Kenyon Legend Steen to Retire

Jim Steen, architect of the most successful collegiate athletic program in NCAA history, plans to step down as head coach of the Kenyon College Lords swimming and diving team after this academic year.  The move had been rumored for months.  Steen himself told recruits he wouldn't be coaching upon their arrival and alumni had been told to turn out en masse because this year's NCAA Division III Championships would be the legendary coach's last.  But following last month's second-place finish at the meet there was no announcement. 

Now there is.

The announcement is the fourth major retirement in Division III swimming in the past month, but no name, image or legacy is bigger than that of the man who has won more NCAA team titles than any other coach in any sport.  While he will not be leading the team, Steen, whose name will forever be remembered with Kenyon (and vice-versa) will remain with the College to help ensure a smooth transition for the swimming program and take on special projects.

That transition should go smoothly with Jessen Book taking the reins of the men's program.  Book '01, a Steen protégé who was hired in July 2010 to succeed Steen as coach of the Kenyon Ladies swimming team, will become the head coach for both the Lords and Ladies swimmers. Book guided the Ladies to fourth-place national finishes in each of the last two seasons.  In Book's first season the teams largely operated separately, but this past year the teams tackled workouts with more of a combined focus.

Steen took over the Kenyon men’s program and started the women’s program in the 1975-76 season. Since then, he directed the Lords to 29 of their record 31 consecutive NCAA national championships and guided the Ladies to 21 of their 23 national titles. Steen has won more NCAA national championships (50) than any other coach in any NCAA sport. He is a 14-time winner of the NCAA's Division III Coach of the Year award, a seven-time winner of the American Coaches Association Award for Excellence, and the 1994 recipient of the National Collegiate and Scholastic Swimming Trophy.

"Anybody who has the good fortune to achieve anything over the course of a career that is worth mentioning has been the beneficiary of a lifetime of good people," Steen said. "I certainly have had the good fortune to partner up with amazing student-athletes. And the talented and creative people in this community, at this College, have taught me a lot about what it means to pursue excellence."

Steen has coached more than 300 men and women All-America swimmers. During his tenure Kenyon has ranked second among all NCAA Division III institutions with a total of 55 NCAA postgraduate scholarship winners. Swimmers coached by Steen have excelled in all walks of life and many have become successful swimming coaches around the country.

"Where do you start when talking about Coach Steen?" said Peter Smith, director of Athletics, Fitness, and Recreation. "Kenyon has been the recipient of one of the most creative and innovative coaches that the NCAA has known. His successes have often been measured in national championships, but the life discoveries that have been made by those young men and women in his program have been nothing short of remarkable."

Steen will continue to develop his successful Total Performance Sports Camps for swimming and other sports.

	Division I	Division II	Division III
Combined	120	61	206
Separate	19	2	4
Women Only	64	19	20
Men Only	1	1	1