Miami University is combining its men's and women's programs. The announcement was made Thursday by athletic director David Salyer. Left unsaid was the status of Miami women's coach Mark Davis. Davis was an assistant under previous womens' head coach Dave Jennings and before that was a highly decorated club and high school coach in Centerville.
The Redhawks finished fifth at this year's MAC Championships, but Davis signed a monster class for the upcoming season. That class includes Ohio's fourth and seventh-ranked recruits Claire Doerr and Molly Zilch. Miami also picked up Illinois' 9th-ranked recruit in Isabel Herb.
The announcement comes on the heels of Tufts University's decision to combine their men's and women's teams under the direction of Head Coach Adam Hoyt. Another program that could be in a position to combine is Notre Dame University. NOtre Dame's men swam well under Mike Litzinger. Litzinger assumed the reins when men's coach Matt Tallman was suspended.
Under the new model, the RedHawks will create a new Head Coach of Swimming and Diving position with assistant coaches responsible for coaching both men and women in their specialized event. Miami's release noted that the benefits of a cobined team "include more specialized specific coaching and training by event, instead of by gender."
But will success follow? Of the 135 instititions with men's and women's teams, sixteen percent have separate head coaches for men and women. Among the CollegeSwimming Top 50 however, 28% of men's teams and 31% of women's teams have their own head coach. Twenty-three percent of Power 5 conferences have separate
Teams that have combined in recent years include Brigham Young, Cal State Bakersfield, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, Southern Illinois and Tennessee.
A national search for a new Head Coach of Swimming and Diving will start immediately.
