Former La Salle University coach Matt Nunnally has left his position to take on a new, and rare, opportunity to launch a new Division I university at Monmouth, who announced in November that it would reinstate its men’s and women’s swimming programs.
La Salle took 4th place out of 8 (men) and 7th place out of 11 (women) at the 2015 Atlantic 10 Championships. He now takes over a Monmouth program that will compete in a balanced MAAC Conference with defending champions from Rider (men’s) and Marist (women’s), the latter in more dominant fashion than the former.
Nunnally leaves La Salle after 15 seasons as the head coach, and an even longer rapport that dates back to his time there as a conference champion in the 200 500 free while an athlete there from 1989-1992. When Nunnally swam at LaSalle, the team was in the MAAC, the same conference he’ll be rejoining.
Nunnally will have a little bit of history behind his new program, despite its absence from varsity-level college swimming. In 1974, they won the men’s NAIA and women’s NAIW National Championships in the same year with a team that included two-time Olympic medalist Wendy Boglioli.
Nunnally has a strong connection to the Jersey Shore where Monmouth is located. In addition to his head coaching duties, he’s a formal world champion life guard with 27 years of experience at Bradley Beach, which is located less than 10 miles from campus.
