ASU Sun Devils react to hiring of NBAC Coach Bob Bowman

Thanks to Arizona State University student journalist Coleton Berry for contributing this story:

Michael Phelps‘ longtime coach Bob Bowman has a new-found place at Arizona State University as the head swimming & diving coach, and some of his future fellow Sun Devils have begun to comment on the hire.

During last week’s press conference, Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson said, “He’s a visionary, he’s passionate about teaching and developing world-class swimmers who are serious students and superb athletes. He’s a program builder; that’s what we’re bringing to ASU.”

Zac Dalby, senior and member of ASU’s male swim team, said about the hiring of Bowman:

“I think it is a great step for the program. It will help a lot with recruiting and bring in a lot of big-name swimmers to the post-grad side of things, which is huge in college swimming.”

“The last couple of years on the men’s side, the recruiting classes have been really good, and you know I think Bob Bowman will come in with a lot talented swimmers to work with, and be able to build from there,” Dalby said.

This announcement of a new head coach follows what Anderson said in March about ASU’s prior swimming head coach.

According to Sun Devil Athletics, back in March, Anderson issued a statement pertaining to the firing of the past ASU swimming coach. Anderson said, “I have informed Dorsey Tierney-Walker that she will not be retained as the head swimming coach … We will conduct a national search for a new head coach that is best fit for our program, university, and community.”

“Bob shares a very high aspiration expectations that President Crow and all of us at ASU have for the ASU swimming and diving programs,” Anderson said during a press conference.

“I am very much about excellence … I’m so happy to be here in a program that has full support of the administration and so much enthusiasm behind it from alumni … I look forward to bringing other outstanding athletes and students into this school to help us build the program that we really want to have here,” Bowman, ASU’s new swimming head coach, said during a press conference.

“When I looked seriously at the potential of this program and this university, it’s clear that this can be such a great story … and it’s could be a model for others to follow,” Bowman said during a press conference.

Bowman said during a press conference that he thinks some of the Olympic athletes he works with in preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will be training in Arizona.

“One of the things we want to do is energize what’s going on here, bring a higher level of thinking, a higher level of training, a higher level of expectation, and there’s no better way to do that than by exposing our athletes to those level of athletes,” Bowman said during the press conference.

Bowman, during the press conference, said that this technique was effective during 2008 as a head coach for the University of Michigan.

“This is gonna be a long term project for me at ASU. We’re gonna lay a foundation, we’re gonna recruit aggressively, we’re gonna bring in the right student athletes and we’re gonna build over time … and I think that by having these Olympic athletes here this year, it will kinda kick-start that process,” Bowman said during a press conference.

According to the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, where Bowman served as CEO, of the six of Bowman’s Olympic swimmers, renowned Olympian Michael Phelps is among them. Also, Bowman was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2008.

Bowman, during a press conference, said he will be leaving his position at the NBAC and that he will start working full-time at ASU in August, but that he will be recruiting over the summer.