Back in 2009, Villanova football made it all the way to the 2009 FCS National Championship game to face the undefeated Montana in Chattanooga, TN.
Under center for the Wildcats was junior quarterback Chris Whitney (‘11). He totaled 102 rushing yards, 142 passing yards and a touchdown in the game on 10-of-13 completions.
It was enough to lift Villanova to its first and only FCS National Championship in program history, defeating Montana, 23-21.
Whitney, now a partner at Sterling Benefits, took over as quarterback for Villanova as a freshman after starting quarterback Antwyon Young suffered a season-ending knee injury. He finished his career at Villanova fourth on the program’s all-time passing yards (6,241) and rushing yards (2,450) lists. In 2011, he graduated with a bachelor of science in business administration and a minor in international business.
Whitney is married to Kellianne Whitney, whom he started dating while at Villanova. Together, they have three kids: a son, Christopher Jr., and two daughters, Riley and Kelly.
Sterling Benefits is an insurance broker and employee benefits firm. Whitney works in the sales area of the firm, as well as in the operations it takes to grow the firm over the next five to 10 years.
“We work for companies with two employees to 5000 employees,” Whitney said. “We do medical, dental, vision and then life and disability. So, pretty much the entire employee benefits package. Basically, we are the middleman between the client, which is the company, and the insurance carriers. So we act on behalf of our clients to secure the best pricing and product.”
Whitney previously worked for Unum out of college as a sales coordinator and consultant. He worked at Villanova Health Agency until it was acquired by Sterling Benefits in June of 2024.
He works with companies all over the East Coast, as far down as Florida, as well as out west in Arizona. Sterling Benefits currently serves between 700 and 800 clients. It works with the four main insurance companies: Blue Cross, United, Cigna and Aetna.
With a small list of clients compared to other firms, it allows the firm to use a client-centric approach.
“It’s a high-touch, high-fuel service model,” Whitney said. “A big part of our pitch is that you’re dealing with the leadership at Sterling to have that has your best interest in mind, that has the relationships at the carrier level. But you’re also still getting that hands-on service model that may have gone away when some of these larger firms, private equity firms, buy these smaller brokerages.”
During his time at Villanova, Whitney played for former head coach Andy Talley as well as current head coach Mark Ferrante, who was an assistant at the time. Whitney still carries the idea of the culture and family that the Villanova football program instilled in him.
“I think Coach Talley started it,” Whitney said. “Coach Ferrante is continuing it, leading by example and putting the time in. And I think anybody, from the football field to the professional world, we all respect people who walk the walk, not only talk about it, but walk. I mean putting in the hours.”
As a graduate of St. Joe’s Prep, Whitney decided to play locally despite having offers from Rutgers as well as other schools that offered him a preferred walk-on opportunity.
“I think culture, a lot of times and discipline can beat talent,” Whitney said. “And I think you have seen that year over year, and I think that’s what really helps keep Villanova on the map every year. It also helps that the school is one of the top 25 schools in the country academically.”
