One-half of a husband-wife coaching duo that helped both their teams to “Elite Eight” national tournament appearances in the 2010-11 season, Craig Fortier enters his first season as associate head coach on the EWU coaching staff.

Fortier spent the past four seasons as an assistant to new Eastern head coach Jim Hayford at Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash. In the 2010-11 season, the Pirates finished 28-2 and advanced to the NCAA Division III Sectional Final (Elite Eight) for the first time in school history.

At the same time, his wife Lisa was on the coaching staff for the Gonzaga women’s team, which advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division I Tournament and finished 31-5. She concluded her fourth season coaching for the Bulldogs, who had back-to-back 14-0 seasons in the West Coast Conference.

During Craig’s four years at Whitworth, the Pirates won 98 of 116 games for a winning rate of 84.5 percent. All four seasons the Pirates advanced to the national tournament and won the Northwest Conference Tournament title.

“I’ve had the pleasure of having Craig as my lead assistant the last four years at Whitworth,” said Eastern head coach Jim Hayford. “He was previously at Colorado State and Gonzaga, so he brings NCAA Division I experience to us. He’s an outstanding recruiter and understands everything I want to do in terms of attention to detail and program administration. He’s extremely skilled in opponent preparation and has been on coaching staffs that have developed professional basketball players. I think he’s going to make a great lead assistant for us.”

Fortier came to Whitworth from Colorado State University, where he served as an administrative assistant for the men's basketball team. Prior to his time at CSU, Fortier was a graduate assistant for Gonzaga University for two seasons, as he completed his master’s degree in sport and athletic administration.

Fortier was also an assistant coach at his alma mater, Cal State-Monterey Bay, in the 2003-04 season. He was the most inspirational player as a senior for the Otters before graduating from the school in 2003.

Whitworth spent three weeks in the 2010-11 season ranked No. 1 in the D3hoops.com NCAA Division III rankings, including the top ranking at the end of the regular season. The Pirates set a school record for victories and winning percentage in finishing 28-2 (.933), and ended the season ranked fifth nationally after losing at Wooster 76-66 on March 12, 2011. Whitworth advanced to the NCAA Division III Sectional Final (Elite Eight) for the first time in school history, while making its fifth-straight NCAA DIII Tournament appearance. The Pirates also claimed their fifth-straight NWC Tournament title.

In 2009-10, Whitworth put together a school-record 25-game winning streak and finished unbeaten in the Northwest Conference (16-0) en route to a final record of 26-3. The Pirates finished the season ranked seventh in the D3hoops.com poll.

In 2008-09, Whitworth finished 23-6 and was the runner-up in the NWC standings. The Pirates then made their fourth national tournament appearance by virtue of winning the NWC Tournament championship game.

In Fortier’s first season at Whitworth in 2007-08, the Pirates won the Northwest Conference title and advanced to the Sectional Semifinals (third round) of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Whitworth finished 21-7 overall.