For any team to achieve a consistent, high level of success, the behind-the-scenes, inner logistical workings must run smoothly. For the University of Notre Dame men’s swimming and diving team, the hiring of Joe Spahn to the position of operations director enables them to achieve just that.
“Joe’s experience having come from an assistant coach in Hawaii, and his previous work at the University of Georgia, will help our program advance in the right direction and achieve the team goals we are looking to accomplish.,” says head coach Matt Tallman. “He has a wealth of knowledge and is a great fit for this job; coming from working with a Division I team, his efforts are valuable in helping us move forward.”
“I am extremely honored to join such a prestigious university here at Notre Dame,” Spahn says. “I look forward to being a part of Coach Tallman’s staff and working towards the continued improvement of his team; I’m excited to be a part of the future of this program.”
Prior to being hired at Notre Dame, Spahn worked at the University of Hawai’i Manoa as an assistant coach and the women’s recruiting coordinator. In this role, he served as the travel coordinator and women’s recruiting coordinator, and was the lead coach for middle distance swimmers across all strokes and the IM group. Spahn was instrumental in helping the team win the school’s first women’s conference title (mountain pacific sports federation) since 2006, and merely the second since 1986. Both the men’s and women’s teams continually finished within the top five in the MPSF standings during his tenure.
While in Hawaii, Spahn also worked with the US Masters Program as a local coordinator and assisted with fundraising channels. In this role, he developed and implemented online registrations, increasing the membership base by 20 percent.
Before working in Hawaii, Spahn served for one year as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at University of Nevada Las Vegas, where he helped guide the men’s team to a conference title in the MPSF in 2013. Previously, he worked as a volunteer assistant coach at Georgia while he attained his Masters degree. Under his watch, the women’s team won three consecutive SEC championships, and placed second at the NCAA Championship in 2011 and 2012. Additionally, he served as an assistant coach of the Athens Bulldogs Swim Team and was the head swim coach and lessons director at Athens Country Club where he was responsible for starting the first swim team and group lessons program.
In addition to his coaching experience, Spahn has worked as a pool manager and camps counselor in multiple locations. He was the pool manager for A & B Pool Services during the summer of 2009, where he oversaw pool maintenance at five different locations. From there, he worked at Athens Country Club from 2010-12, and was in charge of the day-to-day pool operations. Spahn served as a coach and camp counselor at four different collegiate summer camps across multiple years.
Spahn graduated from Minnesota State University Mankato in December of 2009 with a bachelors degree in physical education. While in Mankato, Spahn swam with the Mavericks as a distance swimmer, where he was named all-conference and academic all-conference in both the NCC and the NCIS conferences. He went on to earn his Masters degree in Kinesiology from the University of Georgia, graduating in May of 2012.
Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Spahn now resides in South Bend, Indiana. He is engaged to Mary Kate Foster.
