Hall of fame swim coach Mark Bernardino has announced his retirement from the profession, ending a 48-year career.
Bernardino has served as an associate head coach at NC State since 2018, where he led the distance group. Before that, he built most of his coaching resume as the head coach at the University of Virginia.
“Mark didn’t just coach teams or individuals, he shaped lives,” said NC State head coach Braden Holloway. His guidance, passion and integrity have left a lasting mark. To be able to coach alongside a mentor for these years has been a remarkable journey.
“I am grateful for Mark spending the last portion of his career wearing the Red & White. Coaches like Mark don’t retire- they live on in the hearts of every athlete or coach they have inspired.”
At the end of the 2018-2019 season, Bernardino’s first with the Wolfpack, the NC State women took the top 4 spots in the 400 IM at the ACC Championships. The men’s team took the top 4 spots in the 500 free at the 2022 ACC Championships, and in 2023, Will Gallant and Ross Dant took the top 2 spots at the 2023 NCAA Championships.
Last season, when the men finished 3rd and the women finished 5th at the ACC Championships, the distance groups again had success under Bernardino’s guidance. The men scored 194 combined points in the men’s 500 and 1650 free combined, which was 50 points more than the next-best team in those disciplines (team champions Cal scored 144).
“Few people have been as blessed and fortunate as I have to have pursued their life’s passion and joy for as long as I have,” said Bernardino.
“These past seven years as a member of Coach Braden Holloway‘s staff and team at NC State will be memories I cherish forever. Working with Braden, a legendary coach and the best coach in ACC history, has allowed me the opportunity to grow both as a coach and a leader and be positively influenced as a coach and person. No one should ever stop learning and progressing, and these last seven years at NC State provided an exclamation point to my career. I am thankful and love every athlete whom I have coached, for they have been my great teachers. I thank and love the coaches who have stood by my side and shared this journey with me. I look forward to the continued growth of the sport of swimming, and I hope for the betterment of years to come.”
This is his second retirement from coaching: from 1978 to 2013, he was the head coach at his alma mater, the University of Virginia. He led the men’s and women’s programs to a combined 27 ACC team titles, the most in the conference history, and 8 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships.
His 521 career victories when he retired from that program ranked him 5th-best in NCAA history. He then spent 4 seasons as an associate head coach at South Carolina before joining the Wolfpack staff.
Internationally, he was the head coach of the U.S. team at the 2001 and 2009 World University Games and an assistant coach of the U.S. team at the 2011 and 2023 Pan American Games. He coached Ed Moses to 2 Olympic medals in 2000, Lauren Perdue to a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games, and Matt McLean to a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games while the head coach of Virginia.
Bernadino’s Career Honors:
- 31-time ACC Swimming Coach of the Year (league record)
- 2023 ASCA Hall of Fame Inductee
- 2018 ISCA Hall of Fame Inductee
- 521 career dual meet victories as a head coach
- 1974 University of Virginia Male Athlete of the Year
- 3x NCAA Championship qualifier as an athlete
- 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier
- 2010 Raven Award winner (given by UVa’s oldest honorary society)
- Member of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving Committee, 2000-2004
I can not thank you enough for what you have done for Lance Norris in and out of the pool. Oh how we wish your retirement was 2026! Dino, we love you! Wolfpack Distance!!!
Congrats on your retirement, Dino! Now you have more time for push-ups!
Words cannot express the impact he had on my life. He is 100% genuine and did not mess about when it came to doing the work. I swam under him, got mentored by him as a coach, and love him as a member of my family.
Enjoy the retirement Mark!
….you have earned it
I found Mark to be an angry guy who never smiled. He said abusive things to me and other teammates. After tearing ligaments in my ankle from rolling my ankle while jogging across a wet street at night, he asked me what I was drinking when that happened. I told him I was not drinking, and that I was happy to swear to that with my hand on a Bible. He mockingly retorted, “I don’t know if you have a Christian bone in your body!” He was utterly disrespectful accusing me of being drunk when I injured myself.
He did not coach me, as I was just a lowly diver and not a very good one. I think he… Read more »
The whispers surrounding mark in Virginia swimming circles before / during his departure from UVA were deafening.
I was too young and disconnected to understand those whispers but always wished we had more clarity. If for nothing else than to dispel unnecessary questions.
This is a b.s.comment.
feel free to clear things up then
please elaborate
One of the finest people and coaches to ever walk the deck. Congratulations on an amazing career. Having you as part of the Wolfpack family was a great honor. Best of luck in retirement. You will be greatly missed. ❤️
He is a class act.
I was swimming in a duel meet that had two heats of the mile. I was in the second heat, not with the fastest, but I ended up swimming faster than my teammates and others in the fast heat. When I finished my race, Mark came up to me before my coach did to congratulate me and tell me that I should have been in the faster heat. For a swimmer that was not his to take some time to say that to me was pretty powerful and stuck with me.
He did such a good job with the distance swimmers.
Happy retirement!!!
I would not be addicted to swimming but for the nearly 50-year friendship and mentorship I have had with Mark. Thank you for everything you have done for the thousands of young athletes who passed under your guidance over your illustrious career and thank you, most especially, for our relationship. The successes his athletes have achieved as human beings are a tribute to his unwavering caring and support. Swimming fast and diving well was the immediate goal; the ultimate goal was to mature into upstanding members of the world – striving for the best, both in a career and in their personal relationships.
Little did you suspect that when you were offered the Interim Head Coaching position at UVA in… Read more »
Well said Radar!