. The men also had three runner-up finishes at the MEAC tournament. In addition, the Wildcats captured a combined 10 PGA WORKS Collegiate Championships between the two programs, the most by any coach in the 36-year history of the championship.
In 2012, Clark had an individual from the men’s team qualify for the Regional Round of the NCAA Championship. In 2013, the Wildcat men qualified for the Regional Round of the NCAA Championship.
“We have found the right coach to move our two golf programs into the next phase of their growth and development,” said Hilton. “Coach Clark has championship experience at the collegiate level, great leadership qualities, and is extremely passionate and committed to the growth and development of our student-athletes. We are excited to see where he takes our programs after coach Watkins laid down the foundation.”
Clark’s coaching career at B-CU includes 29 tournament wins between the men’s and women’s programs. On 32 occasions, a men’s or women’s golfer won a tournament as an individual under Clark. The men reached a GolfWeek ranking as high as No. 58, while the women’s highest ranking was 76. The two programs earned the NCAA’s Golf Public Recognition Award in 2014, ’15 and ’16.
Clark started his collegiate career in 1987 at Southern University. After transferring, his final three years of collegiate golf were spent at the University of Maryland. Clark has been a Class A PGA Professional since 2009. He graduated from Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice.
