Former University of Iowa men’s swimming coach Glenn Patton will be inducted into the Alfred State Athletics Hall of Fame tonight in Alfred, N.Y. The induction is the second for Patton, as he was named to the National Iowa Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2009.
Patton, who coached the Pioneers from 1967-75, was the architect of the national championship swimming team during the 1970’s at Alfred State, leading the men’s program to four-consecutive NJCAA titles.
During his tenure, he coached two NJCAA Swimmers of the Year — John Meade (1972) and Paul Eaton (1975) — and was a three-time NJCAA Coach of the Year. Patton had 19 student-athletes garner All-America honors during the championship years.
Following his stint at Alfred State, Patton took over the UI men’s program in 1975. During his 24-year stint in Iowa City (1975-98), Patton became the school’s all-time winningest coach (168-63) with a 72.7 winning percentage.
Patton led Iowa to six undefeated seasons in the Big Ten Conference, coached two Big Ten championship teams (1981-82), and led the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten runner-up position five times. Iowa placed in the top three of the Big Ten 11-straight years under Patton, and his teams placed in the Big Ten’s top division 19 times.
Nationally, Patton led the Hawkeyes to top-25 showings at the NCAA Championships 16 times. He coached 11 Olympians, 23 individuals to 70 All-America honors, 40 individuals to 32 relay All-America honors and a total of 79 Big Ten champions.
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This release was provided to SwimSwam by IU Swimming and Diving.
Congratulations coach Patton. I joined an Iowa graduate program 1989 when two Polish “imports” Artur Wojdat and Tomasz Gawronski were setting old Field House pool “on fire.” Good ol’ days.