Todd Mann, the associate head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks’ NCAA team, has resigned during his 9th season with the program.
Mann won’t go far: he’s leaving the college program to take over as the head coach for the Razorback Aquatic Club AquaHawgs, a club based primarily out of universities Jones Center.
Mann remained on the Razorbacks’ staff through a change of head coach when Jeff Poppell resigned in the summer of 2012 to take a high school and club job in Florida.
Mann will replace former longtime University of Cincinnati head coach Monty Hopkins, who was with the club for less than a year. Mann is expected to make a gradual transition to the club side and wind down his duties with Arkansas as he becomes more integrated with the AquaHawgs.
“Todd is pursuing another coaching opportunity in our area that is great for both he and his family,” Arkansas head coach Sean Schimmel said. “He is working with us through our mid-season championships and we look forward to accomplishing our goals with him as our season progresses.”
The Arkansas job will be a coveted one – the single-gender program is a part of the SEC, and so not surprisingly includes a significant salary – albeit with 9 years of experience, Mann was making almost $70,000 as the program’s associate head coach. That’s a high figure for a single-gender program. While a new hire wouldn’t likely enter on quite the same scale, that is lofty figure for a position like this, especially in a state where the cost of living is relatively low.
What happened to Monty?
Todd is a great coach as he really cares about the success of his athletes. Great hire!