Wasting no time, and despite a call for a moratorium on hiring from alumni, the University of Virginia has hired Augie Busch as their new head coach they announced this morning. Busch comes to the program after just two years as the head coach at the University of Houston.
The 37-year old Busch stepped into a difficult situation with the Cougars, after their previous head coach and local legend Mark Taylor passed away tragically at the NCAA Championship meet the year before, and he steps into another difficult one as a fight apparently rages still to reinstate the former head coach at Virginia, Mark Bernadino.
“After doing the research to find a great fit and the type of coach best positioned to take over the Virginia swimming and diving program, there is no question in my mind that Augie Busch is someone who is uniquely qualified,” Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage said. “His background with top-ranked college programs, conference and NCAA champions and Olympic-level swimmers have all prepared him to build on our programs’ success at Virginia.”
None-the-less, the Athletics Department has pushed forward with the hiring of Busch, who is the son of the USA Swimming National Team Director Frank Busch.
He had good success in two years at Houston, leading the Cougars to a 2nd-place finish at the Conference USA Championships in 2013. Perhaps just as important for the academically-rich Virginia program is that Busch’s team set a program record with a 3.42 GPA in the 2012-2013 season.
That was his first head coaching experience, after 8 years assisting under his father at Arizona. Prior to that, Busch spent two years as an assistant at Arkansas.
Busch’s college experience was as a volleyball player, where he was on the Ohio State men’s team for two years before transferring to Arizona. He was an all-state swimmer and volleyball player in high school.
I heard from a very reliable source that Cory Chitwood is coming to coach at UVA! Very interesting indeed to see what he brings to the table. LSU is sure to miss him. Nobody is quitting and the team is ready to carry on Mark’s traditions of excellence with Augie.
Yeah Chitty!!
I hate to say it –but Kathy, though probably in the minority, is exactly how people (in the ACC especially) view UVA- as elitist jerks. I doubt she represents many but unfortunately there are enough of the Kathys out there to perpetuate this unfortunate stereotype. Also, there are other very highly regarded academic institutions in the ACC though I think its fair to point out they havent had near the same level of success as UVA at the conference level. What amazes me is how everyone doesnt just get behind the new head coach to continue that success. Bernadino is gone and there is little to no chance anyone can change that with a facebook page and a bunch of… Read more »
Hmmmm. ACC MOM. Maybe you are a bit too wrapped up in this? Having spent decades around ACC swimming and multiple teams (incl. UVA) I can tell you that UVA swimmers, coaches, and parents are no more ‘elitist’ than any other ACC school. Prior to UVA’s dominance, UNC was king (and queen). Boy, were they ‘elitist’ !….until they weren’t. They were just number 1 in the conference. UVA built their program solely on hard work as at that time they were getting less talented athletes. Pride drove them. Rumors swirled amongst all ACC teams of how UNC swimmers and parents were snobs. The whole conference was excited when UVA finally dethroned them. UVA, FSU and other parents were upset at… Read more »
Aaaaaand completely combined posts in my head. Sorry ACC mom. I see your point.
Stories still hold true.
RESPECT and UVA MAMA need to face the truth about Bernardino and UVA. Mistakes were made and a changing of guard was warranted.
You may be right but until there is something a little more specific than, “a changing of the guard is warranted” there is going to be a lot of head scratching and questioning.
Maybe, just maybe, Bernadino did do something wrong? Does everyone need to know what? yes? no? Life moves on.
Respect – very well put. People should be polite. It’s been a difficult week for the UVa team I am sure. Wouldn’t wish it on any team or coaching staff. It would be great if everyone could remain positive or at lease respectful. There are many great ACC teams, and the kids respect the hard work that their competitors put in at their pools. Maybe all the “adults” could show that same respect. I hope that Coach Bernardino will be happy as he moves forward with his life and career, and I also hope Coach Busch gets a fair chance to show what he can do with this team.
I cannot believe the comments that others post on a public forum. I did not realize that the swimming world had so many jealous and mean spirited people hiding behind their computers. It is almost to the point that you never want the school you support to be mentioned, be it UVA, UNC, Stanford, FL, etc. Some of these schools have received some pretty bad comments on other posts.
And you definitely do not want your child to read the garbage posted. It is insulting, demeaning and can only come from people who are jealous and not happy with their lives. Trolls that want to bring out the negative in any positive. Name calling, comparing schools, even SAT scores,… Read more »
University of Virginia, UVA, founded in 1819 used to be a great school.
Is Kelsey Zomcosky looking for a coaching job? There’s a great young swimming mind!