Jeffrey M. Wittman (born March 4, 1971) is an American high school teacher and former

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

Biography

Wittman attended Gates Chili High School in

Gates, New York Gates is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The town is named after General Horatio Gates. The population was 29,167 at the 2020 census. Gates and North Gates are census-designated places within the town. It is a suburb of Roch ...

, where he competed in football and wrestling. In football, he was a

two-way player In sports that require a player to play on offense and defense (such as basketball and ice hockey), a two-way player refers to a player who excels at both. In sports where a player typically specializes on offense or defense (like American footb ...

as a tailback and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. While he expressed a desire to play in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

, he went on to play

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

level. As a fullback for

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca (town), New York, Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a Music school, conservatory of music. Ithaca College is known for its media-related programs and entertainment program ...

during the 1989–1992 seasons, Wittman was named a first-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n for Division III three times: 1990, 1991, and 1992. He was a member of the 1991 Ithaca Bombers football team that won the Division III championship, rushing for 159 yards and three

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s in the title game. At the completion of his college career, Wittman held Ithaca records for touchdowns in a single season (19 in 1992), total points scored in a single season (114 in 1992), career rushing touchdowns (44), career touchdowns (45), career total points scored (270), and career rushing yards (3410); through the 2022 season, he continues to hold Ithaca records for most rushing yards in a single game (272 yards on November 14, 1992), average rushing yards-per-game for a season (134.3 in 1990), and career playoff points scored (68). Following his collegiate career, Wittman became a teacher and coach within the Gates Chili Central School District in his hometown. In 2001, Wittman was inducted to the athletic hall of fame at Ithaca College. In 2013, he was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

. In 2014, he was inducted the athletic hall of fame at Gates Chili High School, and the walk of fame at

Frontier Field Innovative Field (originally known as Frontier Field) is a baseball stadium at One Morrie Silver Way in downtown Rochester, New York. It has been the home of the Rochester Red Wings of the International League since 1997. The park opened in 1996 ...

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. Wittman's college head coach was

Jim Butterfield Frank James Butterfield (14 February 1936 – 29 June 2007), was a Canadian computer programmer, author, and television personality known for his work with early microcomputers. He is particularly noted for associations with Commodore Business M ...

, also an inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wittman, Jeff 1971 births Living people Players of American football from Rochester, New York American football running backs Ithaca Bombers football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees American high school teachers American wrestling coaches Coaches of American football from New York (state)