Ohio State Head Coach Bill Dorenkott Covers 33 Years In College Swimming

Coach Bill Dorenkott, The Ohio State Director of Swimming and Diving, unpacks 33 years of coaching, 28 of them as a college head coach. Bill grew up very middle class, the first in his family to go to college. Bill’s roots run deep in the sport, swimming at Cleveland State and captaining the team while winning 15 conference championship titles. Perhaps more importantly, CSU is where Bill met his wife, who is also a swimmer. Bill has been a head swimming coach at Ashland, Penn State, and now he’s been building the Buckeyes into a DI contender. Bill unpacks the wisdom he’s learned, his recruiting philosophy, and gets into the details of significant wins and losses, most recently at the 2024 Big Ten Championships.

Near the end of the podcast, Bill touches on his camps and clinics, sharing why he runs them and how they’ve grown over time. See the 2024 Ohio State Swimming Gold Medal Camps and Clinics for more details.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman HodgesGarrett McCaffrey, and Gold Medal Mel Stewart, SwimSwam welcomes both the biggest names in swimming that you already know, and rising stars that you need to get to know, as we break down the past, present, and future of aquatic sports.

Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam advertising partners. 

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Virginia Coach
25 days ago

Time to update Mel’s bio and spell his swim coach’s name correctly. It is Franke Bell not Frankie.

Swammer
26 days ago

Thanks for interview. Bill does a great job with the OSU program. Very grateful that our swimmer experienced being part of the Buckeye team.

Rick Paine
27 days ago

One of the best. Just watch what he and his staff do with Sienna Angove

Go the Distance
27 days ago

A Coach who walks the walk.

observer
27 days ago

Bill Dorenkott sits down and discusses banner year of blowing a women’s winning streak by 1/2 a point and getting trounced in the men’s meet at home immediately afterward

I_Said_It
27 days ago

Had the privilege to have been one of Bill’s first recruits in his first head coaching position. Glad to see he still going strong for three years later.

Follow my bubbles
27 days ago

Great interview! OSU has some killer recruiting classes coming in. Makes sense.

DontScareMe
27 days ago

Almost thought this was a retirement post

B1G Psychic
Reply to  DontScareMe
27 days ago

He is, he just doesn’t know it!

Coswimmom
Reply to  DontScareMe
27 days ago

Yes! Nearly had a heart attack as my swimmer is going there next year.

About Gold Medal Mel Stewart

Gold Medal Mel Stewart

MEL STEWART Jr., aka Gold Medal Mel, won three Olympic medals at the 1992 Olympic Games. Mel's best event was the 200 butterfly. He is a former World, American, and NCAA Record holder in the 200 butterfly. As a writer/producer and sports columnist, Mel has contributed to Yahoo Sports, Universal Sports, …

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