Roric Fink Will Return to Arizona as an Assistant Coach

Roric Fink is headed back to where his collegiate coaching career begin, announcing on LinkedIn this week that he had taken a position as an assistant coach at the University of Arizona.

Fink left the University of Texas after the 2019-2020 season, where he spent 8 years as an assistant coach under Carol Capitani.

He then spent 18 months as the head coach of the Austin Swim Club, leaving after a falling out with the ownership. He then worked with the SMU men’s team beginning in January 2022.

Now he’ll head back to the University of Arizona, where he was an assistant coach from 2003 through 2010. Before that, he built the attached Tucson Ford Aquatics beginning in 2000.

During his time as a coach he has coached and developed NCAA Championship level athletes. He coached Arizona National Champions Lacey Nymeyer, Dave Rollins, Tyler DeBerry and Marcus Titus with the Ford Aquatics program before going on to compete for the Wildcats. His club won the USA Swimming National Championships in Irvine, Calif., and the Men’s Team Championship at the Western Zone Sectional in Portland, Ore., back in 2011.

He coached Amanda Beard as she qualified for the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships and the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, China. He has served on the USA Swimming coaching staff for the 2008 National Junior Team and the 2010 NSCA All-Star Team. In 2006, Fink represented Mexico as a member of their coaching staff at the Short Course World Championships.

While in his first stint at Arizona, Fink coached under Frank Busch. Frank’s son Augie Busch is the current head coach at Arizona.

He is one of two swimmers from the Frank Busch era that Arizona has hired in the last year: Lara Jackson, a 9-time NCAA Champion, also joined the staff from Florida Gulf Coast in the 2021 offseason.

Fink fills the spot that was previously held by associate head coach Peter Richardson, who left to join the staff at Pac-12 rival USC.

The Arizona team is in a very different spot than it was when Fink left, with the team winning both men’s and women’s NCAA titles in 2008.

Last season, Arizona finished 5th of 6 teams in the men’s Pac-12 Championship and 5th of 8 teams in the women’s Pac-12 Championships. The team’s top scorer from last year’s NCAA Championships, Brooks Fail, was using his 5th and final season of eligibility in leading the Wildcats to a 17th-place finish. The women’s team finished 19th at NCAAs, with most of their points coming from junior diver Delaney Schnell.

Fink is a 1986 graduate of Whitworth College. He earned his master’s degree in business administration in 2000.

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Erin
1 year ago

No one better. Period.

Pierre Lafontaine
1 year ago

He is the Classiest of all. Well done Roric.

Jjsh
1 year ago

Not sure Roric will help the mess Augie has created. Im surprised he took this job given the likelihood Augie might be out sooner vs later.

Austinpoolboy
Reply to  Jjsh
1 year ago

If Angie goes out, Roric would be well positioned to step in as head coach, so maybe not so dumb

Special Delivery
1 year ago

Everyone loves Roric!!

Ktrim
1 year ago

Great news for Arizona!

Former Roric Fink Swimmer
1 year ago

Such an amazing coach!!

GoCATS
1 year ago

Awesome hire, might be the missing piece to Augie’s tenure

cynthia curran
Reply to  GoCATS
1 year ago

Well, not certain if he helps. One girl who was a good local Tucson swimmer went to a east coast school recently. Also, they don’t the highest rank Phoenix swimmers or California swimmers either. Tucson biggest employer is Raytheon so if you are into engineering and work in aerospace its good but other fields its better in Phoenix. So, ASU picks some of the folks as well do to some people that may stay after college.

Austinpoolboy
Reply to  cynthia curran
1 year ago

Tucson is prettier and hipper than Phoenix, so perhaps appeals to a swimmer with a different perspective on what they want.

Last edited 1 year ago by Austinpoolboy
Casanova
1 year ago

2028. Mark it now. 20 year anniversary gonna end in a natty. GO CATS

WahooWah
Reply to  Casanova
1 year ago

No way. Not with Busch Lite running the show. Busch Lite isn’t a Natty

Last edited 1 year ago by WahooWah

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Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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