Now in his 14th season as head coach at Cleveland State, Tom Porten has been instrumental in the development of both the men's and women's golf programs.

During his tenure as head coach, Porten guided the men's team to its first ever Horizon League Championship in 1998. He was also a major factor in the founding of the CSU women's golf program in the spring of 2001.

In 2003, Porten was named the first ever Horizon League Women's Golf Coach of the Year. After carding a team average of 113.8 in the spring of 2002, the Vikings shed nearly 25 strokes the following year, tallying an 89.5 average in the fall and an 88.1 average in the spring. The fall of 2002 also saw the team pick up its first-ever medalist finish (Malone Fall Invitational, 10/11-12) in only its third season of existence.

Porten's men's teams have produced some of the top golf talent in the league in recent years. Former golfers such as Tony Caporaletti (1997), Craig Hicks (2001), Christian Komsa (2002-03) and Billy Houle (2003) have been named to all-league golf teams during their playing days. Former Viking golfer and coach Matt Creech was also honored as the ninth-best teaching professional in Ohio, according to the September 2003 issue of Golf Digest magazine.

A three-time letterwinner and captain of the CSU golf team, Porten earned the team's most outstanding player award in 1987-88 after winning four tournaments in the 1988 spring season. After graduating in 1990 with a major in history and a minor in political science, Porten turned professional and has been developing his teaching and coaching skills ever since.

After serving as an assistant for the Vikings during the 1990-91 season, Porten was named head coach the following season.

Porten spent two years as the PGA teaching professional at Westwood Country Club in Rocky River, Ohio. Prior to that, he was the teaching assistant at Mayfield Country Club from 1992-97 and spent 1997-98 in the same position at Kirtland Country Club in Kirtland, Ohio.

Porten enjoys competing professionally and has won several PGA Section tournaments. He was a top 25 finisher on the 1997 NOPGA money list.

Porten, 41, currently resides in Willoughby, Ohio with his wife, Renee, and their three children, Ryan (13), Victoria (10), and Anna Renee, (4).