Arizona Lets Go Head Coach Augie Busch After Seven Seasons

The University of Arizona has cut ties with head swimming & diving coach Augie Busch after seven seasons in Tucson.

Busch was named the head coach at Arizona in July 2017, taking over for the retired Rick DeMont after a four-year stint at the University of Virginia.

“We thank Coach Busch for his service to Arizona and wish him well in the future,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Desireé Reed-Francois said. “Our Swimming and Diving program has a championship legacy, an outstanding home facility in the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center and incredible support, and we are confident that we will attract elite candidates. We will work quickly to find a new head coach who is the best fit to continue building our championship culture.”

The Wildcats have largely struggled during Busch’s tenure, failing to crack the top 10 at either the Men’s or Women’s NCAA Championships. The men’s team had their highest finish under Busch in 2021 when they finished 12th, while the women’s team peaked at 14th in 2019.

The men have fallen down the standings rapidly the past two years, placing 32nd in 2023 and 27th this past season, while the women’s team failed to record a point in 2024.

In fact, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wildcat women have only scored 7.5 swimming points at NCAAs, as diver Delaney Schnell scored 32 of their 34.5 points in 2021, 45.5 of their 50.5 pooints in 2022, and all 52 of their points in 2023.

The Arizona women only qualified one swimmer, Julia Heimstead, for NCAAs in 2024.

The men’s team scored in two relays this past season, but the bulk of their points (13 of 19) came from diver Gage DuBois.

Arizona’s NCAA Finishes Under Busch

• 2017-18 – Men 16th, Women t-20
• 2018-19 – Men 16th, Women 14th
• 2019-20 – COVID cancelation
• 2020-21 – Men 12th, Women 25th
• 2021-22 – Men 17th, Women 19th
• 2022-23 – Men 32nd, Women 18th
• 2023-24 – Men 27th, Women no score

Despite Busch holding the head coaching role for seven seasons, there has been no shortage of turmoil at Arizona during his time there. There has been a revolving door of assistants under Busch, with Cory Chitwood, Beth Botsford, Clif Robbins, Jesse Stipek, Anna Heller and Lara Jackson all departing the program since Busch was hired.

Stipek was the only coach on staff prior to Busch’s hiring, transitioning into a teaching role in 2021. Chitwood, Botsford and Robbins were hired by Busch for his first season in 2017, while Heller and Jackson joined the staff later and then departed. Jackson was notably let go midway through the 2023-24 season this past January.

Busch also came under fire after allegations of NCAA rule violations were reported in 2020, though he was ultimately cleared following an investigation by the NCAA’s Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) and it was revealed the case revolved around diving coach Dwight Dumais and his recruiting process.

Prior to Arizona, Busch was the head coach at UVA for four years, winning three women’s ACC titles and earning a pair of top-five NCAA finishes. He also worked as the head coach at Houston for two seasons, and prior to that, was an assistant at Arizona, his alma mater, from 2003 to 2011 under father Frank Busch, who led the Wildcats from 1989 to 2011.

Reed-Francois was hired as the school’s new athletic director in February, coming to the program from the University of Missouri. She came as part of the school’s efforts to help ameliorate the program’s financial situation amid the headline-grabbing university-wide $240 million budget calculation that was unveiled last fall. Independently of that, the athletics department has faced financial challenges for years, exacerbated by the university’s budget issues.