The Portland State Vikings have hired Chris Fisk as head coach. Fisk spent the last 7 seasons as head coach of NCAA Division II Central Washington, leading them to four D-II playoff appearances.
Fisk played collegiately at NAIA schools Jamestown and Southwestern (Kansas) before becoming a coach in 2002 at the University of Mary in North Dakota. He coached the offensive line from 2002 through 2006 and was promoted to offensive coordinator from 2007 through 2010. In 2011, he moved back to the NAIA level as the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Southern Oregon.
In 2019, he became the head coach at NCAA D-II Central Washington. He started his CWU tenure with a 7-4 mark and tied for the GNAC title. The Wildcats played one game in the 2020-21 season and returned for the 2021 fall campaign to win the final GNAC title and make a playoff appearance. After the 2021 season, Central Washington, Simon Fraser (now defunct), and Western Oregon joined the Lone Star Conference as affiliate members.
The increased football travel didn’t stop the Wildcats’ success. In 2022, they went 6-4 overall, but finished second in the LSC. In 2023 and 2024, they finished second in both seasons, but also made the D-II playoffs. The 2023 playoff run saw them reach the Quarterfinals before losing to the Super Region’s top seed, Colorado Mines. In 2025, Central Washington won the Lone Star title outright, going 9-0 in the conference and receiving the second seed in Super Region 4. Unfortunately, the Wildcats were defeated in the first round by Western Colorado 27-20.
Fisk went 48-22 overall and 38-7 in conference games at Central Washington, with three conference titles and four D-II playoff appearances. He will replace Bruce Barnum, who went 39-75 overall and 29-51 in Big Sky games. Fisk will be expected to rebuild a Portland State program that has seen its previous three coaches go a combined 69-135 from 2007 through 2025.
Photo Credit to Central Washington University Athletics
