Entering his new role at the University of Southern California, Jeremy Kipp is committed to honoring the program’s history as he charts the path forward.
The unceremonious conclusion of the 2019-20 NCAA season marked the end of an era for USC swimming and diving, as it was the last of Dave Salo‘s 14 years as head coach. Salo announced in January that he would step down at season’s end to turn his sole focus on the athletes preparing for the upcoming Olympic Games.
The vacant head coaching position was filled by Kipp, officially announced on May 19, who previously served eight seasons as an assistant under Salo before working as the head coach at Boise State and Northwestern.
Upon taking the position, Kipp quickly issued a letter to the team’s alumni, sent out via USC Swim & Dive’s social media platforms, acknowledging their contributions on building the program and committing to represent them as best he can.
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A letter from new USC Head Coach Jeremy Kipp to Trojan Swim Alumni. #FightOn
Read the full letter below:
“Dear Trojan Family,
I am ecstatic to return to USC as the new Head Coach of the Men’s & Women’s Swimming program. I had the incredible privilege of coaching many of you over the years, and it’s a tremendous honor to lead the USC Swimming & Diving program into an exciting new era.
With this position comes enormous responsibility. This is your program and I humbly accept the challenge of representing you and the remarkable accomplishments and milestones achieved as a result of the blood, sweat, and tears you shead as Trojans.
I am committed to working tirelessly and passionately to make you proud and succeed at a level that reflects USC’s renowned championship and Olympic heritage. I’m eager to step back onto the beautiful Uytengsu Aquatics Center pool deck to begin the work, but first I wanted to thank you and acknowledge the pivotal role you’ve had in paving the way for current and future members of the program.
I look forward to hearing from you nd seeing you back on the pool deck soon. Please know our doors are always open to you and your families.
Fight On!”
The Trojans found immense success under Salo, including the women winning their first Pac-12 title in 2016, and the men claiming their first since 1979 in 2015.
However, under Kipp the program will be looking to rebuild, specifically on the men’s side, after a recent decline that saw them place fifth in 2019 and then sixth (out of six teams) at March’s Pac-12 Championships.
As a “parent alum” whose son swam for Kipp when he was Associate Head coach at USC, happy to have him back at the Trojan Family. He is a great coach /leader. I believe he can re-build the men’s team knowing the great traditions and foundation that many before worked hard to lay down. Kippcakes, Taco Tuesday…looking forward to great successes from the Trojans on deck and in the classroom – Fight on!
I HAVE 3 YEARS LEFT ON MY CONTRACT 😂😂😂
How many years does he have at USC???
Unless somebody buys me out!
Hey maybe he got an offer he couldn’t refuse
Any word on the status of his staff?
A GREAT COACH! The energy he will bring to SoCal will vault them quickly. The best hire of any program in quite a while!
Disagree. Think he is overhyped and makes false claims like coaching Ous among many others.
Kipp wasn’t hired (or re-hired) at USC because of any bogus claims but by a clearly demonstrable performance record of recruiting and swimmer development. In looking at the resume of Kipp.
I see a number of very positive things. First, he is an energetic and high-impact recruiter. While he was at USC under Salo, he appears to have been the driving force in stellar recruiting shown in the 2013 boys class ranked #1 and including Dylan Carter, Santo Candorelli and Reed Malone. Once Kipp left for Boise State, Trojan recruiting (particularly Men’s) tailed off sharply and recent Trojan teams have dropped further behind Stanford and Cal and now Arizona State and Arizona as well in the Pac-12. During his… Read more »
Kipp didn’t really do much recruiting at Northwestern. If you want to call anyone a legendary recruiter look at Andrew Hodgson!
News Flash for those who have doubts about Kipp’s recruiting ability: World Junior Championships Bronze Medalist Hanna Henderson Commits to USC. And so it starts. Within a few weeks after being hired, Kipp landed a 19.10 50 Free styler for the Men and now Henderson.
I think it at least rivals Northwestern’s hire from two years ago.