Buckle up boys and girls because the coaching carousel is about to take off.  Carnegie Mellon University’s Director of Athletics, Susan Bassett, has named Matthew Kinney the new head men’s and women’s swimming coach. Kinney joins the Tartans staff after serving twelve years as head men’s and women’s swimming coach at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  Kinney will takes over for head coach David Belowich.  Prior to being unceremoniously let go earlier this month, Belowich had led the Tartans to eight individual NCAA titles and five top-ten finishes in his eleven years.

“Matt Kinney will provide excellent leadership for our men’s and women’s swimming and diving program,” comments Bassett. “He brings impressive credentials and will be a wonderful addition to the Department of Athletics and the university community.”

Throughout his twelve year tenure as head coach at the University of Mary Washington, Kinney led the men's and women's teams to an impressive combined dual mark of 182-and 59 and a total of twenty-two combined Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) titles, including twelve straight for the women’s program. During Mary Washington’s conference title run he was named CAC Coach of the Year twelve times, seven women and five men. Kinney brings tremendous coaching experience to Carnegie Mellon University, as he has coached 88 All-America performances.

“I am extremely excited about the opportunity to be a part of the Carnegie Mellon community and looking forward to my first season,” states Kinney. “The balance between the academic excellence and athletic history, combined with the motivation of the administration, faculty and students, leads me to believe that Carnegie Mellon will be an outstanding environment in every possible way.”

A Native of Canton, Ohio, Kinney is a 1993 graduate of Kenyon College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. While a student-athlete at Kenyon he was a three-time All-America for the Lords and was part of three NCAA Division III National Championship teams. He was also selected captain his senior season. Following his undergraduate work, Kinney went on to Western Illinois University, where he earned a Master of Science degree in sports management.

Kinney served as an assistant coach at Western Illinois while obtaining his masters degree and has also coached at the Macomb (IL) Senior High School, and at the Macomb County YMCA.