originally published May 2, 2023.
May 11, 2023 Update:
Chris Swenson will no longer be the head coach at Wesleyan, a school spokesperson confirmed to SwimSwam.
Swenson declined to comment.
Below is a press release issued by Wesleyan Athletics announcing Swenson’s hiring in early May.
Courtesy: Wesleyan Athletics
Wesleyan University Director of Athletics Mike Whalen ’83 has announced the hiring of Chris Swenson as the Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving and Aquatics Director for the Cardinals.
“I’m excited to welcome Chris and his family to Wesleyan” said Whalen. “His knowledge of swimming, passion for recruiting, and commitment to academic and athletic excellence, will serve him well at Wesleyan. We are fortunate to have Chris as our next head coach and I look forward to watching our program grow under his leadership.”
Swenson comes to Middletown after spending the past five seasons as the head women’s swimming coach at Kean University. In 2018, Swenson took over a program that was at the bottom of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). This past season his team was a perfect 11-0 and won the first NJAC Championship in school history. For his efforts, Swenson was honored at the NJAC Women’s Coach of the Year. During his tenure at Kean, his teams set an amazing 161 school records and produced the program’s first All-American in school history.
“I am honored to join Wesleyan University as its next head men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach. I would like to thank Athletic Director Mike Whalen and the entire search committee for this incredible opportunity. My family and I are so excited to join the Cardinal community,” said Swenson.
Swenson began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater Rowan University in 2006 and also had assistant coaching stints at Princeton, Notre Dame and Saint Peters before taking over the program at Kean in 2018. He received his B.S. in Management in 2005, as well as his MBA from Rowan University in 2008. Chris and his wife Ann have three children, Claire (7) and twins Mae and Henry (5).
He backed out… no longer will be the head coach at Wesleyan. They’ll be starting from scratch, once again!
Can’t find any mention of this article on the Wesleyan athletic site. Quite unfortunate turn of events.
Excellent Coach and even better guy!
Fantastic hire. Can’t wait to see where Coach Chris takes this program in the coming years. Go cardinals!