One of the most decorated student-athletes in any sport in University of Notre Dame athletics history and an Irish assistant women's swimming coach this past season, Carrie Nixon has been named the fourth head women's swimming and diving coach in Irish history.

Nixon replaces her mentor Bailey Weathers, who resigned March 29 following 10 seasons as Irish head coach.

A 2002 Notre Dame graduate and former NCAA 50-meter freestyle record-holder who won 18 BIG EAST Conference titles and earned All-America honors on 12 occasions, Nixon is the first female student-athlete from Notre Dame ever to be hired at her alma mater as a head coach.

In her six-year affiliation with the program - as a swimmer from 1997-98 to 2001-02 and an assistant coach in 2004-05 - Nixon has helped Notre Dame win the BIG EAST Championship each season. The Irish have been in the top 30 at the NCAA Championships in all but one of those six years -- and they have been regulars in the national rankings, including the program's first-ever top-10 ranking in 1999-2000.

Individually, the Nixon years have seen the Irish post 58 first-place finishes at the BIG EAST meet, earn 33 invitations to the NCAA Championships, and cop seven All-America accolades and 30 more honorable-mention All-America citations. Seventeen of the 19 current Notre Dame swimming records were set during Nixon's affiliation with the Irish.

"Carrie has a tremendous understanding of and appreciation for Notre Dame and specifically for Notre Dame swimming," says Notre Dame athletics director Kevin White.

"She has been a huge part of the success of our program, both in and out of the pool, and she knows what is required when it comes to competing at the elite level of women's collegiate swimming. Carrie's vision for our program and where it's headed dovetails perfectly with our expectations for the future of women's swimming at Notre Dame."

Nixon returned to her alma mater in June 2004 to become an assistant coach. In her first year back at Notre Dame, Nixon helped the Irish win 11 of 20 events in cruising to a ninth consecutive BIG EAST championship. Notre Dame then scored 32 points at the NCAA meet - its third-highest total ever - en route to a 24th-place tie in the team standings. The 2004-05 squad was just the second in Notre Dame history to feature an All-American in both swimming (sophomore Katie Carroll) and diving (fifth-year senior Meghan Perry-Eaton). The only other squad to have achieved that was the 2001-02 team, for which Nixon was the swimming All-American.

Nixon was previously an assistant coach for the Clemson University men's and women's teams in 2003-04, serving as coordinator of recruiting, while working primarily with the sprinters, butterflyers, and IMers in the pool. She helped the Tigers to an outstanding season, as both squads finished among the top 40 at the NCAA Championships (men tied for 35th, women 39th). The Clemson men, who scored their first points in the NCAA meet since 1989, were 13-2-1 in dual-meet action (their highest victory total in the 52-year history of the program). The women's team was 10-5 (its highest win total since 1988) and finished fifth in the ACC meet. Three Clemson swimmers earned invitations to the NCAA meet, with a pair of them named honorable mention All-America.

Carrie Nixon earned 12 All-America honors and 18 BIG EAST titles in her time as a competitive swimmer at Notre Dame.

Three years after graduating, Nixon remains one of the most accomplished Notre Dame student-athletes in any sport. Her 12 All-America citations (10 of them honorable mention) stand as the most in program history and her 18 BIG EAST titles (six individual and 12 relays) stand one shy of the Irish record for any sport. In 2000, Nixon set the NCAA record in the 50-meter free (24.99), became the first Irish swimmer to be the top qualifier in any event at the NCAA Championships, and finished fourth at the NCAA meet in the 50 free, a result that still stands as the best ever by a Notre Dame swimmer. She also was tabbed the BIG EAST Championships Most Outstanding Swimmer that year after finishing first in all seven of her events, an accomplishment still unequaled in Irish history.

Nixon, who missed the 2000-01 season with a shoulder injury, remains the Notre Dame record-holder in the 50 and 100 free, as well as the 100 butterfly. She also swam on four relay teams that still hold Irish records: the 200 free, 400 free, 200 medley, and 400 medley. Nixon also participated in the United States Olympic Trials in 2000, taking 21st in the 50-meter freestyle and finishing in the top 40 in both the 100 free and 100 fly.

She graduated in May of 2002 from the College of Arts and Letters as a pre-professional studies/anthropology and computer applications double major. As a senior, Nixon was honored with the Francis Patrick O'Connor Award, which each year recognizes one female and one male Notre Dame student-athlete who best exemplify the spirit and leadership the University embodies in their actions and inspirations to their respective teams. Upon graduation from Notre Dame, Nixon served as an assistant coach for the Ouray High School volleyball team and the Ouray club swimming team.

Nixon is the 26th former Notre Dame student-athlete to be hired as an Irish head coach (women's cross country coach Tim Connelly is the only other current member of that group). She is the eighth former All-American in that group, joining legends Knute Rockne (football) and Moose Krause (basketball). She joins a distinguished group of 10 other former Notre Dame student-athletes who are current head coaches on either the professional or college levels.