Press Release courtesy of Lafayette Athletics.
Lafayette swimming and diving head coach Jim Dailey has made a significant addition to his coaching staff, adding former Seton Hall head coach Ron Farina.
Farina was a two-time Big East Coach of the Year, leading the Seton Hall men to the 2017 conference title. He spent the past 17 years as the head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams and as the director of aquatics. During his coaching tenure, he oversaw 203 All-Big East selections, 34 Big East individual champions while presiding over a program that broke 156 school records. Academically, his program spent 34 straight semester on the CSCAA Academic All-America rolls and saw 459 selections to the Big East Academic All-Star teams which required a 3.0 GPA.
“We are very excited to have Ron join our staff this year. He brings a tremendous amount of experience from a very diverse background, both as a swimmer and as a coach, to our staff and program,” Dailey said. “I’m looking forward to having Ron’s coaching experience in every aspect of a NCAA Division I program such as training, recruiting, stroke technique improvement, academic persistence, seasonal planning and most importantly enthusiasm. Our teams and I are absolutely going to benefit from Ron’s presence and coaching. We are very lucky to have him available and accept the position.”
Farina served as an assistant coach at Rutgers and Virginia Tech and also founded the Liner Aquatics Club.
A 1993 Rutgers graduate, Farina was a six-time school record holder for the Scarlet Knights and later worked for four years as an assistant coach for his alma mater following graduation. During his time at Rutgers, Farina helped coach the men’s team to a second-place finish in the Atlantic 10 in 1994 as well as nine athletes to NCAA consideration standards and Senior National time cuts.
Following his tenure at Rutgers, Farina went to Virginia Tech where he served as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator during the 1997-98 season. At Virginia Tech, he was the primary coach for the sprinters and mid-distance freestylers while helping lead the women’s team to a second-place finish in the Atlantic 10. In addition, Farina coached seven athletes to NCAA consideration and Senior National standards.
Later, as founder of the Liner Aquatics Club in Phillipsburg, N.J., Farina was in charge of all aspects of the USA Swimming organization, including administration, coaching, and training swimmers of all ages.
At Rutgers, Farina set school records in the 100, 200, and 500-yard freestyle, the 200, 400, and 800-yard freestyle relay, and was a senior national qualifier from 1991-93 in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle.
Farina is a 1993 graduate of Rutgers where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English/History/Political Science. He secured his Master’s Degree in Sports Management from East Stroudsburg in 2003. Farina and his wife Amy currently reside in Easton, Pa. and they have a daughter, Gianna, and a son R.J.
Congrats Coach!
Steal of a hire for Lafayette. It is a little odd he left a more prestigious head coaching job to become an assistant at a lower program??
Perhaps the commute to SHU was getting to be a bit too much
Great Hire! Go Leopards!!!