NCAA Division I co-ed program the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) has announced Tim Loeffler as the program’s new head coach. Loeffler spent last season as an assistant coach with the Army swim teams, after four years as an assistant at Michigan State.
He replaces 13-year head coach Paul Moniak, who resigned following a challenging year out-of-the-pool for the Flames.
Loeffler has strong Midwest roots. As an athlete, he was a two-year letterwinner at the University of Minnesota, where he was also a student assistant from 2007-2009. As an athlete, he was primarily a distance freestyler, which makes him a good fit for a handful of strong distance recruits that UIC has signed for the fall of 2014 (Tanner Alms, Brianna Hines), along with the returning Veronica Gibson.
Loeffler is originally from Chicago, so this is a homecoming for him.
“To come back to my hometown and be a head coach is a lifelong opportunity,” said Loeffler. “UIC is a university on the rise and I’m proud to now be a part of that. I want to help this program make a name for itself on the national scene.”
Athletic Director Jim Schmidt sees this as a program that can compete for Horizon League titles after both teams were 3rd at the 2014 championship.
“We are excited to add Tim to our UIC family,” said Schmidt. “He brings championship-level experience and an undeniable passion for the sport. He has shown the ability to recruit top talent and has the respect of many professionals in college athletics. I have no doubt that Tim will have our swim and dive programs competing for Horizon League titles very soon.”
Loeffler was one of three assistant coaches at Army last season under Mickey Wender. The Army men were 2nd at last year’s Patriot League Championship, while the women were 4th.