Hempstead, NY – Hofstra University Vice President and Director of Athletics Rick Cole Jr. announced today the hiring of Hillary Fitts as the 13th head coach in the history of the Hofstra field hockey program. Fitts joins the Pride after helping William & Mary to its second-ever Coastal Athletic Association field hockey championship in 2023.
Fitts replaces Courtney Veinotte, who resigned in December to pursue other professional opportunities.
Fitts spent the last five seasons on the William & Mary coaching staff, first as an assistant coach from 2019 to 2022, and then as the associate head coach since 2022. In Fitts' second season as associate head coach, the Tribe defeated the top two seeds in the CAA Championship, including an overtime win over regular season champions Monmouth, as the Tribe won the CAA title to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
William & Mary then won 4-0 in the NCAA Tournament against Sacred Heart before falling to eventual national champions North Carolina.
"What an exciting time for our field hockey program," said Cole. "We are thrilled to add Hillary to our staff and think she will be a great addition to our University community. Coach Fitts' championship-level experience will be a huge asset for our field hockey student-athletes and program as we continue to elevate the Hofstra field hockey team. Hillary has been successful at every level of her career, both academically and athletically, and we are confident that she will be an incredible mentor for the Pride field hockey team in the years to come."
"I'd like to thank Vice President and Director of Athletics Rick Cole Jr. for trusting me with the opportunity to lead the Hofstra field hockey program into the future," mentioned Fitts. "Hofstra is an outstanding university with world-wide impact, and I'm excited to work with the field hockey student-athletes, alumnae, and staff to do our part in helping to grow that impact. The Pride has a long and rich history on and off the field, and together we can and will add many new chapters to that legacy. I would not be where I am today without the past five years at William & Mary, and I want to thank Tess Ellis, the student-athletes, and my fellow coaches and staff for some of the best years of my career so far."
During Fitts' time on the William & Mary coaching staff, the Tribe qualified for four CAA Championships, winning it all in 2023, and they appeared in the national top 20 rankings during the 2019 season. The Tribe improved from three wins in 2021 to nine in Fitts' first season as associate head coach in 2022, and William & Mary consistently ranked among the best in the CAA in goals allowed per game with Fitts on staff, including finishing at the top in 2020 and again in 2022.
With the Tribe, Fitts assisted with all aspects of managing and coaching the field hockey program, including recruiting, coaching, scouting, alumni relations, and administrative duties. Fitts coached 30 William & Mary field hockey athletes to conference, regional, and national postseason honors and awards, including 2023 NFHCA Third Team All-American and All-CAA First Team selection Pyper Friedman, and 2019 CAA Defensive Player of the Year Christie van de Camp.
Also the owner and director of Colonial Field Hockey Camps and a high performance field hockey coach with USA Field Hockey since 2022 and Nexus Field Hockey since 2020, Fitts officially began her coaching career as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Fairfield, from 2015 to 2019. During her tenure at Fairfield, she helped guide the Stags to MAAC championships in 2015 and 2017, and appearances in the conference tournament title game all four years. Numerous student-athletes received conference and regional postseason honors under Fitts' tutelage.
Fitts was a standout midfielder at Fairfield. She would go on to appear in 69 games for the Stags between 2010 and 2013, and tally 29 career points on 10 goals and nine assists. As a senior in 2013, Fitts was named All-America East Second Team after scoring five goals and assisting on five Fairfield goals, and she was the Co-President of the Fairfield Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Fitts is a double graduate of Fairfield; she received her bachelor's in finance and marketing in 2014, and earned her MBA in business analytics in 2019.
