Three seasons after opening up one of the most beautiful facilities in the nation, a pair of University of Chicago coaches are moving on. Both women's coach Shelia O'Connor and men's coach George Villareal will be stepping down. Villareal's resignation is effective this spring while O'Connor will depart in July.

For O'Connor, the move will follow her husband John O'Connor's hiring as the head soccer coach at the University of Rhode Island and will bring her back to the Northeast. She previously served as the swimming and volleyball coach at Colby College (1991-94) and head coach at Grinnell College (1988-91).

“It’s with mixed emotions we announce his departure,” Athletic Director Tom Weingartner said. “A great move for the O’Connor family and Chicago’s loss, but, having said that, we think that the position is a very, very attractive one that will get lots and lots of really good candidates.”

In an unrelated move, Villareal announced his resignation to pursue research-based swimming opportunities. Under Villarreal, Chicago posted its best-ever UAA Championship finishes and enjoyed back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in the past 18 years. Chicago swimmers established varsity records on 28 occasions in 14 events under Villarreal's tutelage, while relay teams met NCAA Division III Championship qualifying standards for the first time in the University's post-Big Ten era. Prior to his arrival at Chicago, Villarreal served as head men's and women's swimming coach at Frostburg State University from 1998-2003. He began his collegiate coaching career as the head women's swimming coach at Gallaudet University, a position he held from 1995-96.