Katie Futcher was named head women's golf coach at Emory University in July of 2018.

The 2020-21 campaign was a memorable one for Futcher and the program as it scored one of the 25 coveted spots in the NCAA D-III Championships in East Lansing, Michigan, where it ended up finishing seventh.  The accomplishment of playing at the national tourney was even more impressive when considering that the Eagles saw the second half of their initial campaign in the spring of 2020 cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Following that, the squad was idled when the University announced that there would be neither competition nor team-organized activities during the fall semester.  After finally being given clearance to compete, head coach Katie Futcher and her charges made the most of the opportunity, playing in a total of four tournaments.  Along the way, Emory drew its first-ever national ranking when it was slotted in the No. 10 spot in the April 9, 2021, WGCA Top 25 D-III Poll.

2019-20 marked the initial year as an intercollegiate sport at Emory and Futcher saw her squad compete in a total of six events, four in the fall and two in the spring.  Emory's first-ever appearance in a tournament as a varsity sport took place Sept. 14-15, 2019, when the Eagles posted an eighth-place finish out of 13 teams at the NCAA D-III Preview in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.   The Eagles took part in the Linda Lowery Invitational in Austin, Texas, and the Savannah Invitational in the spring.  Emory was set to embark in its first-ever UAA Championship in Palm Coast, FL, but saw that event canceled due to the coronavirus.

Futcher came to Emory after spending 2017-18 as a member of the James Madison University coaching staff.  She was an assistant from July of 2017 through February of 2018, before being appointed Interim Head Coach, a post she held until June.  She helped the Dukes to a fourth-place finish out of 16 teams at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate and a fourth-place effort in the 12-team field at the Battle of Boulder Creek II in Nevada. Futcher mentored Laura Gomez-Ruiz to First Team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors after setting a school single-season scoring average record. 

Prior to James Madison, Futcher spent one year as a volunteer coach at her alma mater, Penn State, following a nine-year career on the LPGA. After qualifying for the LPGA Tour in just her second attempt, Futcher would go to compete in more than 25 major championships and 120 events while earning Class A status with the LPGA. In 2012, she made 18 cuts in 23 events and posted a pair of top-10 finishes including ties for eighth at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open and the RICOH Women’s British Open.

Futcher was named a LPGA Board Player representative as voted by her fellow players.  Her duties included quarterly board and subcommittee meetings as well as direct interaction with the tour commissioner and LPGA business and tournament operations. 

Futcher enjoyed a memorable career at Penn State, ranking as the Nittany Lions’ scoring leader all four years while playing her way to a pair of NGCA All-America berths.  A two-time All-Big Ten honoree, as a senior she qualified to compete in the 2003 NCAA D-I Championships. She was the female recipient of Penn State’s Ernest B. McCoy Award, presented to the best athlete who has shown commitment to academics, athletics and community. 

"I am thrilled about the opportunity to build the women’s golf program at Emory," Futcher said.  "I know Emory will attract talented and driven student athletes. It is my goal to develop balanced student athletes that improve at the game of golf and contend for national championships. I am honored to represent Emory, a school with a rich history of academic and athletic excellence, and am really excited to join Eagle nation! Fly Higher!"

Futcher graduated from Penn State in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences.