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One of the greatest coaches in the history of collegiate swimming and one of the most respected leaders in United States swimming today is Skip Kenney. After 28 seasons as head coach of Stanford University, Kenney stands alone among his peers for his accomplishments in the pool and his character away from the pool. Last season, Kenney guided the Cardinal to its 26th straight Pacific-10 Championship. At the conference meet, Stanford claimed four relay and six individual titles over the four-day meet, as Kenney was honored as the Pac-10 Coach of the Year for the 19th time. The Cardinal went onto earn a second place finish at the NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, MN, where 11 Stanford swimmers garnered 30 All-American honors. In 2006, Kenney led Stanford to its 25th consecutive Pacific-10 Championship. At the conference championship, Kenney coached his swimmers to seven individual and two relay titles. Kenney coached Stanford to a third place finish at the NCAA Championship in Atlanta, Ga, after the Cardinal was voted champion of the 2005-06 dual meet season in the S.R. Smith - College Swim Coaches Association (CSCAA) Top 25 Poll. The third place finish at the NCAA's marked the Cardinal's 22nd top three finish nationally since 1982. At the 2006 NCAA Championships, 13 Cardinal athletes garnered 38 All-American honors. For his work, Kenney was named the 2006 Pacific-10 Swim Coach of the Year, the 18th such honor in his career. Two years ago, Kenney led the Stanford squad to a second place finish at the NCAA Championship. Stanford crowned one NCAA individual champion and one NCAA relay champion in 2004-05. Ten Stanford swimmers garnered a total of 21 individual All-America honors. Twelve swimmers combined to earn 20 relay All- America honors, the most allowable. Kenney's swimmers have also excelled in the classroom as 15 swimmers were named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team. Last season, 14 swimmers were honored on the Pac-10 All-Academic team. Two years ago (2004-05), 15 swimmers were honored on the Pac-10 All-Academic team. Another major achievement is the fact that 100 percent of his student-athletes have earned their degrees. Kenney has led the Cardinal to seven NCAA titles, including a runaway win in 1998. He has also been named NCAA Coach of the Year six times, most recently in 1998. In addition, Kenney has led the Cardinal to some of the finest team performances in the history of the NCAA Championship meet. The 1992 squad set meet records for both points scored (632) and victory margin (276 points over Texas), and the 1998 team became the first to have a championship final representative in every individual and relay swimming event. He has also coached a total of 113 All-Americans to 896 All-American honors, and has developed 65 NCAA Champions. His achievements as head coach at Stanford are unparalleled in Pac-10 history. He has guided the Cardinal to 26 consecutive conference titles, which is far and away the record for consecutive Pac-10 championships in any sport. The Cardinal broke the conference record for consecutive titles, established by UCLA men's basketball under John Wooden in 1995 when they captured their 14th consecutive title. Kenney has been named Pac-10 Coach of the Year 19 times in the last 25 years. He has coached an amazing 61 Pac-10 Individual Champions to 156 titles during his tenure. His relay teams have picked up 69 Pac-10 titles as well. Last season, three Stanford swimmers captured six Pac-10 titles in addition to four relay victories. Two seasons ago, Stanford had seven individual conference champions to go along with a relay victory. In 28 years as the head coach at Stanford, Kenney has recorded a 208-37 overall record, including an 111-7 record (.941) over the past 14 years. Kenney is also one of the top coaches on the international circuit. He was named the men's coach for the U.S. team at the 2004 Short Course World Championships held in Indianapolis, Indiana. He also served as head coach of the United States Men's Swimming Team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and was an assistant coach at both the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympiads. He has also served as U.S. National Team coach at countless other World Championships, Pan-American Games and Pan-Pacific Championships. For his tireless contributions on the international level, he was inducted into the American Swim Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004. During his tenure at Stanford, Kenney has tutored several individuals who have gone on to shine at the international level. Included on this list are Randall Bal (2007 Pan American Games Medalist, 2007 Japan International Swim Meet medalist), Dave Bottom (former American record holder), Ray Carey (1996 U.S. Olympian), Andy Grant (Gold and two-time silver medalist at 2007 Pan American Games) Kurt Grote (1996 Olympic Gold Medalist), Jeff Kostoff (1984 and 1988 U.S. Olympian, former American record holder), John Moffet (1980 and 1984 U.S. Olympian, former world record holder), Pablo Morales (three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and former world record holder), Jay Mortensen (1988 U.S. Olympian), Anthony Mosse (1988 Olympic Bronze Medalist), Sean Murphy (1988 Canadian Olympian), Eddie Parenti (1992 and 1996 Canadian Olympian), Brian Retterer (former American record holder), Jeff Rouse (1992 and 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist, world record holder), John Simons (1980 U.S. Olympian), Dave Sims (1980 U.S. Olympian), Ben Wildman-Tobriner (2007 two-time gold medalist at FINA World Championships, Former American record holder), Derek Weatherford (American record holder), Tom Wilkens (2000 U.S. Olympian), Peter Marshall (2007 Pan American Games Medalist, World record holder), and Markus Rogan (Two-time Austrian Olympian, a world record holder in the 200 backstroke, and silver medalist in 2004). Kenney was inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994-95 in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in the men's swimming arena. He is also a member of the International Swimming Hall Of Fame for his outstanding career achievements. Kenney has two children - Kristine and Richard. | |||||||||||||
