Western New England University Men's Golf

Jim Abbott was named Western New England Men's Golf Head Coach in August 2023. He will begin his third season at the helm in 2025-2026. Abbott coaches freshman phenom Derek Johnson (Mountain Top, Pa.) to the Conference of New England Rookie of the Year award after posting a third-place finish for the event at the championships. Later last spring, Johnson would break the Western New England men's golf single-round (18 holes) record, shooting a 66 at the Rich Korzec Memorial Invitational (4/28). Johnson became the first WNE Rookie of the Year in men's golf since 2018. The Golden Bears would take fifth place out of nine teams at the CNE Championship event, improving three spots from a season ago.  In just his first season with the Golden Bears, Abbott helped Western New England place second at the Keene State Invitational (9/29), while taking a 12th-place finish out of 20 at the NEIGA Championships (10/14-10/15). Abbott and the Golden Bears capped off the 2023-2024 season with a second-place finish at the Elms College Invitational (4/27) out of eight teams. Abbott began his tenure with the blue and gold after serving in various capacities as a head coach at the high school level. Most recently, Abbott served as the head boy’s basketball and boy’s golf coach at South Windsor High School, where he led the team to multiple conference and state championships. Abbott has also held the same positions at Northwest High School in West Hartford, Connecticut.  Abbott is also familiar to the professional side as he has competed in the Connecticut PGA Senior Tour over his career, where he recently finished 13th overall and 3rd low amateur in the PGA Senior Open. Abbott holds a 1.3 USGA Handicap.   Abbott graduated from Bryant University in 1986 with a degree in Business Administration while also receiving a Master of Arts Degree in Teaching from Quinnipiac University in 1992.

Downes student-athletes earned All-Conference recognition, led by junior Matt Fontaine and sophomore John Abbott, who were named to the first team. Eric HedbergPatrick Donahue DonahueHedberg