Courtesy: USC Athletics
Bruce Furniss, a two-time Olympic gold medal swimmer, 10-time world record holder and six-time NCAA champion who helped USC win national titles in 1976 and 1977, has been named one of four new inductees into the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame, announced Friday (May 1).
Furniss is USC’s fourth Academic All-America Hall of Famer and the first since 2014, when Trojan defensive back and former Disneyland executive Dick Nunis was selected. Quarterback Pat Haden and Furniss’ Trojan teammate and fellow swimming star John Naber are Troy’s other members.
Furniss, who lives in Villa Park, suffered a severe heart attack in late March, but has been recovering steadily at home for the past three weeks.
Joining Furniss in the 2020 class are Stacey Dales (Women’s Basketball, Oklahoma), Michelle Johanes (Women’s Volleyball, Mountain Holyoke) and Alex Smith (Football, University of Utah).
Furniss was selected in the honorary category due to the fact that there was no Academic All-America program for swimming at the time he competed at USC (1976-79).
Furniss, an 18-time All-American who graduated from USC’s Annenberg School of Communication with a degree in journalism, was a two-time NCAA champion in the 200-yard freestyle (1977-78) and was part of four NCAA relay titles (1976-77). He also helped USC capture four Pac-10 Conference titles (1976-79), winning eight individual races in the process.
Furniss was just as impressive on the national and international stage as he broke 19 American records and 10 world records. He lowered the 200-meter freestyle world record four times and held it from 1975-79, broke his brother Craig’s world mark in the 200-meter individual medley in 1975 and was part of numerous world record relays.
Swimming World’s “World Swimmer of the Year” in 1975 and 1976, he won two silver medals at the 1975 World Championships in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle and was an 11-time AAU champion.
All of that contributed to what Furniss has said was the highlight of his career, being selected to USA Swimming’s “Team of the 20th Century,” which included just 26 American male swimmers.
Furniss is a member of the USC Athletics (2001), International Swimming (1987) and Orange County Sports Halls of Fame (1984). In 2004 he was among six winners of the NCAA’s Silver Anniversary Award honoring former student-athletes for their professional, athletic and philanthropic accomplishments.
A licensed California Real Estate Broker for the past three decades, Furniss has marketed and sold over $1 Billion worth of multi-family and commercial real estate. He is a Senior Vice President and Broker Associate with Berkadia Apartment Real Estate Advisors, one of the nation’s largest fully-integrated multifamily brokerage and advisory practices.
He is a founding and current board member of Swim with Mike, a non-profit organization, which provides financial scholarships to physically challenged athletes enabling them to attend college. Swim with Mike was established in 1981 following a tragic motorcycle accident which left his close friend and USC swim teammate, Mike Nyeholt, paralyzed from the chest down.
In its 38 years of existence, Swim with Mike has raised over $23 million and underwritten over 250 college scholarships.
Congratulations, Bruce!