Penn State hockey has promoted assistant coach Keith Fisher to Associate Head Coach the program announced on Wednesday afternoon.
‘I am truly appreciative of this opportunity provided to me by Penn State and Coach Gadowsky,” Fisher said in a press release. “It is amazing to see what we have built here as a staff in such a short time, and I am looking forward to continuing our upward trend in the future. It is a great time to be a Nittany Lion!’
For Penn State the move is an important one when it comes to staff stability. Fisher has been as instrumental as anyone in the Penn State hockey program getting the Nittany Lions to where they are today. Fisher joins fellow assistant Matt Lindsay on the recruiting trail as the most active advocates for the program beyond Gadowsky who Fisher has worked with for the past 12 years.
“Coach Fisher and I have coached together for a long time and have very similar philosophies and program values,” Gadowsky added. “With his great work ethic and passion for Penn State, he has been an integral part of the success of this program and is very deserving of the associate head coach position.”
While the title change comes with no real changes in job duties, it almost certain results in a pay bump. According to a feasibility study done by the NHL and University of Illinois the 2016-17 coaching salaries across the Big Ten saw Penn State second to last with Fisher making $110,000 a year some $40,000 below the highest paid assistant in the league at Minnesota.
Fisher will almost certainly become a head coach, and has interviewed for at least one position while at Penn State, but for now, a key asset has been locked down for the foreseeable future.
