WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The winningest coach in the history of Lycoming College athletics, Christen Ditzler announced her decision to retire as the Assistant Director of Athletics, Senior Woman Administrator and Head Women's Basketball Coach at the end of the academic year.
 
"I have immensely enjoyed my time at Lycoming College, working with some truly wonderful student-athletes and colleagues," Ditzler, the fifth-longest tenured employee in the athletic department's history, said. "I couldn't have imagined in 1992 when I first came to Lycoming College that I would be here three decades later, that Williamsport would become my home, but I wouldn't trade my time here for anything.
 
"I was extremely proud of how the women's basketball team performed this year in the first year in the Landmark Conference, which is one of the most competitive conferences in the country. In many ways, it made it easier to step aside, knowing that the team has a solid corps returning and that the next coach can hit the ground running. It is incredibly hard to say goodbye to this part of my life, but I also know that it's the right time and the right decision."
 
Ditzler, one of the most well-respected coaches in the Middle Atlantic region, won 366 games as the women's basketball coach from 1993-2024, 235 games as the softball coach from 1993-08, and 13 matches as the head volleyball coach in 2000 for a grand total of 614 wins as a Warrior. She served as the department's Senior Woman Administrator for nearly that whole time and was an assistant director of athletics for 10 years.
 
"Very few people have dedicated as much time and energy into this athletic department as Chris," Director of Athletics Mike Clark '93 said. "For more than three decades, she was a true team player, coaching two sports for 16 years and working as an administrator for the last 16. Her ability to care for her student-athletes and their struggles and triumphs was visible everyday. The way that she created strong relationships with her colleagues will also truly be missed."
 
She was sixth all-time amongst Middle Atlantic Conference women's basketball coaches with 354 wins when the Warriors left for the Landmark Conference in 2023. She was also the third softball coach in MAC history to reach 200 career wins and is still 13th amongst the conference's softball coaches with 235 wins.
 
"One of the best parts about the job has been working with some of the wonderful assistant coaches that I have been blessed with throughout the years," Ditzler said. "Joe Moore and Joe Lumbis meant so much to the softball program while I was a part of it. Robyn Hannan '88, Adrienne Wydra '02, Becky Gibboney '10, Alicia Kidwell '10 spent a lot of years by my side on the basketball court and George Henry was just so invaluable in all the time and effort he put into the program. I can't thank all of my assistants enough for their partnership. There's so many others who helped along the way, as well, and so many other people in the Lycoming College and Williamsport communities that have been great supporters – I really can't thank all of you enough."
 
Only head track and field and associate head football coach Steve Wiser (1974-24), head baseball, football and wrestling coach Budd Whitehill (1956-93), director of athletics, head and assistant football coach Frank Girardi (1969-07) and head women's tennis and basketball coach Deb Holmes (1976-09) have spent more years associated with the athletic department, although director of athletics, head baseball and men's basketball coach Dutch Burch (1962-94) also spent 32 years in the department and head wrestling, track and field and golf coach Roger Crebs '87 (1993-present) arrived one year after Ditzler.
 
In 2018, Ditzler was inducted into the West Branch Valley Sports Hall of Fame for her contributions to area sports.
 
In basketball, Ditzler coached 29 all-conference selections, five Academic All-District selections, two All-Americans, one D3hoops.com all-region selection, one MAC Scholar Athlete and one conference player of the year along with 10 Lycoming College Athletics Hall of Fame members. She has also earned two conference coach of the year awards.
 
The Warriors enjoyed a school-record seven straight winning seasons from 2013-20, making six appearances in the MAC Commonwealth Championship in that time, including making a trip to the conference final in 2019. In that span, the team has posted a 107-73 (.563) record.
 
From 1993-2000, her basketball teams went 107-68 (.611), leading the 1995-96 team to a 16-9 overall record and second place in the Freedom League, helping her earn her first Freedom Conference Coach of the Year award. The 1996-97 team to a 17-10 record, earning a berth in the NCAA tournament and a runner-up finish in the Freedom League. For her efforts, Ditzler was named both the Freedom League and Columbus Multimedia's Middle Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.
 
Ditzler also had a profound impact on the growth of Lycoming's softball program, serving as head coach from 1993-2008 and becoming one of the most successful coaches in the history of the MAC. She helped the team reach 10 conference playoffs in 16 years, coaching 40 all-conference selections, two conference rookies of the year and one conference pitcher of the year. She earned the Freedom Conference's Coach of the Year award twice and led the 1995 team to the only MAC Championship in the program's history.
 
She coached the volleyball team for one season in 2000, when Sonny Kirkpatrick resigned to become the head coach at Francis Marion University during the summer, helping the team reach the postseason for the sixth year in a row and coaching one all-conference selection.
 
Ditzler began her coaching career in 1989 as a graduate assistant at West Chester University. In 1991, she was an assistant coach at Millersville before coming to Lycoming during the 1992-93 season as a women's basketball assistant under Jim Orr.
 
A 1989 graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, Ditzler had a standout basketball career for the Diplomats, as she scored 1,007 points, which is 17th in school history. She also earned All-Middle Atlantic Conference Southern Division honors twice and was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 1986. In 2011, Ditzler was recognized as part of the 1987-88 women's basketball team, which was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. On the softball field, Ditzler earned All-MAC Southern Division honors as a senior.
 
A national search for her successor as women's basketball coach will begin immediately.