David Marsh

David Marsh is the men's and women's swimming and diving coach at Auburn University. Since becoming head coach in 1990, Marsh has led the men's team to seven NCAA national championships (1997, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007) and the women's team to five national championships (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007). He finished his coaching career at Auburn at the conclusion of the 2007 season, after which he became the Head Elite Coach and CEO of the United States Olympic Committee Center of Excellence with Mecklenburg Aquatic Club.

Marsh was named National Coach of the Year eight times. Marsh has coached numerous Olympic swimmers.

Marsh is originally from Miami, Florida and received his degree in Business Administration from Auburn in 1981. Marsh was a five-time All-American backstroker at Auburn.

Success at Auburn

David Marsh is the most successful Auburn coach regardless of sport and he is arguably the most successful in the state of Alabama and the SEC. Marsh's 12 NCAA titles surpass the six won by football coach Bear Bryant at Alabama. Even breaking down the Men's and Women's titles separately, Marsh's seven men's titles beat Bryant. Marsh has won 17 SEC titles (13 men and 4 women), by far the most of any Auburn coach or team.

In 2003 he led both the men's and women's teams to a sweep of the NCAA titles, a first in collegiate Swimming and Diving. Marsh and the Tigers went on to repeat this accomplishment three more times (2004, 2006, and 2007).

Marsh inherited a strong swimming program that was a fixture in the national swimming scene and regularly in the top 20 but was in a slump and turned it into a dynastic powerhouse. Since Marsh took over the Auburn swimming and diving program, Auburn's men have finished in the Top 10 every year but his first two years (1991 & 1992's Auburn teams finished 20th and 15th). In 1990, the year before Marsh came to Auburn, the team failed to qualify any swimmers for the NCAA Meet and Marsh made the jump to #20 in year one at a meet that usually sees around 60 teams represented. In 1993 the Tigers finished #6 in the NCAA's and have not fallen out of the top 10 since, with the lowest placing in that time being #7 in 2001. The women have been equally successful, jumping from #30 in Marsh's first year to #8 in his second of 92. The lowest finish for the Tiger women since 1992 was #13 in 1995.

Olympians

Marsh has coached 22 Olympians while at Auburn. Five of his Olympians have brought home medals from the games. In the 2004 Athens games, three Auburn swimmers won a total of five medals, two golds, a silver, and two bronze. Kirsty Coventry became the first Auburn woman to medal in the Olympics and the first Auburn swimmer to win a gold, silver, and bronze in a single games.

Individual champions

Marsh's swimmers have combined to win 89 individual NCAA titles and 277 individual SEC titles. Auburn swimmers have also brought home 90 medals from international competitions such as the World Championships, Goodwill Games, Pan-American Games, and the Olympics.

Marsh also serves on the boards of the American Swimming Coaches Association as well as the Championship Performance Advisory Board. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame on June 3, 2007.

References

• David Marsh. (2008, January 27). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:58, January 30, 2008.

External links

• Bio from AuburnTigers.com