KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown University head wrestling and women's golf coach Robert Fisher announced Thursday that he will retire at the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year.
 
Fisher has been a mainstay with both programs since the early 2000s. He has transformed Kutztown wrestling into one of the top programs at the conference, regional and national levels while also overseeing the Golden Bear women's golf program's rise from infancy to PSAC champions.
 
"Coaching was never just about wins, losses or championships, it was about people," Fisher said. "It was about building relationships, earning trust and mentoring young men and women as they navigated some of the most formative years of their lives. Whether on the wrestling mat or the golf course, my greatest privilege was helping student-athletes learn lessons about accountability, resilience and character that will serve them far beyond competition."
 
The winningest coach in KU wrestling history, Fisher, has amassed 255 dual wins over 25 seasons. His teams have routinely appeared in the NWCA Division II national rankings, including every poll during the current 2025-26 season.
 
Fisher mentored five national champions, 33 All-Americans, 23 regional champions and two PSAC champions since taking the reins of the wrestling program in 2000-01. Kutztown claimed a share of the PSAC Division II Dual Championship in 2018-19.
 
The Golden Bears have produced winning dual seasons in each of Fisher's 24 seasons to date, including 17 seasons with 10 wins or more. KU went 11 straight seasons with double-digit win totals between 2006-2017.
 
At the Super Region 1 and NCAA Division II Championships, the Maroon and Gold have continued to thrive under Fisher's leadership. KU has six top three team finishes at regionals since 2011, including runner-up showings in 2019 and 2025. The Golden Bears are also coming off their best-ever finish at the NCAA DII Championships after taking eighth in 2025. KU finished 10th in 2019 and has 14 top 20 team finishes at nationals since 2002.
 
Joe Kemmerer became the first national champion for both Fisher and KU wrestling when he won the NCAA DII title at 133 pounds in 2006-07. He repeated the feat during the 2008-09 season. Current assistant coach Ziad Haddad claimed back-to-back DII heavyweight titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15. Andrew Dunn Jr., is Fisher's most recent national champion, winning the heavyweight crown in 2018-19.
 
Fisher is a two-time PSAC Coach of the Year (2018-19, 2024-25) and was named Super Region 1 Coach of the Year for the 2024-25 season.
 
Amid his second season coaching wrestling at KU, Fisher took oversight of the second-year women's golf program in January 2002.
 
The Golden Bears have grown into a consistent upper tier team within the PSAC. Fisher led KU to 53 tournament wins, nine top three finishes at the PSAC Women's Golf Championship since it began in 2008-09 and the 2017 PSAC championship (2017-18 school year). Kutztown made its first appearance in the NCAA East Super Regional later that season, finishing ninth, and Fisher was named PSAC Coach of the Year for the first time.
 
Kutztown also claimed its first-ever PSAC individual champion under Fisher's watch as Lauren Smith won the 2014 PSAC Championship at the Hershey County Club's East Course.
 
Now in his 25th season with the women's golf program, Fisher has coached 17 All-PSAC selections, including multi-time honorees Madison Beer, Hope Giordano, Brooke Graham (Carlisle, Pa./Boiling Springs) and Lauren Smith.
 
"I'm deeply grateful to Kutztown University for the opportunity to spend my entire collegiate coaching career at a place that values education, athletics and people," Fisher said. "When I look back at my career, what I value most are the conversations, shared challenges and growth I witnessed from my student-athletes, not the results on the scoreboard."
 
Prior to being named head coach of the wrestling program in 2000, Fisher served as an assistant coach with the Golden Bears in 1999-2000. He was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Hazleton High School, from 1987-90.
 
Fisher was a two-time district wrestling champion at Hazleton and a three-time Northeast Regional runner-up. He graduated as the winningest wrestler in program history. Fisher also played football and was selected to represent Pennsylvania in the Big 33 Game in 1984.
 
Fisher earned his bachelor's degree in special education for the visually impaired from Kutztown in 1995.
 
"I'm incredibly thankful to my wife, Cindy, and my children, Sydney and Tyler, whose love, patience and support made this journey possible," Fisher said. "Coaching requires long hours and many sacrifices, and none of this would have been possible without their willingness to share me with the profession I love. Coaching allowed me to be part of something bigger than sport, and I will always be thankful for the people and relationships that made this career so meaningful."
 
Kutztown will conduct a search for its next head wrestling and women's golf coaches in the spring.