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Bayou to South Beach - Horner Hired at FIU

The exodus from New Orleans continues. The school, which lost its diving coach to Utah last week, is transitioning to Division III and it will need a new coach to replace  Randy Horner.  Horner has been named head coach of the FIU Swimming and Diving program as announced today by Athletic Director Pete Garcia. Horner will begin his duties as head coach on July 1, 2010.

To fill the void, New Orleans interim athletic director Amy Champion has appointed current assistant coach James Winchester as interim head coach.
 
UNO is currently attempting to reclassify to NCAA Division III. During the transition process, the Privateers will compete as a Division I independent.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Randy Horner to FIU,” said Garcia. “Randy brings a lot to the table. He has a proven track record of success both in and out of the pool. He has a tremendously successful coaching background and will be able to do a lot of great things with our program.”

“I am thrilled with the opportunity to coach at FIU,” said Horner. “This is a program that has incredible potential and I look forward to the challenges ahead. I am eager to build something special as well as something that we can all be proud of. I want to bring success to this program and put FIU swimming and diving among the nation’s elite.”

"I have certainly enjoyed my last three years building the program at UNO," said Horner. "More than anything, I am very appreciative to those who allowed me to have this experience as head coach of the Privateer program."


Horner becomes FIU’s second swimming and diving coach in the program’s history and has been the driving force behind CollegeSwimming.com's Mid-Major poll.

Before coming to FIU, Horner served as the head coach for the New Orleans Privateer men’s and women’s programs for three seasons.

While with the Privateers, Horner oversaw the addition of a men's team in 2008 (first competitive team since 1992) while also breathing new life into a women's program that had struggled in the pool prior to his arrival in 2007.

In three seasons with UNO, the Privateers broke all 18 school records in swimming on both the men’s and women’s sides under Horner. The men’s diving team established school records in the 1-meter and 3-meter events and qualified for the NCAA Zone D Regional in 2010 – the first regional diving qualifier since 1985.

Horner led the Privateers to national recognition in swimming as the UNO men were ranked as high as No. 9 in the CSCAA Mid-Major Rankings during the 2008-09 season and again in 2009-10. The women earned the program’s first-ever ranking in the CSCAA Mid-Major polls in 2008-09.

In just the second year of the men’s program, Horner produced the Co-Sun Belt Swimmer of the Year.

Out of the pool, The Privateers found success under Horner as the men earned CSCAA All-Academic  in the fall of 2008 (3.24 GAP – eighth-highest in Division I) and the spring of 2009 (3.15 GPA – tied for 24th-highest in Division I). The women earned their first-ever CSCAA All-Academic team recognition in the fall of 2009. Fifteen UNO men and six UNO women received Sun Belt Conference recognition in academics.

His first men’s recruiting class at UNO was rated No. 18 in the nation by CollegeSwimming.com.

Prior to Horner’s arrival at UNO, he spent two years as the associate head coach (2005-2007) and seven seasons (1998-2005) as an assistant coach at Missouri State, where he helped the Bears to nine Missouri Valley Conference championship titles in men’s and women’s swimming under long-time head coach Jack Steck.

Horner has experience at virtually every level of competitive swimming. Prior to coaching at MSU, the Canton, Mo., native began his career at Springfield Parkview High School in 1994 before spending three years at Kickapoo High School.

In 1997, Horner was named the Missouri Coach of the Year in boys’ swimming after leading the Chiefs to the Ozark Conference Championship. He was a two-year member of the Bear swim team before earning his bachelor’s degree in elementary education at MSU in 1994.

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