Two highly-successfull Division III assistants have landed their own programs. Pitt-Bradford has named Douglas Alban the new head swimming coach of the Panthers' men's and women's teams. Randolph College has announced the hiring of Taylor Steele to establish a new program in the ODAC.
Doug Alban Assistant Coach of the Year Nomination
Doug Alban is simply incredible. I've been a college coach for 25 years and most of my assistants have gone on to be head coaches or top assistants at other fine programs (a shining star was certainly Braden Holloway, now the head coach of NC State). Doug may be better than all of them.
Alban arrives at Pitt-Bradford after five years as an assistant swimming and diving coach at the University of the South. Alban takes over for Ed Bahan, who passed away mid-season. Bahan had taken over a program just two years after its inception and transformed it into one of the top programs in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.
"We are very pleased to have Coach Alban joining our staff," said Director of Athletics Bret Butler. "He brings a wealth of swimming knowledge to our team, from swimming at a high level, to coaching at a very established college program.
"I am excited to see what the future has in store for Pitt-Bradford swimming," Butler added. "I believe Doug will be a fabulous coach."
Randolph Hires Steele
Steele will establish a new program at Randolph College, just down the road from his current position at Washington & Lee University.
"This is exciting news for Randolph College," said Bradley W. Bateman, Randolph's president. "The addition of women's and men's swimming is an important step for our athletic program and will increase opportunities for our outstanding scholar-athletes. We are thrilled to welcome Taylor Steele as our new head swimming coach. Taylor brings high standards and expert leadership as we build these new programs here at Randolph."
Randolph College's long history of success in the pool dates back to its days as Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Three different WildCat coaches were named Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Coach of the Year, and three swimmers earned multiple major awards from the conference. One of those swimmers, Amy Winder '86, was a two-time All-American. Additionally, over 30 student-athletes were named to the All-ODAC First-Team. The program was put on hiatus in 2009.
The new women's and men's programs will join the ODAC at the start of competition in the fall of 2017. The ODAC has sponsored women's swimming as a sport since 1984. Men's swimming was added to the docket in 2014.
Steele comes to Randolph with excellent experience in and around the pool. His most recent role was with ODAC rival Washington and Lee University, where he served as the assistant coach for three seasons. The Generals had great success during Steele's time with the program. In his first season, the women's program won its seventh consecutive ODAC title, finishing with a 9-3 overall record.
Prior to Washington and Lee, Steele served as a graduate assistant at Angelo State University for two years in the Strength and Conditioning Department. During his time assisting the Division II school, Steele was an assistant coach with the West Houston Aquatics Team.
"We're excited to have Coach Steele join the WildCat family," said Hill. "He will have the opportunity to build a new swimming program for our women and men that I know we can all be proud of. Coach Steele brings to us a wealth of experience in both swimming and strength and conditioning that will benefit our future swimmers. He has the ability to attract talented student-athletes to Randolph and his familiarity with the top program in the ODAC will serve us well."
"I am very excited for the opportunity to start a new women's and men's swimming program at Randolph College," said Steele. "I would like to thank President Bateman, Director of Athletics Tina Hill and the rest of the Randolph College staff for all the support shown and this fantastic opportunity to compete in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in the coming year."
