Chris Fortney enters his fifth year on the Hilltop in 2025-26, having arrived in August of 2021. He currently serves as the head of the Communications department for USF (University of San Francisco) Athletics and is the primary media and sports information contact for men's basketball, men's and women's soccer, and men's golf.
Since he arrived at USF, Fortney has served as the sports information contact for men's basketball, which reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 24 years in 2022, as well as back-to-back NIT appearances in 2024 + 2025. Additionally, Fortney also covered the triathlon team, who finished second overall at the USAT National Championships in 2021 while bringing home the Individual National Champion - Kira Gupta Baltazar.
Prior to his arrival, Fortney was the Assistant Director of Athletics Communications at the University of the Pacific from 2019-2021. During his time with the Tigers, he served as the primary media and sports information contact for all 17 Division I varsity athletic programs at Pacific, including two nationally recognized programs in men's and women's water polo. While in Stockton, Fortney served as the host media coordinator for the 2019 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship and the 2021 Golden Coast Conference Women's Water Polo Tournament. Individually, Fortney also created "Earning Our Stripes" during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a documentary series that highlighted the unique stories and journeys of Pacific student-athletes, coaches, and alumni.
Before his time with the Tigers, Fortney served as an Athletics Media Relations Assistant at Wofford College, where he was the primary media contact for men's and women's soccer, women's basketball, and men's and women's tennis, as well as being the secondary media contact for Terrier football.
Fortney was also a student worker in the sports information department at Arizona State University (ASU) for the 2018-19 academic year, assisting SIDs with game day duties for 12 sports. While with the Sun Devils, he was responsible for updating and maintaining sport and athlete files, conducting research and producing written content for the school's athletics website, as well as transcribing press conferences for media outlets.
Previously, Fortney spent two summers at Pacific as an athletics intern during 2016 and 2017. In his first stint with the Tigers, he worked with executive staff on membership renewals and season ticket packages for the Pacific Athletic Foundation. Fortney also assisted supervisors and board members in marketing operations for the Pacific Athletic Foundation while partnering with university sponsors to organize the 2016 and 2017 Orange & Black Ball.
Born and raised in Stockton, Calif., Fortney received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism & Mass Communication from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State in May 2019. He also holds a minor in Criminal Justice from ASU. Fortney recently added a Master's of Science in Sport Management from the University of San Francisco in December 2024.
