Rick Paine, the former 16-year head coach of the University of Nebraska, will be formally inducted into the Midwestern Swimming LSC Hall of Fame this Sunday. He will become the 24th member of the organization’s Hall of Fame which was launched in 2006 to recognize athletes, coaches, volunteers, and officials who have made significant contributions to the LSC.
Paine built an impressive resume as the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for the University of Nebraska’s men’s and women’s teams. During his tenure there, Paine personally coached 9 Olympians, 37 NCAA All-Americans, and National Champions in 11 different countries (including the United States). He was named the head Olympic Coach for the Austrian Olympic team in 2000, and also served on the staffs at the Helsink and Istanbul European Championships.
In parallel with his duties at the University of Nebraska, Paine also served as the head coach of the Nebraska Aquatics Swim Club that included 2 individual U.S. National Champions, 61 U.S. Nationals qualifiers, and 103 U.S. National Junior Qualifiers in 16 years.
After leaving coaching, Paine became the founder of American College Connection, a company that helps connect student-athletes from around the world with American colleges and universities.
Rick Paine is also now a regular contributor to SwimSwam, sharing his expertise on the college recruiting process.
Congratulations Coach Rick. I had the benefit of your coaching a long long time ago at Colorado Springs Swim Team 🙂
Well deserved. Rick always pushed me to swim harder and be tougher than I thought I could. Great memories of swimming with him. Congratulations.
What an incredible resume of fast swimming under your watch, Rick! This is a well-deserved award, and I for one greatly enjoyed swimming for him at UNL. Always gave me great advice and cared about how I did even though I was far from being a star on the team. Congrats Rick!
Way to go !!!
Congrats Coach! Well deserved.
Hey neighbor! It is so nice to see you get inducted for all of your hard work. I am proud to say that you have been our neighbor and friend in Lincoln.
We are so proud of you Rick. Congratulations. You have also helped and continue to help many talented young swimmers find the perfect fit for their College Career.
Way to go Rick! You are deserving of the reward and all that you have done for swimming!