Chris Batti was hired as Columbia’s tight ends coach in January 2024, following a two-year stint as a defensive quality control assistant at Northwestern. Batti has experience coaching various offensive position groups at Harvard (running backs), Fordham (wide receivers) and Eastern Illinois (quarterbacks) since joining the industry in 2008.
In his first season with the Lions, he was part of the Ivy League Coaching Staff of the Year, which helped Columbia secure its first conference title since 1961. Batti coached Braden Dougherty to All-Ivy League Honorable Mention Status after the sophomore racked up 13 catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions utilized three tight ends during the season, serving as key blockers for the offense, which amassed 3,930 yards of total offense and 1,886 yards on the ground.
At Northwestern, Batti was responsible for opponent breakdowns, coordinated defensive support staff responsibilities and assisted in the evaluation of high school and transfer linebackers.
From 2019-21, he was the quarterbacks coach at Eastern Illinois.
Batti's wide receivers at Fordham helped the Rams lead the Patriot League in passing yards per game in 2018 and saw Austin Longi earn First Team All-Patriot League honors. Longi led the Patriot League in receptions/game (5.5) and was second in receiving yards/game (65.1).
During his time with the Crimson, Harvard’s rushing attack produced four first-team All-Ivy League selections, won three consecutive Ivy League Championships (2013-15) and was consistently among the best among the Ancient Eight.
Batti came to Harvard after spending four seasons at Northwestern, including the last two as a graduate assistant and wide receivers coach while earning a master’s degree in sports administration. He initially came to Northwestern in 2008 as a quality control intern while assisting with the offensive line.
In 2011, Northwestern ranked second in the Big Ten in total offense and led the 12-team league in passing offense at 254.2 yards per game. The Wildcats completed a conference-best 71.0 percent of their passes, leading the league with 289 completions. Wide receiver Jeremy Ebert became the first Wildcat since 1998 to top 1,000 yards receiving (1,060) and hauled in 11 touchdowns on 75 receptions while earning second-team All-Big Ten accolades from the media and honorable mention from the coaches.
In 2010, Northwestern ranked third in the Big Ten in passing offense with 242.6 yards per game in the regular season. Quarterback Dan Persa broke the Big Ten record for completion percentage by connecting on 73.5 percent of his throws and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in the process.
A Glenview, Illinois, native, Batti earned his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Illinois in 2008. Batti played quarterback at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois in 2004-05 and was a member of Harper's 2004 NJCAA national championship club. He earned conference scholar-athlete honors while attending Harper and then transferred to the University of Illinois. There, he worked with the Fighting Illini football program in 2007-08 as a student manager.
