Scott Cameron was named Illinois State’s head swimming coach, Illinois State Director of Athletics Larry Lyons announced Tuesday.
Cameron will succeed longtime Illinois State head swimming coach Steve Paska, who announced his retirement, effective July 31, in December.
“I am absolutely thrilled to become a part of the staff at Illinois State University,” Cameron said. “I’m excited to hit the ground running and continue to build upon the success that Steve Paska has built over the past 30 years.”
Cameron comes to Illinois State from the University of Idaho, where he has served as an assistant women’s swimming coach since 2012. He had previously served in several capacities, assisting the University of Michigan men’s and women’s teams, between 2008 and 2012.
“We are very excited to have Scott join the Redbird family and take over leadership of our swimming and diving program,” Lyons said. “We feel that he is an excellent fit for the very-established culture of that program. We believe that his passion for the sport and desire to grow the program will be very positive for the young women moving forward.”
At Idaho, Cameron served as an assistant coach with additional duties as the team’s recruiting coordinator and academic coordinator. He handled all travel plans and developed a video program to evaluate student-athletes’ performances. Idaho improved its conference standing dramatically during Cameron’s tenure, as the team finished as high as second at the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championships in 2014. The team excelled in the classroom as well, consistently posting a team grade-point average well above 3.0.
In his three years with the program, Idaho student-athletes set 26 school records and won 12 individual WAC titles. Ten student-athletes met NCAA ‘B’ cuts and one qualified for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.
At Michigan, Cameron held roles that included volunteer assistant coach, manager of operations, video manager and camp counselor.
He assisted with training, recruiting and managed a video program as a volunteer assistant coach for the women’s program during the 2011-12 season. Cameron served as the manager of operations for the men’s team in 2010-11, where he handled day-to-day and travel arrangements, while also managing equipment, deck operations and a team database. As the men’s team’s video manager from 2009 to 2011, Cameron created and developed a video program for his student athletes, while utilizing several software programs.
Cameron also has coaching experience at the club level, with Club Wolverine, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from 2008 to 2012. He worked with swimmers of all ages at the club level, including Olympic athletes who competed for the United States, China, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Ireland and Serbia.
He served as head deck coach for Hillsdale College’s Nike Swim Camps from 2009 to 2012, after spending time as a student assistant coach at his alma mater, Grand Valley State, during the 2008-09 season. Cameron was previously a member of the men’s swimming and diving team at Grand Valley State.
Cameron earned his bachelor’s degree in 2009 from Grand Valley State, where he majored in movement science, with a concentration in coaching. He finished work on his master of education degree in 2014 at Idaho, with a focus in adult organizational learning and leadership.
Cameron’s first day at Illinois State will be June 1.
“I would like to thank Mark Sowa, head women’s swim and dive coach at the University of Idaho, for helping me to prepare to become a head coach at the Division I level,” Cameron said. “I would also like to thank Larry Lyons and Cindy Harris at Illinois State University for believing in me and giving me this opportunity to become the next head coach of the women’s swimming program.”
What People are Saying About Scott Cameron:
Mark Sowa, Idaho head women’s swimming and diving coach
“We are thrilled for Scott. It’s bittersweet because he’s been a tremendous asset to our program the past three seasons and been an absolute pleasure to coach with. It is a tremendous hire for Illinois State and I wish Scott the best and look forward to seeing him take the next step in his career.”
Jim Richardson, former Michigan head women’s swimming and diving coach
“He’s been well-schooled and has paid his dues. He’s got great character, and he’s going to be a great role model for his student-athletes and his assistant coaches. He’s going to be a very, very good coach.”
Roger Karns, Lewis University head men’s and women’s swimming coach
“I have known Scott since he was a student-athlete and I’ve worked with him as a student assistant at Grand Valley State and worked with him as a camp counselor at Michigan. He’s a real student of the sport, very enthusiastic about his student-athletes, very knowledgeable and has a real passion for swimming. I think Illinois State has made a fantastic selection in choosing him to be its head coach.”
