Peter Richardson, Jacy Dyer Named U.S. Head Coaches For 2023 World University Games

Peter Richardson and Jacy Dyer have been tabbed to lead the U.S. team this summer at the 2023 World University Games in Chengdu, China.

Richardson, currently the associate head coach at USC, will serve as the head men’s coach, while Dyer, who recently completed her first year as the head coach at Fairfield, will lead the women’s team.

The head coaches were announced by Ian Quinn, the newly-appointed Director of Swimming for USA Team, in a press release on Tuesday.

“We are thrilled that Peter and Jacy have taken on these roles as our head coaches for Chengdu,” said Neal Holden, Deputy Head of Delegation for USA World University Games.

“They both bring a wealth of knowledge and experience about the sport and are hungry for and appreciative of this opportunity to continue the strong tradition of American swimming at the World University Games. Our USA swimmers selected for Chengdu will be in great hands, and the team they will assemble will make us all proud!”

Richardson is coming off his first year as associate head coach with the Trojans, having spent the three previous seasons as an associate at Arizona.

“I couldn’t be more excited about building the best team we can,” said Richardson. “Coaching the Red, White, and Blue at the World University Games this summer is an incredible opportunity to showcase the amazing talent we have here.”

Dyer was recently named MAAC Women’s Coach of the Year after leading the Stags to the conference championship title. She also guided the Fairfield men to a fourth-place finish at the MAAC Championships in her first season at the helm, having spent the previous four campaigns at Virginia Tech.

“I am so honored for this opportunity to be the women’s head coach for our USA Team,” Dyer said.

“We are excited about the student-athletes we have representing the United States so far and are currently looking for more swimmers who want to be a part of the team we are building. This is an incredible opportunity and we can’t wait to represent our country well on an international stage at the World University Games.”

Quinn (UNC Asheville), Carl Weigley (UC Davis), Eileen Bringman (Cornell), Guy Buls (Henderson State), Brian Loeffler (Loyola) and Sean Sullivan (Illinois State) were also announced as assistant coaches.

As reported in January, USA Swimming will not be sending a team to the Games this summer, instead opting to field a roster at the European U23 Championships, but there will still be swimmers representing the United States in Chengdu.

Swim coaches identified by the United States International University Sports Federation (US-IUSF) are actively recruiting swimmers to wear the Stars and Stripes at the Games, and have 12 athletes confirmed thus far.

The requirements in order to represent the U.S. in the summer are the following, courtesy of the Team USA press release:

“The next step after assembling the coaching staff is recruiting a team with talented student-athletes looking to represent the USA with pride. To be eligible to compete for the USA at the World University Games, athletes must be U.S. citizens and can be current college students, or recent college graduates (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023). Alternately, athletes can be 2023 high school graduates who turn 18 years old in the calendar year of 2023 and must be either signed or enrolled in a college. Another difference with the 2023 Games is that the cost of participating will fall on the USA student-athletes themselves.”

The competition will run from July 28 – August 8, 2023, and will cost athletes just under $2,870. The maximum roster size is 25 men and 25 women, with roster changes able to be made up until June 8.

The US-IUSF has also agreed to provide a full refund to athletes who register to compete at WUGs but end up being unable to do so after qualifying for the World Championships, Pan American Games or U23 European Championships at U.S. Nationals in late June.

“If interested in the opportunity to swim for the USA Team at the 2023 World University Games, please send an email to Director of Swimming Ian Quinn ([email protected]) including: full name, age, university, U.S. passport status, best events and times (short course or long course), and any other relevant information.”