The University of Arizona swimming & diving team has confirmed that assistant coach Amanda Beard will be retained under its new coaching staff. She is the program’s lone swimming coach who will be retained under new head coach Ben Loorz, who was hired in the offseason after former head coach Augie Busch did not have his contract renewed.
Beard’s retention was expected, with sources saying that the decision to keep one of the school’s most prominent alumni on staff was already in motion before the new head coach was hired.
The announcement comes in the same week as Loorz hired Lauren Sullivan, a former assistant at George Washington, for his staff.
Loorz has also added Peter Richardson to the staff as an associate head coach and has retained head diving coach Dwight Dumais.
Beard became a swimming icon at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, often seen with her teddy bear behind the blocks and even on the medal stand. There, she won 1 gold and 2 silver medals.
She won another bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics before beginning her collegiate career at the University of Arizona. She swam there for two seasons, winning an NCAA title in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2001.
She then swam at the 2004 Olympic Games, winning the 200 breaststroke after breaking the World Record at Trials. She also added silvers in the 200 IM and the 400 medley relay to bring her career total to 7.
Beard would make the 2008 US Olympic Team, where she was elected co-captain with Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin, placing 18th. She would briefly retire after her 4th Olympics before mounting a comeback in 2010. She would finish 5th at the 2012 Olympic Trials in the 200 breaststroke, missing the team and returning to retirement.
Besides her 7 Olympic medals, Beard has 7 World Championship medals, including a 2003 long course gold in the 200 breaststroke.
Prior to Arizona, Beard didn’t have much coaching experience, though in 2015 she opened a swim school in Gig Harbor, Washington. She also spent time as a spokesperson and a model, as a correspondent for the Fox Sports talk program The Best Damn Sports Show Period, and wrote an autobiography titled In the Water They Can’t See You Cry: A Memoir.
The Arizona men finished 27th at last year’s NCAA Championships, while the women didn’t score any points.
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.
Thank you for noticing this. Before I did! I was going to mention that as well. And yes also about breaking the world record at trials not at the Olympics. And that she also either broke or tied the women’s 200 breaststroke record at I believe the 2002 worlds which may have been in Barcelona.?
Not sure this makes sense. Very little high level coaching experience or recruiting. She was also involved in the hire (conflict of interest)
Great athlete but there are far more capable and proven candidates.
Yeah but when you’ve alienated essentially all of your relevant alumni, keeping the most famous one around might have upside, right?
The fundraising value alone makes this move worth it. I’m sure she more-than-pays for her salary annually.
Makes perfect sense. Level headed legendary alum coached by epic age group coaches and mentored by some solid college staff. Stopping in last month to visit my Alma Mater and meet the new crew it was an awesome feeling. She will absolutely be instrumental in helping to rally those of us who have been so let down over the years by poor recruiting and negative publicity. Hell her name is BearDown! Go CATS! Stoked she’s on deck beneath Mt. Lemmon
My school hired an Arizona swimmer with worse qualifications, as our head coach 🤣 it can always be worse.
Brooks?
Margo… she even factored into the previous Arizona alum coach quitting 🤣
Legend!