Former Wildcat swimmer Frank Keefe returns to Villanova as a volunteer assistant coach for the swimming and diving teams, head coach Rick Simpson announced Wednesday.
Keefe has had illustrious careers as both a coach and a swimmer. He served as the head coach of the Yale men's and women's swimming and diving teams for 32 years before retiring in 2010. While at Yale, Keefe was inducted in the American Swimming Coaches Hall of Fame and totaled 488 wins combined between the men's and women's teams.
Keefe earned a 2009 American Swimming Coaches Association Award of Excellence and was a two-time Eastern intercollegiate Swimming League Coach of the Year. He led the men's team to an Ivy League title in 1991-12 a guided the women's team to five Ivy League Championship titles, including undefeated seasons in 1992-93 and 1996-97.
While in New Haven, Conn., Keefe founded the Omni Swim Club, which he directed for 20 years.
Keefe also has extensive international experience with U.S. national teams. He served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic team at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and was the head manager for the 1988 Olympic team in Seoul. Keefe served as the head coach for the U.S. squad for the 1975 and 1979 Pan American Games and as an assistant coach at the 1978 World Championships.
Before earned the position at Yale, Keefe had already coached nine Olympic swimmers, including gold medalist Carl Robie and silver medalist Tim McKee. He more recently coached George Gleason and Stephen Fahy to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
Keefe graduated from Villanova in 1960. He is a member of the Villanova Athletic Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame.
Keefe and his wife, Kathleen, have four children.
