Hawaii Head Diving Coach Mike Brown Will Retire at End of 2021

Press Release Courtesy: Hawaii Athletics

HONOLULU — When the calendar flips to 2022, it will not only mark the end of 2021, but it will be the end of an era with the University of Hawai’i diving team as head coach Mike Brown will retire from the program.

“Considering a lot of factors including my health, I definitely feel that now is the best time for me to step down from coaching and retire,” Brown said. “I hate to leave the UH Diving team right now because Anita Rossing and I have recruited and developed an outstanding team of divers, and I have always wanted to finish what I have started. But the maturity and talent of the current divers could allow them to flourish in the current atmosphere.”

Brown, a 40-year coaching veteran, 22 at the helm of the UH diving program, is the second longest-tenured coach at Hawai’i behind sailing coach Andy Johnson. Over his years on the island of O’ahu, Brown has helped mold a nationally known program for producing high-caliber divers, winning countless awards in several conferences and nationally.

Since taking over in 2000, Brown has been named the women’s conference coach of the year 16 times and the men’s conference coach of the year seven times, spanning over Conference USA, Western Athletic Conference, and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. At the same time, he produced eight All-Americans who garnered 18 All-American certificates.

“There are so many people at UH who I greatly appreciate for their help and support over my 22 years here,” Brown said. “The person who has made this possible by her compassion, love, and coaching genius is my wife, Anita Rossing, who has worked with me most every day as my UH Diving co-coach. Anita and I have succeeded so often with our divers’ performances, the conference championships, the 29 appearances at the NCAA National Championships and the two NCAA Individual Diving titles.”

Brown guided a pair of national champions at Hawai’i. QiongJie Huang, an eight-time All-American over three seasons, was UH’s first national champion in diving capturing the 1-meter springboard in 2005. Emma Friesen, who won the 2008 national title in the 1-meter, was a four-time All-American and six-time NCAA qualifier. Both were inducted into the school’s Circle of Honor.

During Brown’s career, which began in 1976, he mentored 29 All-Americans, 18 U.S. National Team members, and five Olympians between UH and Texas. At the same time, he served as a coach for 14 national championship squads and 37 conference championship teams. He also coached nine different national champions between his two coaching stops. Brown was named CSCAA NCAA National Coach of the Year three times.

Brown’s coaching also spanned outside of the collegiate ranks as he was a part of the U.S. National Team from 1979 to 1996.

The years of success put Brown in elite company, as he has been inducted into several Hall of Fames and received national honors. In 2012 he was enshrined in the University of Texas Women’s Swimming and Diving Hall of Honor, while later being inducted into the State of Texas Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2015 he was the recipient of USA Diving’s Phil Boggs Award and was placed in the Hawai’i Swimming Hall of Fame.

Brown’s legacy is one of a kind and one of the best in the sport of competitive collegiate diving. The University of Hawai’i thanks him for his dedication to the sport and his years of outstanding service.

“Being the oldest diving coach in NCAA Division I makes it easier to see the impact that we have had on our athletes while representing Hawai’i Diving around the world,” Brown said. “Time to relax now and see how far all of this work and energy carries UH Diving in the future. Mahalo Nui for the opportunities provided to us here at UH and in Hawai’i.”