BYU’s swimming and diving program has had incredible continuity in their swimming & diving programs. For the past 37-years, Tim Powers has been the head coach in Provo (first of a combined team, then for 27 years of just the men’s squad, and now since 2008 of the combined team once again). Powers was, in fact, the longest-tenured coach in the country.
But after announcing his retirement for the end of this season, BYU has been searching for a new face to their swim program, and without wanting to break the familiarity of the program, they’ve decided to promote assistant John Brooks to the position.
Brooks came to BYU in 2008 when the men’s and women’s programs rejoined after winning two State Championship titles at Salt Lake City’s East High School. He also has past stops as an assistant at UNLV and his alma mater Utah. As a testament to an already-impressive resume for the young coach, he’s also had brief, part-time stops at Alabama, Stanford, and Georgia.
Brooks has led up the Cougars’ recruiting efforts in his four years at BYU. “He is passionate about swimming and his enthusiasm is contagious. John has been a tireless recruiter and enjoys the respect of our athletes and coaches,” BYU director of athletics Tom Homoe said of his new hire.
Since Brooks has begun at BYU, the men have not finished lower than 2nd in the MWC, and they peaked with a 25th-place finish at NCAA’s in 2010. The women’s program has seen even bigger success since his arrival, including three conference titles in four seasons, and a combined 37-4 record in dual meets.
Brooks will announce his new staff in the coming weeks. It’s not yet clear whether or not that includes Stan Crump, who was the women’s head coach and then became the Associate Head Coach of the combined team in 2008.