SMU’s Steve Collins Named Swimming Sport Officer for American Athletic Conference

SMU women’s head swimming & diving coach Steve Collins has been voted as the swimming and diving president for the newly-named, and new-look, American Athletic Conference for the first two seasons (2013-2014).

Voted upon by the coaches of the conference, the sport officers serve as liaisons and advocates for the coaches when speaking to the conference.

Collins is one of the true remaining veteran coaches in NCAA swimming, having been at SMU for 28 years, including some very high points. He was twice named the NCAA Coach of the Year, and 15 times has guided the SMU women to a top-10 team finish at the NCAA Championships (and into the top 5 nine times).

In its inaugural year, the conference will have 5 men’s swim teams and 8 women’s swim teams. Those numbers will change drastically in the coming few years, as Louisville (men’s and women’s teams) and Rutgers (women’s team) both leave the conference, and there’s a potential for lots of moving parts to result in new programs as well.

The conference’s first championship meet will be held at Louisvlle, even though they’re leaving the conference after this coming season.

2013-2014 Men’s AAC teams:

Cincinnati
UConn
East Carolina
SMU
Louisville

2013-2014 Women’s AAC teams:

Cincinnati
UConn
Houston
Louisville
Rutgers
SMU