For the second time this week, a Patriot League head swimming & diving coach has resigned. This time, it was Dan Schinnerer of Bucknell who has led the Bison for the last 20 seasons. He is officially leaving the program mid-July for a role as a senior coach with the Nation’s Capital Swim Club, the largest USA Swimming club in the country.
He follows Army head coach Brandt Nigro, who left his post for an associate head coach job with the University of Texas women.
Schinnerer leaves the program as the longest-tenured women’s swimming and diving coach and second-longest tenured men’s coach. He has career dual meet records of 121-58-1 on the women’s side and 100-80 on the men’s side, which are the most and second-most in program history for those teams, respectively.
“Twenty years goes by very quickly, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to be part of Bucknell University and the Bucknell swimming and diving family,” said Schinnerer. “It is a special place and a special program. Bucknell was very good to my family and me, but at this stage of our lives this new opportunity presented itself, and we believe it will be best for us moving forward. I am thankful for all the people I have had the chance to work with here. I hope I have made a positive difference in people’s lives while helping them learn and grow through sport.”
The men’s and women’s teams combined for 11 runner-up finishes in the deep Patriot League during Schinnerer’s reign (four men, seven women), and he was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year five times:
- 2008 – men
- 2010 – men
- 2013 – women
- 2020 – women
- 2022 – men
Dan Schinnerer swam collegiately at Yale and was an assistant coach at Michigan before being hired as the head coach at Bucknell.
Schinnerer’s wife Lesia was a star college tennis player at the Peddie School and the University of Richmond, and is in both schools’ athletics Halls of Fame. Their two sons Erik and Kase are both now highly ranked youth tennis players.
What has been an almost historically-slow year on the coaching carousel, especially at the highest levels of the sport, has seen some late action. So far, head coaching changes have come at Brown (Mitch Dalton hired), Cincinnati (Joey Ferreri promoted), Youngstown State (Hannah Saiz hired), Illinois State (Ryan Evans hired), Providence (still vacant), Army (still vacant), and now Bucknell, there has been a lot of shifting around on lower rungs of the ladder.
Dan was an excellent coach for my daughter and was very kind to my son as well during the recruiting process. The club swimmers will be very lucky to have him! We wish him the best!
Dan is outstanding. He will be an incredible mentor/teacher and coach. Congratulations!!!!!
Do we know which site he will be heading up at NCAP?
GP
Waiting until almost June to quit is insane
He’s not just quitting or retiring. He’s taking another job. Not everything happens in a perfect 4-6 week window at the end of the season.
With college teams getting cut or “strategically restructured” left and right, sometimes out of the blue, waiting for an exit path would be insane.
I am sure the Bucknell swimmers and swimmers who committed to swim for him next year feel the same way
So yer sayin he wants to feed his family in the future?
You’re ridiculous. Troll, clearly. Or a butt hurt incoming Freshman.
If I were Kyle I’d send you a cease and desist for this unbelievably awful take
Lighten up Francis. Bucknell isn’t paying big bucks (certainly not big club bucks). And literally no college job / funding is safe right now. Good for this coach seeking greener pastures.
What Patriot League Head Coach is announcing resignation tomorrow? Boston, Sica?
Better not be! They have a killer recruiting class incoming.